HOW TO REDUCE YOUR COLLEGE COSTS
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is aware of the hardship you and other students suffer due to dramatic fee increases. CSUN is trying to control the indirect costs of college by:
- Reducing the cost of supplies such as using standardized and recycled clickers
- Reducing the cost of books by implementing a textbook rental policy with the Associated Students bookstore
- Developing “e” materials, where appropriate, as substitutes for texts
- Initiating block scheduling so that, as an example, upper-division majors can get two-day-a-week schedules; save commuting costs; and free up time for paying jobs. This could result in hundreds of dollars of saved.
Table 1 below shows that the indirect cost of education (see the black) exceeds the direct cost (see the red) of CSUN in 2009-2010:
Table 1
|
Costs |
Living with Family |
Apartment or Dorm |
|---|---|---|
|
Fees |
4,801 |
4,801 |
|
Books and Supplies |
1,638 |
1,638 |
|
Food and Housing |
4,338 |
10,872 |
|
Transportation |
1,272 |
1,210 |
|
Misc, Personal |
3,114 |
2,928 |
|
TOTAL |
$15,163 |
$21,449 |
Q1. What percent do
fees comprise of the total cost of going to university, if the student lives in
a dorm or apartment (not with family)?
Source: http://www.calstate.edu/sas/fa_coa.shtml
Let’s project into the future. Based on 2009-2010 fees, Table 2 below shows what it would cost to graduate in 4, 5, 6, or 7 years, factoring in inflation of fees and books and supplies at 8% per year while the other costs rise 5% per year.
Table 2
|
Years to graduation |
Fees , books, supplies (dollars) |
Food, housing, transportation,
misc (dollars) |
Cost (dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
4 |
29,015 |
37,602 |
66,617 |
|
5 |
37,775 |
48,206 |
85,981 |
|
6 |
47,236 |
59,340 |
106,576 |
|
7 |
57,454 |
71,031 |
128,484 |
Q2: Complete Table 3 below using information from Table 2. Because students pay by the semester, not by the
course, and because fees are going up, not down, each course effectively
costs—uh, a lot more the longer you stay. Assume a total of 120 units are
needed to graduate.
Table
3
|
Years to graduation |
Cost unit of credit (dollars) |
Cost per unit credit (dollars) |
|---|---|---|
|
4 |
66,617/120 = |
|
|
5 |
85,981/120 = |
|
|
6 |
106,576/120 = |
|
|
7 |
128,484/120 = |
|
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
CSUN students understand that fees are paid by the semester, not by the units of credit. Taking more than four years to graduate is very costly. While it is true that students may have jobs and family commitments that limit the time for school, the cost of prolonging attendance is very high.
Did you know: nationally, college
graduates have been shown to earn
about $1.7
million more, over a lifetime, than high school graduates?
"The Jobless Rate for People Like You" is an interactive graph from The New York Times (6 Nov. 2009) showing how the current U.S. unemployment rates affect people based on their gender, age, race, and/or educational attainment.
Q3. Use “The
Jobless Rate for People Like You” interactive
graph to answer the following questions.
a) What is the
current unemployment rate for Women (ages 15 to 24) of All Races with a High
School Diploma?
b) What is the current unemployment rate for Women (ages 15 to 24) of
All Races with a College Degree?
c) Locate the data that pertains to your age, race, etc. Compare this unemployment rate to someone
with the same data who has a college degree.
d) Find the unemployment rate for a few other groups and compare the
results. Write a short response about
your findings.
Table 4
Graduation Rates for First Time Freshmen
|
Entering Fall Cohort |
Total Cohort Count |
4 years or less |
5 years or less |
6 years or less |
7 years or less |
8 years or less |
9 years or less |
10 years or less |
11 years or less |
12 years or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1997 |
2568 |
3% |
18% |
32% |
38% |
42% |
44% |
46% |
46% |
47% |
|
1998 |
2286 |
6% |
23% |
36% |
43% |
46% |
48% |
49% |
50% |
|
|
1999 |
2602 |
7% |
24% |
36% |
43% |
47% |
49% |
50% |
|
|
|
2000 |
2821 |
8% |
25% |
39% |
46% |
49% |
52% |
|
|
|
|
2001 |
3270 |
8% |
26% |
39% |
46% |
49% |
|
|
|
|
|
2002 |
3662 |
8% |
26% |
39% |
46% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 |
3595 |
10% |
30% |
43% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004 |
2975 |
12% |
33% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005 |
3713 |
11% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 |
3690 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
3118 |
8% |
26% |
38% |
44% |
47% |
48% |
48% |
48% |
47% |
Q4. Explain what Table 4 shows _________________________________________
Q5. On average, what percentage of students graduate in 5 years or less?
Q6. On average, what percentage of students graduate in 7 years or less?
Here’s the row showing graduation rates for the F2000 entering cohort:
|
Entering |
Total |
4 years or less |
5 years or less |
6 years or less |
7 years or less |
8 years or less |
9 years or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2000 |
2821 |
8% |
25% |
39% |
46% |
49% |
52% |
Here’s what happens when we turn this chart into a graph:
Q7. The graph is strictly
increasing – that is, the percentage of students that graduated goes up as time
goes on. Why? Where does the curve seem to level off? Explain why that makes sense.
A cost versus benefit analysis of time to degree can help you reduce your costs and complete your degree in a timely manner.
Time is money. A ten-year student loan of $10,000 at 4.5% (for subsidized loans) or 6.8% (for unsubsidized loans) generally will cost around $5,500 (ie Total paid = $10,000 *1.045^10 or about $15, 530; therefore the interest paid is $15530 - $10,000 = $5530 ). That is less than a year of fees and books: See Table 1.
Idea: Could you use the $10,000 to buy down or buy out time that is committed to non-academic matters? That is: is it better for you to borrow the money now in order to take more credits now instead of taking fewer credits and delaying graduation? If you apply the time and money to taking more credits now, the long-term savings can be significant.
Good Advice: Have a plan. Students who switch schools, change majors too late or too often, or add second degrees usually take years longer to graduate or wind up with excess credits by the time they reach their senior year.
To decrease your time to graduation look at
http://www.csun.edu/anr/plans/
Q8. Estimate: how much more does it cost to graduate with 144
units rather than the minimum 120 units if you are taking 12 units per
semester?
$
Summer courses
are expensive at $345 per credit unit.
Financial aid is only available to students with less
than 130 units. (Any additional borrowing will have to come from other
sources.)
$
CSUN has strict
disqualification, course repeat, and withdrawal policies. It is very difficult for
students to repeat failed classes.
Expect substantial increases in cost and time to degree if you fail or withdraw
from courses.
$
CSUN also has strict
satisfactory academic progress policies for Financial Aid. It is not available to
students who do not make satisfactory progress (which basically means that your
GPA should stay above a C or 2.0
average.) For more information on satisfactory
academic progress, see http://www.csun.edu/finaid/sap-policy10-11.html
$
Super
Senior Initiatives: Enrollment beyond 140 units will
be restricted to courses required to graduate in the major for
which the student has accomplished
the highest percentage of requirements.
in consultation with the Associate Dean, Department Chair or designee, and the student.
REALLY, DO THE MATH!
Aim
to graduate in 5 years (or less)!