Check My Math

Following the announcement that the regents are once again recommending a 5.5 percent tuition hike, the local media contacted our outgoing president Chynna regarding WCSU’s position on the increase.

I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the complexities of Chynna’s experiences reduced to a narrative of “$22,000 in debt despite working three jobs.”

The same general frame was used in a Daily Cardinal article at the end of last semester. Commenting anonymously, one reader said “the math doesn’t seem right.”

It’s difficult for some students and other members of the university community to imagine what a working class experience is like if they have not lived it. Unfortunately our experiences here are often generalized by our relationship to the financial aid office.

I disagree with the comment about “the math” of a student’s effort to self-finance their education – numbers tell the story quite easily. The financial struggles that working class students face in trying to pay for their education can be illustrated by using Chynna’s situation as a model.

According to information from the Office of Admissions, tuition alone in 2006-2007, Chynna's freshman year, was $3365.12 per semester. Even without accounting for tuition hikes, that number times eight semesters equals $26,920.96. On top of that, students must pay for housing, textbooks, and food.

That doesn't include any extra expenditures, for example, car insurance, gas, football games, spring break or block parties.

According to University Housing, the cost of housing and food is $7400 for the upcoming school year. Lets round low and say that a student attending from 2006-2010 had a cost of $6,900 a year. That's $27,600.

So roughly, tuition + food = $54,520 for four years, meaning Chynna paid $34,520 out of pocket for school costs after the loans. Divided by four years, she paid $8,630 per year with out any help from her parents.

Remember that number does not include items not related to tuition, food or housing.

I don’t know Chynna's hourly wage while she worked. But minimum wage in Wisconsin is currently $7.25 an hour and many student jobs at the UW hover around $9 an hour.

The university recognizes that work interferes with a student’s ability to be successful and there are institutional barriers to a student working more than 20 hours a week at a campus job.

Working 20 hours a week at $9 an hour, a student makes about $180 a week. A student enrolled for two semesters would earn about $5760 at this wage. This leaves $2870 to be earned during the summer months.

Again, these numbers are just to break even for tuition, fees, housing and food. It does not include any other necessities or entertainment.

Hopefully that helps anyone who has trouble with the math.