Today, students in Virginia are paying more for their in-state tuition fees than ever before. Recent years have shown a dramatic increase in the cost of going to school at state-funded universities, making it increasingly less affordable for students in Virginia to attend college. The recent recognition of this issue has revealed a myriad of other complications, many of them with much more profound implications. However, of all the problems involved with the rise of in-state tuition, one ranks above all the others: a disturbing truth which many people simply refuse to acknowledge. The educational system is not supplying parents and students with the knowledge and resources they need to prepare for the financial burden of college, making the transition from high school to a university nothing short of a fiscal nightmare.

Once considered the saving grace for a cash-strapped college applicant, in-state tuition is becoming progressively more expensive. Due to an increasingly more diverse and expensive budget, state funding towards public universities has steadily declined, requiring the schools to charge the students more for their education. Under the state-devised formula, the university should cover about 67% of the costs, while students should pay only the remaining 33%. Today, however, the average student has to cover about 53% of the tuition cost. That is 20% more than they’re supposed to pay, and if current trends continue, that number is only going to go up. In the last year alone, the average student’s tuition cost has increased by 5.2%

The sharp rise in tuition costs has also exacerbated another issue we face: a serious lack of proactive college savings. As students are preparing for college, many of them are beginning to realize that they have not effectively prepared themselves for the financial costs of higher education. Oakton High School counselor, Gloria Harris, theorizes that the reason a rise in in-state tuition has had such hard-hitting effects is that families are already unprepared for university costs, and the rising prices only serve to magnify their neglect.

To many this situation would seem imminent, almost inescapable, but there is a solution – a simple one. It only requires that families begin to take a more realistic and proactive approach with their college savings. There is a multitude of programs offered for families to start saving for college as early as a child’s infant years. If savings programs alone aren’t enough, Virginia also has a fantastic community college program which allows students to get university-eligible credits at a tremendously lower cost. Oakton students have an opportunity like this right in their backyard – the often-overlooked NOVA community college. Unfortunately, most students are under the belief that they’re too “good” to go to community college, completely overlooking its many benefits. Harris believes this is also a main cause in families’ struggles to afford a higher education. “It is good to have a dream,” she claims, “but students need to balance those dreams with reality.”