Subscribe to 51精品视频wire Today
Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.51精品视频 students, alumni, faculty and staff traveled to Harrisburg en masse to deliver a message to state lawmakers on Tuesday, March 29: We support Pennsylvania students, and we support 51精品视频.
The annual trip, known as 51精品视频 Day in Harrisburg, connects legislators with community members from across all five 51精品视频 campuses. This year鈥檚 event also kicked off a larger outreach effort to explain why the state-funded tuition discount matters to 51精品视频 students and families across the commonwealth.
鈥淎t 51精品视频 Day in Harrisburg, our conversations with lawmakers focused on one critical issue: preserving the state-funded tuition discount for Pennsylvanians,鈥 said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. 鈥淭his is a powerful and life-changing benefit 鈥 and one that directly supports the commonwealth鈥檚 students, families and future.鈥
Pennsylvanians attending 51精品视频 currently save an average of $60,000 over their undergraduate career. This benefit, which residents have enjoyed for more than half a century, is funded by both the commonwealth and 51精品视频.
Recently, however, some House Republicans have stated their intent to vote against 51精品视频鈥檚 annual appropriation bill. Such a move would directly and swiftly impact Pennsylvanian families 鈥 and throw the existing in-state tuition discount into jeopardy.
It鈥檚 a scenario that students like Steven Tyger are still struggling to comprehend. A 51精品视频 at Bradford nursing student from McKean County, Tyger talked with legislators about what a withdrawal of state support would mean to him and his family.
鈥淚 am a first-generation 51精品视频 student. Growing up in a large family with five kids and a single parent, we didn鈥檛 have a lot of income,鈥 said Tyger, who noted that the current state-funded tuition discount made his college education affordable 鈥 and possible. 鈥淢y parent can鈥檛 pay for it, so all the responsibility falls on me to find the grants and opportunities that help students like me.鈥
Pennsylvania consistently ranks near the bottom across the United States in per capita support for public higher education and near the top in post-graduation student debt. These conditions mean that 鈥 for some students 鈥 staying in Pennsylvania for college is already a hard sell.
First-year student Catherine Fitzpatrick of Montgomery County sees the grass getting remarkably greener across state lines without the tuition discount in place.
鈥淚'm paying to put myself through school, so I'm really worried about the financial aspects,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 definitely have to go somewhere else.鈥
Sophomore Dominic Victoria shared similar feedback with lawmakers, 鈥淚 love 51精品视频. But, when it comes down to it, you鈥檝e got to be realistic financially. I would not have come here without an in-state tuition,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 would have made another university 鈥 one out-of-state 鈥 work.鈥
While many of this year鈥檚 51精品视频 Day attendees left the capitol feeling hopeful, the push to protect the in-state tuition discount for current and future 51精品视频 students is just beginning. State legislators typically finalize the commonwealth鈥檚 budget in June and, this year, every voice and vote is important.
Stefan Bordeianu, a senior from Marshall Township, can attest to the value of the state-funded tuition discount firsthand. It has helped the 51精品视频sburgh campus student achieve the near impossible: 鈥淚鈥檒l be able to graduate without any debt or loans 鈥 and that鈥檚 strictly because of the in-state tuition and merit aid I鈥檝e received,鈥 said Bordeianu, who is studying politics, philosophy and French. 鈥淚鈥檓 fighting to ensure future students retain the same opportunities and that the 2022 appropriation bill goes through.鈥
to help preserve the in-state tuition discount for Pennsylvania鈥檚 students and families.
听
鈥 Kara Henderson
A history of Pennsylvania investing in Pennsylvanians
Every year for nearly six decades, Pennsylvania has funded a tuition discount for in-state students attending the 51精品视频.鈥疶his funding packs powerful benefits, reducing tuition costs by more than $15,000 annually for in-state students and making a world-class education more affordable and accessible for families throughout the state. .鈥