They are taking their case to the Legislature, calling for more financial aid and lower tuition.
The plan is laid out in a new report titled “Meet Us in the Middle: Affordability for the Working Student,” The Seattle Times reported Tuesday.
The report assumes many students will put themselves through college, with little help from their parents. But because the cost of college is so high now, it’s no longer possible for students to pay their own way without large student loans.
“What we feel has been under-recognized is the amount a student directly contributes to their education,” said Michael Kutz, president of student government at UW.
Including living expenses, the cost of a year of school for an in-state student living on the UW-Seattle campus is about $27,000.
Tuition increases have hit low- and middle-income students particularly hard. Low-income students rarely receive enough financial aid to pay all the bills, and middle-income students often just miss the aid cutoff and their parents may not be able to help pay their college bills, students say.
