Downstate tuition

[me2]

I stopped by Downstate Financial Aid office today to check on my loans and was "pleasantly" surprised by the receptionist who informed that the tuition has been increased to a little over $15,000 (which is 2000 more than our original fin aid letters reflect). I know it's not much, but I was kind of shocked that the students were not informed and even their official web-site does not reflect the change. I don't know when they will sent out the actual letters with the changed tuition amount, but just wanted to give a heads up to people who intend to take out loans, because the processing period is about two weeks (from my undergrad experience).
Also, does anyone know how frequent these tuition hikes are?
Thanks

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[rubyness]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by me2:
•I stopped by Downstate Financial Aid office today to check on my loans and was "pleasantly" surprised by the receptionist who informed that the tuition has been increased to a little over $15,000 (which is 2000 more than our original fin aid letters reflect). I know it's not much, but I was kind of shocked that the students were not informed and even their official web-site does not reflect the change. I don't know when they will sent out the actual letters with the changed tuition amount, but just wanted to give a heads up to people who intend to take out loans, because the processing period is about two weeks (from my undergrad experience).
Also, does anyone know how frequent these tuition hikes are?
Thanks•••••There are propopsed $2000 tuition increases for med students for the next three years. The first one was this year, and you're right, they did not go out of their way to notify us in advance.

If it concerns you, you should talk with the AMSA folks at school--they did one letter writing campaign this year already and probably will continue to fight the hikes.

It's important to get involved and try to change things, and not just complain about them.

 

[touchstonemedical]

Actually, the tuition hike was approved starting 2001-2002 year for the next 4 years, $2,000 per year. This means that Downstate tuition would go from under $12,000 to $20,000. The only draw that Downstate has is that it claims to be a bargain. I don't know anyone who would consider this school to be a bargain in a couple of years. The worse part is that, at least from these posts, Downstate administration failed to notify the prospective students about the already approved and acting tuition hike. In a business world this would be criminal. Just think about it, Enron, WorldCom and now Downstate. I think Downstate clearly and maliciously misinformed the incoming students. I guess they were worried that without the claim to be a bargain, the school does not have anything solid to offer to students. Just my opinion.

 

[guardian]

Even though each tuition increase has to be ratified by the state legislature each year it looks like all four installments wont be meeting much resistance.... at least that's my impression. I'm very surprised that prospective students at Downstate weren't notified. What's the point of delaying the news by one year? If they're so worried that they wont attract higher caliber students, why not instead try to lobby for more funds from the state? I know that only 15-20% of the budget at SUNY Upstate comes from the state.

 

[rubyness]

Originally posted by touchstonemedical
The only draw that Downstate has is that it claims to be a bargain. .. I guess they were worried that without the claim to be a bargain, the school does not have anything solid to offer to students. Just my opinion. [/B]

As a student at Downstate I will flat out admit that I am offended by these remarks. Downstate is a medical school that offers a lot of opportunities and challenges to its students. I am pleased with my education, and despite the tuition increases, the school is still a good one and is still cheaper than private schools.

 

[MS05']

It's not just downstate. All of the SUNY med schools will be increasing their tuition 1,000 a semester for the next 4 years. Yes, that's not a type-o, it's 8,000 over 4 years!! It was quite a nice surprise to discover this had been slipped by without informing ANY of the SUNY students. Actually, it passed late (NYS budget) so they didn't add the 1,000 onto our fall of 2001 bills, so come spring semester we found a 2,000 increase for the semester. New York was nice enough to retrospectively charge us because they didn't have time to seeing how the budget passed after the fiscal year!

 

[touchstonemedical]

Originally posted by rubyness


As a student at Downstate I will flat out admit that I am offended by these remarks. Downstate is a medical school that offers a lot of opportunities and challenges to its students. I am pleased with my education, and despite the tuition increases, the school is still a good one and is still cheaper than private schools.

You can admit to anything you want, but what you are spewing is nothing but Downstate propaganda. My point is that if an incoming student has to make a decision as to which school to attend amongst a number of acceptances, the ONLY thing that differentiates Downstate in a POSITIVE was is (or at least was) a much lower tuition. Given the fact that this hypothetical student was misinformed by not knowing that he will be paying close to $20,000 just for tuition alone, in my opinion, Downstate acted unprofessionally and immorally. And this is from the school that recently created a professionalism committee to oversee its students' behavior.