Returning Quinnipiac students and incoming freshmen will have to reach a little deeper into their pockets next fall if they intend to pay for their education.

[media-credit name=”Design by Sam Epstein ” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Quinnipiac’s Board of Trustees decided to raise tuition by $1,330 for the upcoming academic year. The hike brings tuition, which was $38,000 this year, to $39,330. Factoring the cost of room and board, students can expect to pay at least $53,380 to attend Quinnipiac, according to the university’s website.

The new, higher prices have some students scrambling to pay the bills.

“I pay for my own schooling for the most part. My parents helped me the first year or so and after that I was on my own,” junior Teresa Santos said. “I rely on loans to stay here. This just means that I will be paying off my loans for longer than I planned.”

Despite the increased tuition prices, Quinnipiac still ranks behind Connecticut College, Trinity College, Wesleyan University and Yale University in total cost per year of undergraduate study in the state.

“The process of setting tuition, room and board for the next fiscal year begins in the fall when the Cabinet officers and deans submit anticipated budgetary needs that are consistent with anticipated enrollment and necessary to meet their institutional goals,” Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell said in a statement. “Every effort is made to keep our increases to a minimum.”

Junior Jake Campbell understands the rationale behind the tuition pricing, but hopes that he can see more tangible evidence of his investment.

“A tuition hike is something that is inevitable at a school like ours and that’s a shame,” Campbell, who pays for his own schooling, said. “It means that students are going to have to find a way to come up with [more money] out of their own pocket. And for what? I probably won’t even see where my money is going.”

Both Campbell and Santos recognize their education is an investment that does not have a dollar value. However, Santos feels Quinnipiac’s tuition prices are a bit steep.

“To me you can’t put a value on education, but once I realized that Quinnipiac raises the tuition every year I was ready to transfer because it’s so expensive,” Santos said. “Quinnipiac is a great school and the education is wonderful, but at the end of the day we are just paying for the name.”

Students who pay their way or rely on loans do not need to immediately panic, as the university says it does not raise tuition without also offering more financial aid.

“The senior vice president for finance and the vice president for admissions and financial aid develop a recommendation for tuition, room and board,” Bushnell said. “The recommended rates, along with an appropriate level of financial aid, are then discussed at several cabinet meetings.”

While more financial aid is given to compensate for increases in tuition, some students are looking for an end to tuition hikes.

Campbell believes that the school does not need to raise tuition each academic year because there are other expenditures that can be cut from the university’s budget.

“I think the university could afford to lower tuition considerably,” Campbell said. “If Tom Brady can take a pay cut, why can’t President Lahey?”