Is college for everyone? This is a pretty ironic question to ask in a college newspaper. As ironic as this is, many high school students debate whether or not they want to pursue higher education once they graduate. There are many factors that come into play when deciding whether it is the right decision but one of the biggest is if they can even afford to go to a four-year institution without drowning in debt. 

College can be very expensive especially when you consider the price of  tuition, board and meal plans. A more affordable option for high schoolers looking to further their education is to first attend a local junior college and then eventually transfer to a four-year institution. Transferring from a junior college is the only option for millions of students in the country. 

This reality can be seen right here on our own campus. An influx of transfer students over the pandemic has contributed significantly to Sonoma State’s student body as enrollment numbers are down nationwide. This has all come down to not being able to afford to live on campus as a first-time student. According to the school’s website, the cheapest dorm that Sonoma State has to offer is a triple suite for $11,938 a year. If you break this down to monthly payments it is almost $1,500 to share a room with two other students. One of the reasons why this number is so high is that first-year students that live on campus are required to get the all-access meal plan that allows them to eat at The Kitchens as many times as they want, as long as it is open. The all-excess meal plan is $3,033 a year and that is automatically added to all first-year students’ tuition that live on campus.

Third-year transfer student, Alexis Madrigal said this regarding why he didn’t come to Sonoma State straight out of high school, “The reason why I went to the Santa Rosa JC instead of Sonoma is because of the price, even though I had FAFSA, that still wasn’t enough to cover my board and tuition. I didn’t really understand why I was forced to get the most expensive meal plan, as that added another $3,000 to my fees. If I had the option to pick a different meal plan I would have definitely leaned more towards coming to Sonoma State than the JC”. 

Sonoma State, along with thousands of other universities nationwide are suffering from low student enrollment. This is a huge problem and whether it’s from similar reasons mentioned above or because of pandemic related reasons it is a problem that they hope can be solved very soon or the future of many schools may be murky.