Tuition is incredibly expensive as is, correct? Unfortunately, we all know that it’s only part of the cost to attend college and succeed.
Another major cost that clears our wallets, snatches our paychecks, and cleans out our savings account here at Sinclair is the price of textbooks and/or access codes.
This is a story of personal experience. During my first semester, I didn’t have a lot of money for textbooks so I had to be creative when figuring out how to do my classwork.
I made new friends luckily and I was able to get through the semester without too much trouble due to their kindness in taking photos of what I would need or simply texting me what I needed to know. Communication was key.
Not everyone can be that lucky, however.
Whether it be anxiety or something else entirely, not everyone can have a friend in the same class that can lend them a hand in times where they truly need one. The price of these textbooks and programs looms over their shoulder and forces them to find a way to spend money they don’t have.
Financial Aid can’t save everyone, especially if the student is bent on paying for their own books instead of relying on another, like their parents.
Textbook prices haven’t always been so extravagant however; the increase has been going for at least a decade now. The College Board trade group even said that students should set aside approximately $1,250 a year for their textbooks.
That doesn’t even include the possibility of someone having to stock up on math and science-heavy books which are known to be extremely expensive.
The worst part is that $1,250 could pay a majority of a semester here. Why pay so much money for textbooks you might not even use past that 16 weeks?
Governor Kasich’s proposal for textbooks was one of the better ideas I’ve heard recently. With the budget he proposed, tuition and fees would be frozen for two years and– best of all– there would be a cost cap placed on textbooks at $300 a year.
This idea is wonderful for students; it might even encourage more people to attend college due to the cost cut on their end. If the deal was cut before I entered my first semester, I would have run with it immediately.
Sadly, here we are still. Programs for one class alone can reach $100, a single textbook can cost up to $80, and not to mention that students have to pay for their food and homes depending on their situations.
I truly hope that someday college will be more affordable. For a country that puts such an emphasis on education and how important college is, it has so many costs that can prevent even the most willing person from attending or even returning if they had to drop out before.
A future where people can attend college without having to worry about textbooks weighing on them financially is one I want to see soon.
Erika Brandenburg
Reporter