With tuition increasing and Bright Futures payouts staying the same, UF students are going to have to find ways to foot the bill.
Starting this fall, tuition will increase from $125.09 per credit hour to $145.76 per credit hour. Bright Futures will continue to pay last year's rate - $126 per credit hour for Academic Scholars and $95 per credit hour for Medallion Scholars - according to its Web site.
Rick Wilder, associate director of student financial affairs, said he doesn't know why Bright Futures isn't covering tuition increases, but people will pay it somehow, whether by parents absorbing the extra costs or students getting loans.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said that in spite of the increases, UF has one of the lowest tuition rates in the country.
He said the average yearly tuition for a public university in the United States is roughly $6,000.
With the tuition increases coming into effect this fall, UF's average tuition per year will be about $4,000, he said.
Students will have to deal with the tuition increases that Bright Futures won't cover in different ways.
Matthew Carlos, a statistics junior, said he has to take out loans every year for school because he doesn't qualify for financial aid such as a Pell Grant.
"My parents make too much money for me to get financial aid, but at the same time, they don't give me money, either," Carlos said.
Carlos said he will take out a bigger loan this fall to pay his tuition.
"It's true - every penny does count," he said.
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Jeanna Mastrodicasa said Student Government, individual students and various firms lobbied for tuition increases.
Some students might not like the increases, but SG did pass it, she said. And the increases will improve education by making more funding available for university programs.
"The ones we are concerned about are the ones who can't afford it," she said.
UF has created programs that help students save money. The UF Off-Campus Life office teaches students how to reduce their utility bills, avoid getting towed and reduce unnecessary spending.
Students aren't aware of how much money they actually spend, Mastrodicasa said.
She also said recent studies have shown that the average undergraduate's parental income is about $105, 000, and UF has quite a few students who get leftover money from Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid.
But John Dickerson, an advertising senior, said he has both Florida Prepaid and the Bright Futures Medallion scholarship and doesn't expect to get money back this year.
"The money I normally get back is just enough to cover my books, so I don't have to pay out of pocket, but this year I will have to pay for my books out of pocket," he said. "It just sucks."
