A Look into College and You

Jaiya Lalla

Fort Myers High

Many students in Florida start their last high school years, they begin looking towards colleges that seem to be of interest to them. Many of these students, such as Sky Family Delegate Taylor Morrello, look towards Florida colleges due to the fact that they are able to earn scholarships to these schools during high school and because some colleges look towards residents of the state rather than out-of-state. Sadly, when they go to apply, they find that the application fees amount to be much more than what they expected, even for public colleges. Each application amounts to about $35, and if one is to apply to just 5 schools within in the state, you already have almost $200 to pay. This is absurd considering that you probably want to apply for more than 5 colleges, meaning that your application fees will end up being a lot of money. For families that are unable to pay so many fees, it gives their children a disadvantage of getting the good education that they could be receiving.

This is exactly what Morrello thought of when she was deciding what to write on for her bill. She revealed that “since [she’s] applying to colleges soon, [she] began looking into it [college applications] and discovered just how expensive they are. [She] think[s] it’s ridiculous that you have to spend that much money just to apply.” Through her bill, Morrello is working towards making public school college applications in Florida free. That way, everyone in the state will have an equal chance at an education to pursue their dream careers. This will be extremely beneficial for those coming from households that have low pay because that would be one less thing for them to worry about paying for. College itself is an expensive step in life and without thinking about the burden associated with the applications, families will be able to focus  more on their child’s college payments.