While most college representatives assure applicants to “ignore the sticker price” for tuition, Donald Trump’s plans as president raise concerns.
The price for tuition is contingent on the US Department of Education’s funding for federal aid. However, the GOP Platform and Trump have goals to reform education back on the state level and cracking down on the Department, per The New York Times.
But removal of federal aid can slam those doors in students’ faces.
Students at Francis Lewis High School dream big when it comes to applying to college. When looking at Naviance, hundreds of students apply to prestigious and private schools such as New York University or the Ivy League family. However, Trump’s opposition to the Department of Education can yank the safety net that countless students have relied on, one of them being FAFSA.
“FAFSA is defined as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” said College Counselor Mr. Mendez. “That is an application that is with the US government. Every student in all states can apply to the FAFSA if eligible. And FAFSA is an application where students can apply for free money for college expenses. That primarily goes towards tuition and fees from, directly from the colleges they’re applying to.”
Even with federal aid such as FAFSA, paying for college has already been a problem for some students.
“I had to scrap many of my potential colleges from Common App because when I saw the net price, it would be too much to pay for,” said senior Nicolas Jiang.
Jiang is referring to results from tuition calculators such as the Net Price Calculator, a service provided by College Board, or the shorter MyInTuition. Students answer questions about family income and see what their estimated cost of attendance would be for the respective institution, if they participate. But with Trump’s plans, these numbers can become skewed as financial aid for college becomes less available. In Jiang’s case, he is already getting estimates of having to pay $40,000 to $50,000 for an academic year.
Despite fears of what college tuition could look like in the future, some students are taking action.
“I don’t necessarily know what I’m gonna do, but I’m just hopeful,” said senior Kripa Halder. “I did start working recently, so I’m gonna try to save up as much as I can to cut down on expenses.”
A viable solution to this issue seems to be scholarships. According to Mr. Mendez, over $1 million worth of scholarship money goes unclaimed each year. But why?
“Just looking for scholarships in general could be rigorous,” said senior Madisen Chancy. “Having that financial aid could just really make people look for scholarships.”
Regardless, students like Halder are still in search of scholarships in order to make paying for college more possible. But another alternative to scholarships are infamous college loans.
“Loans would be a possibility,” said Jiang. “But then if I were to take out too many, it would build up in the future and it would be a longer time for me to pay them off.”
Similar to Jiang’s sentiments, loans are often a last resort and suggested against. This leaves students with little options, and Trump’s proposals for the removal of the US Department of Education will only tighten the window. Per The Washington Post, limitations are likely to be placed on funding for students with disabilities, federal aid for college, other imperative aids, but most notably Title I funding.
“Title I is used to improve the academic performance of low income students,” said Mr. Mendez. “In this case, Francis Lewis is a Title I school. And we do receive additional fundings because of the population of our school.”
Title I at Francis Lewis has evidently made a palpable influence, especially in regards to post graduation plans. For instance, opportunities from Title I funding help run the College and Career Fair, according to Mr. Mendez, which has been vital to keeping Patriots aware of what is there to do beyond high school.
However, college students and applicants should not worry too much. This isn’t the first time the US Department of Education has been attempted to be removed. President Reagan had made attempts in the past to remove it, but Congressional approval makes such plans difficult to pass. Trump would need a 60 supermajority vote and there is still a chance of a filibuster. The overall support is not universal in Congress according to CNN.
So while a FAFSA-less future seems distant, its possibility raises concerns among college students both prospective and current.
“Students that don’t have the money to go to college won’t have the same opportunities as other students,” said Halder. “And I feel like that’s so unfair.”
