Rising school costs and high inflation could send graduates elsewhere, some students say.
Memorial University students in St. John’s say they are already facing higher tuition fees-and with rising overall living costs, it’s unclear if they can handle it financially.
Danielle O’Neill, a first-year in social work at Memorial College in St. John’s, said she felt too tied to Newfoundland to uproot herself and leave with her husband and four young children in search of better job opportunities and a lower cost of living elsewhere. But she believes that the state’s financial instability leaves her children and many others of her generation.
“I really haven’t seen them stay here. If they graduate from high school, I don’t expect them to stay. I think they’re their adult life, I especially hope to get off to a good financial start. ”
O’Neill says she was happy that her tuition increased by only 4 percent a year because she was enrolled before the hike was announced. Prior to the price increase announced in July, full-time tuition for Newfoundland and Labrador students was fixed at $ 2,550 per year, while Canadian students outside the state paid $ 3,330. Lessons for Everyone N.L. and other Canadian students are currently $ 6,000 a year. International students will see tuition fees rise from $ 11,000 to $ 20,000 per year.
Still, O’Neill says she’s considering getting a degree online because the low tuition fees were a major factor in her admission decision, and higher costs mean a tougher household budget.
The family is now carefully planning their weekly meals, eating out less often, and after spending 15 years in two cars, chooses to become a one-car household to save money. She said.
“The price of gasoline has blown my budget,” she said.
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