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Special Reports - College

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008

Worth Every Penny

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A college education is expensive. Nobody knows that more than the students who foot the bill. Through their eyes, The Bee will look at how they contend with the expenses in a series of stories over the next few months.

Median household income in the Central Valley: $51,000.

Cost of one year in college: Anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000.

For many families, the equation doesn't add up.

Sticker shock doesn't zap just people looking for new cars or homes. Experts agree a college degree is the most significant investment people can make.

Adults with a bachelor's degree earned an average of $51,554 in 2004, while those with a high school diploma averaged $28,645, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But many valley families think the cost is beyond their means.

Enter the financial aid market -- help from the federal and state governments, colleges that waive fees, hundreds of community groups and businesses offering scholarships, and public and private loan companies.

Most college students don't end up paying the sticker price. More than half receive some form of financial aid, according to the Census Bureau.

Take Brenda Ramirez, a sophomore at the University of California at Merced who gets no financial help from her parents. She works two jobs and receives various forms of financial aid.

"Don't let your financial situation make you think you can't go to school," she advises. "Although college is expensive, people are out there giving out money for people willing to go to school."

Though not every high school graduate needs to go to college, the rate of those who do locally lags far behind the state.

Several area organizations have launched efforts aimed at increasing the number of valley residents going to college.

Fewer than 15 percent of 25- to 64-year-olds in the area have a bachelor's degree or higher, half the state average, according to the Campaign for College Opportunity.

Improving these numbers will require making sure people know about local community colleges and universities, are qualified for college-level work, and can afford it.

Starting today and over the next several months, The Bee will follow Ramirez and four other students to show how they pay for college, whether it's searching for scholarships, competing for grants, working at on-campus or off-campus jobs, relying on help from their families, or taking out loans. They'll open their books so we can see how they manage the costs.

Regardless of how much tuition and fees are increasing, there are ways to finance the college dream, and these students have found them.

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.

NAOMI ADAMS

• AGE: 19

• FAMILY: From Stockton, oldest of three, lives in Turlock

• HOBBIES: Avid volleyball player, rides horses, attends church

• MAJOR: California State University, Stanislaus, sophomore studying communications with an emphasis in speech pathology

• WHY COLLEGE? "I knew that going to college would help me out in the future, help me get a better job, go where I wanted to go in life, do the things that I wanted to do. Also, I saw how college helped my parents in life."

• CAREER GOALS: Wants to open own practice in speech pathology

• SHOW ME THE MONEY: Works part time on campus in enrollment services office under the federal work-study program; receives Cal Grant; parents are able to help with some of Adams' expenses; saves money from summer jobs to tide her over throughout school year. "It's really important for me to have the financial aid I do have. Tuition's not so bad, but people forget about rent, books, food."