Metro Halifax caught up with three students who told their stories about how tuition impacts their lives.
Estella Trieu: Mount Saint Vincent University, fourth year, tourism and hospitality
Estella Trieu said she doesn't know how she's going to come up with next semester's tuition.
“I'm working really hard with a part-time job, saving my money and budgets,” she said.
Even though her current debt level is around $30,000, Trieu said she considers herself lucky compared to some students who are getting into the triple digits.
Post secondary education is crucial to getting a good job, Trieu said, and some students can't even afford to take out a loan let alone afford going to school.
“Being denied education is such a sad reality that so many people face,” she said. “If you're one of those lucky people who make it past that initial threshold and get to school, you're struggling.”
Trieu said she wants the government to acknowledge the hardships students face and not just “put a Band-Aid on it.”
“A viable and real solution is to make education free for everybody,” she said. “You see it in so many different countries and it works for them, so why can't we make it work for us?”
Cristi Gilbert: Saint Mary's University, third year, political science
Gilbert was in class Wednesday when her professor asked the students if they wanted to attend the rally.
She said she was glad they did because there was no promotion of the rally on campus and she wanted to make sure Saint Mary's was represented.
“Tuition is going up and it's higher than inflation rates and that's the point where we need to say something,” she said. “The last few rallies didn't really do anything and (tuition fees) keep on going up.”
With another year of school to go, Gilbert said her debt level now is $20,000 to $30,000.
Tuition hurts but so does the price of textbooks which keeps increasing. She said the average cost is $150.
“So the government is giving you this much money, slice that in half immediately for tuition, another grand is going to textbooks and you have another couple grand and that's going to rent,” she said.
“As a full-time student, how do I work in working with getting all my assignments in and doing well? Then that compromises my future.”
Kadence Ellis: Nova Scotia Community College, second year radio, television broadcast journalism
Financial life as a student for the past two years has been tough for Ellis.
“I have a student loan so that's been of assistance but I come from a low-income family so my whole life has been low income,” he said.
Trying to find enough money for everything is difficult and Ellis said his mental health has suffered the most.
“It affects your well-being because you don't have time to replenish yourself and rejuvenate because you're just working away,” he said.
Looking towards graduation, Ellis is about $20,000 in debt. And thinking about paying back his student loans is something Ellis said is hard to get his head around.
“I'm very, very afraid to pay that debt,” he said.
