Rising tuition costs at public universities across the state are causing some high school seniors to rethink their college plans.

For students in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Carroll ISD, these rising costs are making an impact on how students are planning to attain a higher education, according to district officials.

“There has not been a single conversation that I have had with students about college where money is not brought up,” said Erin Booher, a Colleyville Heritage High School counselor. “I think all students, whether they are in the top 10 percent of their class or at the bottom, are worried about paying for college.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board estimates the average cost of tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate student is $28,639 per year.

The impacts of these rising costs are reaching state lawmakers. Prioritized by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Senate Bills 18 and 19 going through the Texas Legislature aim to decrease tuition costs at public universities, which are rising an average of 6 percent per year, according to the THECB.

The effectiveness of such bills is up for debate even if passed, according to higher education officials, and paying for college is still a primary concern for graduating high school seniors and those already enrolled in college.

Anticipating debt

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, in 2015 the average student loan debt at graduation in Texas was $27,324 for public
universities.

Raymund Paredes, higher education commissioner for the THECB, said one of the greatest challenges for colleges and families is finding enough funding to cover all students in need of tuition relief. He said as grant money at the state and federal levels falls short, higher education officials will have to find solutions.

“We recognize that the current model of relying on either federal grant aid or state grant aid, primarily through the Texas grant program, will be very difficult to sustain in the future,” he said.

Candace McGowan, GCISD coordinator of Career and Technical Education, said students are looking to defer costs with scholarships.

“A lot of our students apply for scholarships throughout the year,” she said. “Our students apply for and receive millions of dollars in scholarships a year locally, nationally and from the schools they are attending.”

Finding cost-saving options

As costs continue to rise, counselors and other college advisers are encouraging students to look at ways to save money on tuition.

Adam Goodwin, dual-credit coordinator for Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus, said some students in GCISD and CISD have opted to take dual-credit classes, which is saving them hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on where they are going to college. Dual-credit courses allow students to get both high school and college credit for a course.

“For students who are going to transfer to a senior institution or go there straight out of high school, they are potentially saving thousands of dollars if they have taken a year’s worth or a solid three or four courses,” he said.

Becci Rollins, coordinator of counseling at Carroll Senior High School, said most of the district’s seniors graduate with two to three semesters’ worth of college credit.

“We have the largest dual-credit enrollment for high school in Northeast Tarrant County [at TCC] because we promote it,” Rollins said. “Our students love it.”

CSHS had 301 students enrolled in dual-credit this year compared to CHHS’s 103 and Grapevine High School’s 188.

Booher said students are also taking Advanced Placement courses in order to earn college credit.

“Here at Colleyville Heritage we have a very strong AP program, so a lot of the kids are very interested in taking the AP classes,” she said. “I think the AP program is so strong here we tend to have students opt more for that option than for the dual-credit. I know at Grapevine High School the dual program is stronger than the AP program. I think as a district we offer good options for our kids to explore both of those options.”

In early May, Rollins said more than 2,800 AP tests were administered to Carroll students.

Besides AP courses and the dual-credit program, GCISD also has a Collegiate Academy, which allows students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree from TCC.

“The academy is its own independent school in the district and unlike a traditional high school,” Booher said.

The district also provides a Go Center at each of the  high  schools, which allows students—free of charge—to get help with filling out financial aid forms and
scholarships.