CENTRAL FLORIDA,None — Parents who want to buy into the state's prepaid college tuition program will have to dig a little deeper.
The plans, which go on sale Monday, have gone up by as much as $4,000.
The cost of the program has more than tripled in the past five years.
Historically, Florida has had some of the lowest tuition prices in the country. Tuition has been rising to allow state universities like the University of Central Florida to catch up.
The price of the four-year university plan is now more than $49,000, up $4,000 from where it was one year ago.
Florida universities are raising college tuition 15 percent per year, and it’s hitting students as well as families planning for college.
Matty Budesa is from Brevard County and is a junior at Florida State University.
“I don't have that much money to pay for it on my own, so more than likely that will add to my loan debt,” she said.
More students may find themselves in loan debt with state reductions to the Bright Futures program. It awards merit-based scholarships.
“I start to wonder if it’s going to be worth spending all this money to go to school,” said Lake County resident Lale Brown.
For families it is pay now or pay later, because those 15 percent tuition hikes each year are expected to continue over the next 10 years.
WFTV
