As springtime approaches, Archie Williams students are patiently awaiting their college admission decisions. While acceptance rates for college are declining, costs are only increasing, creating a serious roadblock for high school students. In some cases, students interested in attending college end up not pursuing post-high school education due to the rising price.

From 1980 to 2020 the cost of college increased by 169%. While there are many reasons for this increase of college cost, the main driving factors are decreased state-funding, administrative expenses, and expanding services for students. The rising financial burden has made education increasingly inaccessible, as data from The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators suggests that low-income students cannot afford 95 percent of colleges. This data also indicates that while scholarships and student loans take some of the burden off middle class and low-income families, it does not always give them sufficient support to embark on a college education.

Archie Williams college and career specialist Lisa Neumaier actively works to help students apply for scholarships and financial aid. During her 14 years at Archie Williams, most students she speaks with consider the cost of college as a key factor for where they apply. Despite the price of college tuition, Neumaier encourages students to stick with the application process and seek out the financial aid they require. Neumaier recognizes that not all families can simply write a check and pay for college, so she works to supply families with resources and opportunities that make applying for college less stressful.

“If a student is really discouraged about the price of college, I would suggest that the best way to deal with that is to reach out for scholarship opportunities. I also make sure that they apply for financial aid to our federal government,” Neumaier said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed an eight percent reduction to state university funding as a part of the state’s 2025-26 budget, despite the fact that in the past he vowed to protect public universities from budget cuts. Newsom was motivated by California’s budget deficit of around 45 billion dollars, to balance this deficit he wants to reduce funding to state programs including the University of California (UC) system and the California State University (CSU) system. While a budget cut like this is unlikely to change the quality of education, it may require public colleges in California to increase tuition and costs of attendance.

Neumaier worries that if these budget cuts go into effect, financial aid available for students may decrease. While the changes may not be drastic, she questions what long-term effects the budget cuts could have. She knows from experience that California does not always give low-income or middle class students enough money to afford college, and with less financial aid available, fewer of these students will be able to attend California public colleges.

“If there’s budget cuts, that means they’re not able to offer as much financial aid. In my 14 years [of college advising experience], California didn’t have a lot of their own institutional money to give, so the main way that our students are able to afford our California public four-year institutions is if their families can come up with that money per year,” Neumaier said.

Tuition stability plans that lock in the tuition rate after a student’s freshman year of college are fairly common among institutions of higher education, including the UC system, but while tuition stays at the same rate for students throughout their four years of college, college prices still increase each year. CSU schools are also planning to increase their tuition every year by six percent until 2027.

Carol Williams, a past Archie Williams’ parent, founded Trailblaze College Consulting two years ago and was previously a member of the New York University and Stanford college admissions teams. She is a community resource for students, helping students on their college admissions journeys. From her experience, Williams believes that budget cuts in general tend to affect financial aid and scholarships. 

“The information that I came across is saying that the proposed budget cuts are likely to significantly reduce financial aid availability. The California State higher education system is funded in part by money provided by the State of California. If the money is reduced, there is less available for each school to run its programs on. Chances are, the school would need to cut some of the scholarship and financial aid funding available,” Williams said.

Williams knows that there are several factors that students consider when applying for college. In the end, a student will apply to the place that best matches their needs. Williams helps students find colleges that fit their needs and interests. A crucial part of what Carol helps students with is figuring out which colleges can support them financially.

“Part of how I help students with financial aid is by meeting with the family early in the process to discuss what they are able to afford. To receive financial aid from a college, a student submits the FAFSA and/or the SSR. When we build a student’s college list, we take into consideration both the cost of attending and the financial aid available through that college or university,” Williams said.

Archie Williams senior Owen Shinnick has already needed to rule out certain colleges due to the cost. He has ruled out all private colleges, only applying to public ones that he knows his family can afford.

“At first, when I started doing college applications, I kind of had an unrealistic view of how colleges really operated and worked. I had an initial list built for colleges that I was thinking of applying to,…[but] after reviewing and doing a lot of research, cost has really helped me whittle down to more realistic options. But it has definitely put a limit on the schools,” Owen said.

With the rising cost of college, more and more families need to rely on financial aid from the federal and state governments, as well as grants, scholarships, and loans, to afford a college education. Williams believes that budget cuts to public education adds uncertainty surrounding the future of financial aid and tuition prices, and with less financial aid, not as many students will be able to afford the increasing costs of college. In terms of resources available at Archie Williams, students interested in receiving financial aid should schedule an appointment with Neumaier to start the process.