AUSTIN, Texas — To pay for a college degree is an investment.
According to College For All Texans, that investment is almost $29,000 on average for tuition and fees for in-state students at a public university in Texas.
University of Texas at Austin freshman Emery Gentzel said she’s seen what it takes to go to college.
“I know a lot of people who made sacrifices so they were able to go to this good school,” Gentzel said. “College is getting more and more expensive and harder to get into every year. And I think that’s just widening a gap that has continued for a very long time.”
To help Texans pay for college, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that prevented schools from increasing their undergraduate tuition and fees for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. Now, Abbott is writing a letter to those schools saying he wants to extend the freeze for the next two years.
UT Austin senior Evan Valls sees the benefit of maintaining the current tuition.
“A degree at least in this current economy is sort of a necessity in terms of setting up yourself for a good job and a good career,” Valls said. “I feel like anyone should have access to that, no matter what economic background you have.”
Dale Price, the founder and CEO of a college admissions planning agency sees the benefits of the freeze, but he also said it could affect the quality of the education.
“Colleges are a business,” Price said. “They all have things to manage and to operate … You could be impacted by this because of larger class sizes, less faculty.”
Regardless of what school a student decides on, Price said thinking about the long game will be key in paying for it.
“No matter even if there is a tuition increase, the bottom line is that a degree is going to be the most expensive gift you ever give your kid,” Price said.
Delfino Garcia, another senior at UT Austin, believes if the state finds more opportunities for Texans to earn a degree, it will open doors for anyone who wants it.
“It really opens your eyes to just the diversity that there is in the world that it really allows one to grow,” Garcia said. “I think it’s important for everyone to experience it.”
Abbott also wrote that his office spoke to the Board of Regents at every public university system and they agreed no school in Texas should approve tuition increases for the next couple of school years.