Penn State tuition highest in nation for in-state students

By Joshua Glossner

Since March, Penn State’s rising tuition and budget cuts have been a concern for students, parents and officials. And then, US News reported earlier this month that Penn State has the highest tuition in the nation for in-state public school students.

According to the US News report, tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year on average for in-state Penn State students was $15,250.

Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said the “highest in-state tuition in the nation” title is a concern for Penn State officials.

“We want to make higher education accessible to everyone who wants to come here,” Mountz said.

Mountz said the main revenue sources for Penn State’s general funds are from tuition and state appropriations.

But in light of recent appropriation cuts, Mountz said Penn State does not intend raise tuition rates at an unreasonable rate.

“When President Spanier spoke about the budget cuts [at a press conference in March], he promised that students would not bear the brunt of the budget cuts by raising the tuition out of proportions,” Mountz said. “When the Board of Trustees meets on July 15, they are going to make sure the tuition increase is on par.”

But Mountz said Penn State officials would have more to talk about and decide when the state government passes the budget.

One student, Ashley Smyth didn’t realize how high Penn State’s tuition was until she looked at some of the tuition rates for her friends’ colleges.

“It seems ridiculous since most of those state schools have the same things we offer, but we are paying higher tuition,” Smyth (junior-advertising and international studies) said. “You would think it would be more of an even playing field.”

Smyth hopes Penn State will stick to the promise of no outrageous tuition raises.

“I have always trusted Penn State with the thought that they are doing things in the best of interests for me and other students,” Smyth said.

Out-of-state student Alex Beck (senior-biology and pre-medicine) said it may be hard for Penn State to keep their word on not raising tuition at very high rates.

“They aren’t going to make that money out of thin air. It’s just a hard thing to control,” Beck said.

In Beck’s eyes, it’s the “unnecessary spending” at Penn State that could be used to control tuition.

“I feel that some Penn State officials are paid hundreds of thousands when some of that could be put towards lowering tuition,” Beck said.

And spending too much on energy consumption is another unnecessary expense Penn State has, Beck said. He thinks looking into alternative methods of energy and conservation would help save the university money.

Even though Penn State has one of the highest tuition rates in the nation, Mountz said that has not stopped students from applying to Penn State.

“This year we have had more applicants than we’ve had last year or the year before,” Mountz said, adding more than 120,000 have applied this year.

In spite of having the highest in-state public school tuition, the number of students who apply to Penn State has been higher on average than most colleges and universities in the nation, Mountz said.

She believes this is because of the quality education students receive at Penn State.

“Penn State not only offers training in the classroom, but hands-on training as well,” she said. “This is why I think most employers will be more likely to hire Penn State graduates.”

Anna Zwolak (senior-media studies) said she is getting an excellent education at Penn State, but sometimes wonders if the high tuition is worth it.

“Tuition has been steadily increasing since I started school here,” Zwolak said. “I guess I’ll have to see how much it’s worth once I get a job after I graduate.”

Smyth said she is getting her money’s worth for her education and takes advantage of any opportunities at Penn State that she can.

“I take advantage of the clubs and activities, like [the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon],” Smyth said. “I know the tuition doesn’t really cover that, but taking those opportunities makes it well worth paying it.”

Zwolak said though she thinks it is sad that Penn State has the highest public school in-state tuition in the country, she finds it to be expected.

“Penn State is different from most schools. It’s a harder college to get into compared to others,” Zwolak said.

She said she would like to see lower tuition, but she would rather pay the higher rates than see other state-funded programs being cut.

“In Philadelphia, they are trying to cut programs at public schools, like the one my brother works at,” she said. “I would rather have to pay a high tuition than see those kids suffer from the budget cuts.”

Read more here: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2011/06/29/most_expensive_in_state_tuition.aspx
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