College funding over-looked by some families

Most families are not taking into consideration the entire financial burden that comes with attending a four-year university, according to Fidelity Investments.

The company’s sixth annual College Savings Indicator study, released on Aug. 29, found that 31 percent of families are considering all costs related to college. According to the study, those costs include “the total cost of college, graduating with debt, the impact of school selection and how the major their children choose could affect job prospects and earning potential.”

Students at the university are financing their education in various ways.

Sophomore biology major Ryan Meredith said he is going into the pre-medical field. He said he relies on his parents financially and on unpaid internships in order to get the experience he needs to succeed in his career.

“I need my parents to help me pay my way through it,” Meredith said. “I know I’m putting a lot of strain on them but I’m taking out a ton of student loans so I’m going to be in a lot of debt.”

Tom Rummel, a freshman engineering major, said he and his parents discussed the financial responsibilities he would undertake when he left home for the university.

“We had some conversations, we took out loans and I received some grants,” he said. “They’ve definitely helped me, but I also promise them that I would get a job.”

Rummel said he has been looking around Newark for a part-time position, but has not found one yet.

Freshman pre-veterinarian major Allison Wagner said her parents have offered to help pay tuition for undergraduate school, but not graduate school. She said because of that stipulation, she is not sure whether she will be going to veterinary school.

Wagner said her parents expect her to get a job so that she can support herself outside of her school expenses.

“They really want me and my brother to get a job while we’re in college so we can at least support us, like to get gas and to eat and everything, so they don’t have to pay for that” she said. “They kind of want us to support ourselves and then they’ll pay for tuition. They say that would help out.”

Meredith said every year that tuition rates go up, the university becomes less affordable.

Wagner said she thinks it is becoming tougher for students to attend universities without outside help.

“I wasn’t going to come unless I got a scholarship,” she said. “So I got a scholarship and I got scholarships from my school and I had money saved up. It made it doable to come here.”