"It may just seem like $1500, but it's a lot more than that," said junior Arnetia Fogg, one student affected by a 3.9% increase in tuition for 2013-2014. The overall cost for a student will be $1586 more expensive next year than the current academic year.
The new cost for tuition: $29,750. Increases in tuition, room, board and other fees make the overall expenses for a student living on-campus next year surpass $40,000.
"Some of it is just to keep up with the cost of inflation," said Dan Anderson, vice president of University Communications. "Some of it is investments in quality. Some of it is investment back into the student in the form of financial aid increases."
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Elon University's Board of Trustees approved a new budget Feb. 14 in attempts to meet the needs of an expanding campus. Anderson said the new budget, among other aspects, funds 13 new full-time faculty positions, increases financial aid availability, upgrades health center resources and continues investment in campus buildings and facilities.
"The trustees want to make sure that there is enough resources available," Anderson said, "so that the quality continues to advance for the university."
A $471 campus-wide increase for housing fees is also included in the budget to help diminish the varying price between residence halls for the standard double-occupancy room, according to Anderson.
The cost increases will put tuition past $40,000 for the first time at Elon. For students like Arnetia Fogg, the amount starts to build up.
"Before freshman year," Fogg said, "my parents sat down with me and told me they wouldn't be able to contribute financially for my education."
Fogg said her parents earn a little too much money to receive financial aid, so she knew that she would have to pay her tuition almost entirely with student loans.
"Currently, to date," Fogg said, "I have about $102,000 in loans."
"I practically have a mortgage in my name," Fogg said. "But at the same time, I really feel like my experience is worth it. Regardless of the amount of money."
Fogg said, in her estimation, she will have to tackle more than $138,000 in student loans after graduation. But Fogg said that many other students do not even realize the amount of loans she has because of her positive vision about her finances.
"My way of going about it," Fogg said, "is that the loans are going to be there. And so the more I think about it, the more I'll stress out. As long as I know they'll be there and I make my payments accordingly, I just try not to really think about it"