The cost of college in the United States has risen at an alarming rate. More Americans today have more student debt than ever before. In order to combat this rising issue many students have started shifting their attention towards public colleges such as the City University of New York (CUNY). However, the cost of tuition at CUNYs is also much more than some can afford.

In recent years, CUNY and students are at a tug of war to determine the cost of tuition and whether or not it should rise. At the end of the day, the people being most impacted by an increase in the cost of tuition do not get a voice. The CUNY Board of Trustees are in charge of determining the cost of public college in New York City. The vast majority of the board is appointed by the Governor and the Mayor. However, there is no requirement that the board members must be graduates of CUNYs. At the end of the day, there is no way of confirming if these board members have the best interest in CUNY on their minds.

Beyond that, the State of New York offers a grant to help pay for college known as the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (NYS TAP). The TAP grant helps cover the cost of college by subsidizing tuition for students in addition to FAFSA. However, students can only apply TAP to courses that are related to their major. This makes it difficult for college students to determine if they want to switch their major because they can not attempt different college courses.

Additionally, some students may not be aware that TAP only covers major related courses and end up taking a course that they will have to pay for. This puts the college student in a position where they must pay for the course or withdraw, which can hurt their GPA and FAFSA eligibility. That could also make them more reliant on a scholarship in order to afford college, which undermines the entire purpose of having TAP in the first place.

There are also flaws to the FAFSA and TAP system as well, such as when they are available. Some students may want to graduate early but are unable to do so because financial aid is only available during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters but not during the Winter semester. Most college students are doing internships or working during the Summer, which means they can only take additional credits during the Winter semester. However, due to the cost of education even at a CUNY that makes it impossible to do.

Abhinandan Gaba is a member of Young Invincibles-New York’s 2022 Spring Young Advocates Program.