When looking back at applying to college, many people say it can be “extremely overwhelming”

due to all of the different applications and forms that were needed to be filled out.

“I spent over 40 hours through junior and senior year looking at and applying to colleges,” said UMass Lowell Freshman Madison Butler.

When looking at colleges most students have to look at the cost so they know if the financially can afford that specific school. 

College payments have been increasing drastically over the years. The cost of college has increased by a whopping 213 percent since 1987. The price of non-profit institutions have also increased 129 percent since 1988, according to an article on CNBC by Emmie Martin on college costs. Students must pay to apply to schools, let alone get in, and some applications cost as much as $50.

 “ I strongly feel that applying to college should be free because of how much going to the school cost by itself,” said Umass Lowell Freshman Andrew Nguyen.

Students are also given a chance to earn scholarships to help pay for the expenses of college. Michael Correnle, a sophomore, also at UMass Lowell said, “There were a decent amount of scholarships that I could apply too, but some of them were not worth the time and stress due to the small amount of money given.”  

Approximately two thirds of students able to pay for college are awarded with scholarships and grants, but only about one half of students that would need some form of financial aid are awarded, according to an article on CNBC by Jessica Dickler called “7 of the best college scholarships.”

“College is a fun time to live away from home and try new things, meet new people and explore the world. College is a new, stressful yet amazing adventure,” said Butler.

The cost of college has increased over the years and is expected to increase going forward. When the Triton Voice interviewed these three UMass Lowell Students all three of them said “college is overpriced” yet all three said it is worth the money.