High school graduation is supposed to mark the ending of one phase of life and the beginning of another. Some students will leave school days behind, but the majority will continue in studies for a few more years before they’re ready to settle into a more or less permanent, full-time job. Many of them, however, are not spending a final summer at home before “going off to college.”
Of 117 May graduates of Pratt High and Skyline School, nearly 60 plan to enroll next fall at Pratt Community College. Half of that number have expressed plans for transferring to a four-year college after that.
“It’s economically responsible — it makes sense,” said Jillian Aramowicz, who will live at home and enroll at PCC this fall as a sophomore, having already earned her first year’s credits during her junior and senior years at Pratt High. The emphasis during the next year will be to “get classes out of the way,” she said, having made sure everything she takes at PCC will transfer to Kansas State University, where she expects to major in photojournalism. Once at K-State, the plan is to share an off-campus apartment with a friend and get involved in campus life.
She’s counting on scholarships, two summer jobs, and employment during the college term to hold off the need for a student loan as long as possible.
“College is just incredibly expensive,” said Cynthia Aramowicz, Jillian’s mother. “We did encourage her to go to PCC for a year, but we’ve tried to leave that up to her. If we can save this year and help more next year when she needs to go somewhere else to get the classes she needs, that will be to her advantage.”
While she is saving money by attending PCC, tuition is increasing by 5 to 6 percent at Kansas Board of Regents universities, hiking a student’s bill by as much as $200 per semester.
Tuition enhancements were necessary to maintain the quality of education Kansans deserve and demand, and were kept near inflation levels, according to Donna Shank, the newly-elected chair of the Board of Regents.
A Regents survey demonstrates that state universities in Kansas “remain a great buy,” according to a June 12 news release. Students at the state’s three research institutions, Kansas State University, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, pay $822 or 14 percent less than residents in neighboring states to attend similar institutions. Tuition at the three regional institutions, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University and Pittsburg State University, is $722 or 20 percent less than at similar schools in surrounding states.
KU led the way in tuition increases for fiscal year 2009 at 6 percent, but is the only Kansas school to give incoming freshmen a tuition rate that remains fixed, with no increase, over four years.
College costs in Kansas
Tuition and required fees for full-time (15 credit hours) undergraduate students, per semester:
Pratt Community College $1110.00*
Fort Hays State University $1677.75
Emporia State University $1963.00
Pittsburg State University $2030.00
Wichita State University $2402.00
Kansas State University $3117.40
University of Kansas $3299.75
Newman University $7911**
Bethany College $8,105**
Bethel College $8350**
Room and board at PCC varies from $1768 to $2223 per semester, depending upon residence hall and meal plan selected. Residence hall and maximum meals per week ranges from $2422 at PSU to $3514 at KU per semester, according to 2006-07 information provided by PCC.
*A Pratt County High School Senior Grant entitles a student to a maximum of $350 per semester, not to exceed a total of $1400, provided a GPA of 2.0 or higher is maintained.
**2006-07 rates
Pratt, Kan. —
