By Hannah Bouchard
I have heard plenty of talk about the tuition decrease and was excited at first, but soon after began thinking: “It was bound to happen eventually.” I mean that. I have had extremely passionate conversations with friends from high school about the cost of college and what I have learned is both sad and frustrating. Schools are just too expensive, and it seems that regardless of how hard one works in high school, they still have to pay student loans for years after they graduate college. This is a ridiculous burden to place on people who are chasing after a higher education. Why is it that valedictorians of high schools can’t even rely on scholarships because even with the highest academic aid a school has to offer, it won’t even come close to covering tuition cost?
This brings me back to my “It was bound to happen eventually” mindset. Colleges and universities continue to raise their tuition and fees, making it harder for them to both give merit based scholarships as well as financial aid to students. If this trend continues, the only people going to college would be those who can afford to pay the high costs without significant aid, and those who get enough financial aid to keep a stable home life. Being that these anomalies are so few, schools will not be able to enroll enough students to stay afloat, thus lowering their tuition to have a large enough student body.
I definitely think that by lowering tuition, Drew will be leading the pack of schools, particularly liberal arts colleges in lowering their tuition. This ever-growing price bubble is bound to pop eventually, but we as Drew students will be privileged if this cut comes to fruition. The president has a great track record, of course, and adding this to the list will not only help her legacy but perhaps, more importantly, the legacy of Drew.
Hannah is a freshman.
