CEDAR CITY, Utah — A walk around the Utah Tech University campus on Monday drew a variety of responses when students were asked about tuition increases across the state.
For some students, tuition fee hikes are easy.
"To be honest, I don't check it a whole lot. I’m on academic scholarship and get subsidized by the government," admitted Utah Tech senior Mason Fairbanks.
For others, not so much.
"I feel like it's hard," shared freshman Maggie Ware. "It's already so much already, so going up is still like, it'll affect me, but I think it is what it is."
Ware came to Utah Tech from northern Utah and is studying radiology while paying for school herself.
"It's going to be a field that, I guess, we could make a big buck someday," she said. "I would guess."
How much will Utah college students' costs go up next year?
But Ware is not making the big bucks yet. She says even though a $175 increase was less than expected and the same as it was a year ago, she'll still have to change things around to make things work.
"I just might have to get a better job and work more and more," Ware explained. "Because next year I'll probably just do work one day and then go to school one day throughout the whole entire week."
Utah Tech sophomore Neva Boyle believes college is too expensive and that education should cost less. Even so, the dental hygiene student says fee hikes haven’t been the talk of her classmates.
"Not really ... I mean, this is the first I'm hearing about it," Boyle said.
It could be that even with the fee increases, Utah Tech has the lowest tuition cost among the six state-run universities.
"I mean ... I get the same Learning advantages as everybody else," said Ware. "Nothing's different, and it's cheaper here. I feel like everywhere's teaching the same thing."
