Shepard Hall is one of the five original buildings on campus. Student's attend City College because of it's history and affordability. Photo by Timothy Liu.
Students at the City College of New York take out fewer student loans than the average college student nationwide. Only 11% of all CCNY undergraduates use student loans to pay off their tuition, according to CollegeFactual. This is far lower than the national undergraduate rate of 55% reported by Forbes in a 2023 survey about student debt.
In interviews and through a small survey City College students explained how they manage college finances to avoid ending up in debt.
Most students at CCNY, a commuter school, have the advantage of living at home. All the students interviewed live at home to save money. Daevon Walker, a CCNY sophomore, said, “I live close here. It’s easier to come here than outside the city or upstate.”
The savings from the ability to live at home and not pay rent are significant. It shaves off an average of $860 per month from the cost of attending a four-year college as a national norm. Since one semester is about four months long, this means CCNY students save approximately $3,420 per semester compared to students who must pay for their own housing.
Walker was one of four students who said they live at home to save money. Ryan Zhao, a sophomore, explained that he chose City College and CUNY instead of going away to school for a simple reason. “It was more affordable,” he said.
Financial aid also plays a big role in helping CCNY students get through college. “Yeah. My family doesn’t make a lot of money, my whole cost of tuition is paid by financial aid,” Walker said.
CCNY students like Walker, whose families cannot afford to pay for college, get financial aid through federal Pell Grants, which don’t have to be paid back. They also have the advantage of the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). It gives students up to $5,665 if they live in New York and intend to get a job in New York after college. It is also a grant that doesn’t have to be paid back.
But some students can’t avoid debt. Sophomore Abe Lincoln said that he doesn’t qualify for financial aid and must borrow $7,000 annually to pay for his tuition.
Other CCNY students work part-time or take summer jobs while they attend school. Christian Hudson tries not to work during the school year. “I plan to alleviate my cost of tuition by working over the summer,” he said.
Living at home and Pell Grants enable CCNY students to achieve what they want in life for less money than many other schools. But even student loans that must be repaid and working jobs to cover tuition costs allow more students to obtain knowledge that they could not have obtained otherwise.
Walker spoke for most CCNY students when he said his goal here is “to get a career and more knowledge on other subjects.”
Series: Community
