College's costly reality

Tulane University in New Orleans offered Shelby Samples the biggest scholarship it gives -- $24,000 a year -- but it wasn't enough.

The Rancho Cotate senior and her family had to make the hard decision that the highly regarded private university was just too expensive -- with annual costs estimated at $47,000.

"It's a hard conversation," said Shelby's mom, Vickie Beard. "We are kind of working class and there isn't a lot of extra money to put into a (college) account and a lot of our money goes to living expenses. She understands that. She is a good kid that way."

These days, it takes a life-altering commitment to financing, saving and borrowing to afford a college education. Costs have risen far more rapidly than inflation over the past two decades, and the next few weeks are a critical time for seeking financial aid.

Parents and students already anxious about money are likely to bear an ever-greater burden as state budget woes push fees higher for California's public universities, considered the best bargain available.

The bills can be staggering.

The average cost is $17,800 this year to attend a California State University and live off campus -- including tuition, fees, housing, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses.

It's $22,000 a year for a University of California campus, according to the California Student Aid Commission.

Thinking of a private campus? Think about $36,500 annually, to as much as $50,000 for Stanford or USC.

Making matters worse, students are often forced by higher costs to take out big loans, get jobs and pull back on course loads, meaning it takes them longer to attain their degrees.

Students take an average of 6.2 years to earn a bachelor's degree in public colleges and 5.3 years on private campuses, according to the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges.

Nearly half of those who graduated from four-year colleges in 2006 did so with debt -- an average of more than $17,000 owed on college loans, according to the Project on Student Debt.

Fast-rising tuition

Over the past decade, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities have risen at an average rate of 7 percent a year -- more than 4 percent greater than inflation. On private campuses, the increase has been 5.5 percent.

For example, tuition at Sonoma State University increased 10 percent last fall. Tuition and fees are now $3,900 a year.

Even at Santa Rosa Junior College, long considered the best higher education bargain around, students can expect total expenses to reach $9,300 a year if they live at home and $15,300 if they live on their own, according to Margaret Mann, coordinator of financial aid and outreach at the JC.

The tuition is still much lower than at a state university at $20 per credit. A full-time student can expect to pay $600 a year.

"You see more and more middle-class families having anxiety about having to pay for college," she said.

The money factor

For Samples -- who in four years at Rancho Cotate High School, earned a GPA that topped 4.0, was a member of the varsity swim team and myriad clubs -- picking schools, or at least eliminating them, based on price is just practical.

But that is not to say it doesn't sting.

"Money definitely plays into it," she said. "It would be really great to go somewhere really elite, but just the title of the school doesn't make it the best for me, especially if I am not able to afford it."

Right now, she's waiting to hear if she was admitted to her favorite California campuses, including UC San Diego and Berkeley.

In more ways than one, many families say the sacrifice is worth it.

The median income earned by the holder of a bachelor's degree was $43,100, while a high school graduate earned $26,500 in 2005, according to U.S. Census data.

Financial aid formulas are used by universities and the federal government's loan programs to determine a family's expected contribution. The numbers can be shocking, said Frank Tansey, an independent college counselor in Santa Rosa.

"I'm expected to pay this much money? Really? I don't see that in my paycheck," he said of the typical parental reaction to college sticker shock.

"It's difficult, but it's not to say it's impossible," he said. "When you look at it, it does take focus and dedication: 'We make this much . . . what is worth doing?' "

Understanding the game

A key to easing panic -- especially when the economy is sputtering -- is knowing when you will need your money, said financial planner Lillian Meyers, owner of Meyers Financial in Sonoma.

"There should be some portfolio adjustment to create the cash needed," she said. "If you were positioned properly, there were dividends and capital gains that were paid out and you created your own cash."

While potential fee hikes continue to generate headlines as lawmakers grapple with California's projected $14.5 billion budget deficit, they are not always the biggest burden.

Tuition and fees constitute 67 percent of a student's total budget at private colleges, but only 36 percent of the budget for in-state residential students at four-year colleges, according to the College Board.

Parents who remember California's 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education recall the promise of a higher education system that would be accessible to all qualified students, no matter their income.

But shifting state priorities and years of budget shortfalls have combined to change the landscape for many families.

"It's completely different now," said Montgomery High School counselor Sophear Hang. "It costs so much. Before, you could get away with going to a CSU for $10,000 or $12,000. Now it's $17,000."

Those numbers call for diplomatic family conversations, Hang said.

"It affects some students drastically. That is why they opt to go to the JC when they would have been successful at UC or CSU or private school," she said. "What we are trying to do here is be honest, be realistic."

Being open about finances can be difficult for parents, said Tansey, who spent two decades as associate vice president of enrollment services at SSU before becoming an independent college counselor in Santa Rosa.

"Finances are part of a family discussion. This is going to be a team effort," he said.

A dream deferred

For Analy's Jake Williams, acceptance at the University of Oregon was a dream come true.

But reality has been harsh. Out-of-state students can expect to pay about $30,600 a year to attend the campus in Eugene.

That's likely too much for Williams and his parents, who have the college aspiration of Jake's three younger brothers to consider.

"Oregon is my top choice," Williams said. "Coming from my family, we are not poor, but we are not well off. It's kind of a downer."

It's difficult to watch her son work hard to reach a goal, only to be put off by the sheer expense of college, said Jake's mom, Kim.

But going to the junior college for two years before transferring to Oregon, or choosing an in-state school, is a realistic choice -- and something that her son could benefit from in the long run, Kim Williams believes.

"We are a big family with not a big income," she said. "We want him to take advantage of the JC here. We want him to do his two years here and then move on to the college of his dreams."

In the end, Kim Williams said she trusts Jake's judgment. If he decides to head straight to Oregon, the family of six will do what it can to help, she said.

"I'm trying to focus on the realistic," she said. "It doesn't get emotional with Jake. He's very level headed, he's very mature."

The hard choices

Montgomery High School senior Elba Mendoza said her family's finances, as well as her career choice, are turning her toward spending a year or two at the JC before heading to a film program in southern California.

Mendoza, who dreams of being a cinematographer, has not heard back from the three campuses she applied to: Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, the Los Angeles Film School and California State University at Long Beach.

She's applying for Santa Rosa Junior College's Doyle Scholarship in case she decides to tackle her general education requirements at the relatively low-cost JC before heading south to learn specialized skills and make industry contacts.

"I actually don't mind," she said of attending the JC. "It is the same education I will be getting in the other schools in the first two years, so I don't see a problem with that."

Doyle Scholarships between $1,000 and $1,600, depending on GPA, are awarded to thousands of SRJC students each semester.

For Samples, the hard choices of college financing are in some ways an introduction to the real world -- maybe even more so than college classes themselves.

"It's kind of a stressful thought -- as I'm paying all this money to learn, I'm not making any of it back," she said. "It's going to end up being a lot when I graduate. It will be stressful trying to find the best job where I can pay it back."

But she quickly brightens.

"Right now I'm just going to go with it," she said. "People before me have made it work."

News researcher Teresa Meikle contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.