Graphic by Grant Beebe I The Daily Mississippian
A recent AP story indicates the price of tuition at many Mississippi public universities, including The University of Mississippi, could possibly rise in the very near future. According to the AP, “Mississippi’s two largest universities (Ole Miss and MSU), could increase tuition by 5 percent a year over the next two years.”
Ole Miss junior Ashton Boone questions why the state doesn’t attempt to bring in money from other places.
“I don’t understand why they are placing the burden on those trying to get an education,” Boone said. “Do we really need this increase when we have so many other resources?”
Boone is one of many juniors who may have to graduate a year later than anticipated, which makes her concerned about how to pay for the extra semesters.
Junior Savannah Riegler said this only makes things more difficult for those students having to pay for their own college education.
“For those of us who pay tuition out of our own pockets, this is perpetuating the already important student debt crisis,” Riegler said. “I work hard all year to pay my college tuition and fees, and this does not make things easier.”
The rise of tuition is a big concern for out-of-state freshmen and sophomores who are concerned about how much it will cost them to attend Ole Miss during their junior and senior years.
Freshman English major Krysta Ortiz, an out-of-state resident, said this is causing problems for her and others coming to Ole Miss from outside of Mississippi.
“Being an out-of-state student, I think a rise in tuition is very inconvenient,” Ortiz said.
Ole Miss has some of the more affordable rates for an out-of-state school in the SEC. However, students wonder how long this will last if tuition costs keep going up.
Grace Gardner, a sophomore Atlanta native, said her parents would definitely be upset about an increase and suggested Ole Miss think about having a set tuition rate from students’ freshman years.
“The school should implement these set rates so that way we won’t have to pay twice as much our senior year than we did our freshman year,” Gardner said.
