I’ve always known college was going to cost an arm and leg, but now it costs an arm, leg, chest, head and other major body parts. I’m not even attending college yet and I’m already feeling the financial burden. College is just way too expensive.

I’ve recently accepted admission to San Jose State University and the total cost to accept already racked up close to $1,000. On top of the previous application fees, there was the mandatory freshman orientation fee of $250, the housing application fee of $50 and a down payment of $600 for dorm housing. Besides the down payment, none of these fees go towards paying off tuition.

The fact that freshman orientation is mandatory and costs $250 is absurd, especially because failure to pay or attend results in the withdrawal of your admission. Aside from getting acquainted with the campus, this mandatory orientation is useless. I can tour the campus and search online for more information for free.

The amount of application fees they can impose is honestly astonishing. Fifty-five dollars for the chance to be rejected and $50 for the chance to not even get a dorm room. I would not be surprised if they started imposing fees on denying admission or even stepping foot on campus.

While there has not been a hike in California state tuition fees the two previous years, according to California State University’s Historical Tuition Fee Rates from the years 2007-2013 about a 10 percent increase was implemented each school year; the average tuition increased from $2,772 to $5,472 by the end. This is because the state General Fund decreased state school funding. It’s almost as if they’re saying school and education is not important.

The cost of college may not even outweigh the benefits of a degree anymore.

In the past going to college wasn’t necessary, but now if you want to succeed, want a well paying job or a stable life, it’s almost mandatory. The irony in that ,though, is by the time you’ve finished, you’re in a load of debt.

Attending college may seem like the most reasonable step after graduation, but if state funding continues to decrease and the cost of attendance continues to increase I’d rather skip out and take my chances.

I know making college affordable will take some time and it won’t happen overnight, but little changes like making textbooks cheaper or even free online is a good start.

A big gamer changer would be to redirect funding from other departments like the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation towards high education. The average inmate population in California was 127,990 in 2015-2016 and is expected to decline in the following years, yet University of California enrolls approximately 254,000 students and California State University State enrolls approximately 394,000 students. Both schools individually at least doubles the inmate population, yet are funded less.The reason college prices are going up is from lack a of funds, so pulling money from overfunded or nonessential programs is a feasible idea.

The California government needs to start thinking more about education and give higher education systems the funding they deserve. Universities and college need to be more affordable for anyone that desires to further their education and not to be deterred from the price tags.

by SARAH MARTINEZ