Of the areas profiting from the 6.5 percent tuition increase next year, financial aid will be benefitting the most, garnering more than 50 percent of the increase. With its share of the increase, though, others will benefit as well, according to Julie Mallette, director of scholarships and financial aid.
While the tuition cap does not negatively affect financial aid, according to Mallette, the increase in tuition will hit some students hard.
“Our concern is making sure the students impacted get funding to offset it,” Mallette said.
According to Mallette, financial aid gets a total of 54.1 percent of the tuition increase. Of this amount, 37.7 percent will go to general need-based awards, 7 percent will go to Pack Promise and 9.4 percent will go to graduate students on the Graduate Student Support Plan.
Students like Ian Avera, freshman in mechanical engineering and business management and a recipient of the Pack Promise scholarship, are those benefitting from financial aid.
According to Avera, he applied to several different universities in addition to N.C. State, including Duke University and Virginia Tech, but came to NCSU because of the University’s academics, as well as the financial aid package offered to him. According to Avera, he wouldn’t be able to afford a college education without financial aid.
“It’s not going to hurt me, but at the same time, I think it’s rough on everybody else if tuition increases,” Avera said.
However, Avera pointed out that the increase is helping students, such as himself, who don’t have the means for school otherwise. He said increasing financial aid increases educational opportunities for others.
Justine Kinney, a sophomore in animal science, is one of those students who receives no financial aid from the University. She is an out-of-state student from Bethlehem, Penn., and said she actually doesn’t mind the amount of the increase going to Financial Aid. Kinney said that’s because she understands that money is a necessity for those students who need help affording college.
“Like everyone, I don’t want to see increases in tuition,” Kinney said. “But if it means keeping the quality of the education I am receiving up, then I really cannot complain about it.”
Mallette pointed out that tuition isn’t the only college expense that increases.
“Every year things change a little bit. Costs go up in addition to tuition,” Mallette said.
She said those rising costs, such as housing, cause more students to need aid.
“It’s like chasing a running train,” Mallette said. “Even though we’re putting more money in Financial Aid, unless we can hold costs stable we’re never going to catch up.”
Will Quick, student body president, said dealing with tuition increase was an ongoing battle. He called it a cycle, and said the amount of money going to Financial Aid must be increased with each tuition increase. Otherwise, according to Quick, NCSU would lose students.
However, Quick said the majority of money for school should come from outside the Financial Aid office, such as government and state scholarships and grants.
“If we get outside financial aid then that allows our tuition increases to go toward things like the libraries — things like faculty salary,” Quick said.
