FINALLY FOUND

Economy Changes Students' Plans
College Plans Out Of Reach For Many In Recession

POSTED: 5:46 am CDT May 20, 2009
UPDATED: 6:03 pm CDT May 20, 2009


RAYTOWN, Mo. -- It's easy for adults to think that they bear the brunt of the current recession. But, in reality, young people are also facing some difficult financial decisions.

Many local high school seniors are being forced to alter their college plans, and are getting a real life lesson in their financial education.

The end of a school year for a high school senior generally leads to dreams of the future, and for many that includes plans for college. But a failing economy is forcing a change of plans for some of the best and brightest college-eligible students.

KCTV5's Carolyn Long met with five Raytown High School seniors for a roundtable discussion on their futures. Many said they have realized that their original college plans were no longer possible.

"It was not a happy day for me," said Leandra Stuckey.

Sara Mabry said she practically had her bags packed for Loyola University in Chicago. But she is now heading for Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., this fall.

"I was very upset, and I realized we're not the richest and I have a more realistic shot at somewhere else," said Mabry. "We have to be, in this time when the economy is terrible and we have to figure out some way we can actually pay for it."

"It puts a lot of stress on the family. Not only do we have stress, but parents are stressed out," said Taylor Frymire.

Frymire will also start at Truman State this fall, after plans fell through to attend the University of Nebraska.

"It was just way too much," said Frymire.

Stuckey had her heart set on the University of Missouri, but her dad's layoff has changed her plans to Longview Community College.

"We don't have the funds to send me to a more expensive college anymore," said Stuckey.

Knowing family funds were running short, Mario Pecina realized it was up to him to keep his plans on track to play football at Graceland University in Iowa.

"My dad was laid off," said Pecina. "I pushed myself even more to do better in class, to do better in sports, so I can get as much money as I can."

And it worked. Pecina applied for and earned scholarships to allow him to live his college dream.

David Marshall Jr. took a different track.

"I decided whoever gives me the most money, that's where I'm going," he said.

So, when a full-ride scholarship was offered at Claflin University in South Carolina, that decided his plans.

Raytown High School counselor, Rob Ukleya, worked extra hard this year to keep student's college dreams alive. As more money is needed, less and less is available, he said.

"There were scholarships that weren't available this year because of the economy," said Ukleya.

Ukleya said he helps his students find a plan B, and sometimes a plan C and D, in order to get them to college.

One of the options that has helped many, Ukleya said, is the A-plus program in Missouri that allows free tuition to community colleges to students who meet the guidelines.

"More and more of our families and students are looking at that opportunity because of the economy," said Ukleya.

So, now that fall plans are decided for the five students who met with Long, all are concentrating their summer plans on banking money.

"... So I can pay for my own stuff and not be banging on Dad's door, 'Hey, I need some toilet paper," said Marshall.

"I'm actually going to save this money. I usually go out and spend it, but I know I'm going to have to spend it for all those little unknown costs for college," said Mabry.

Heather Davis Richards, a financial expert with Essential Knowledge, was thrilled to hear these savings plans. She said she has found the largest financial hardship for college students is not in the known costs of tuition, it's in the unknowns.

"On average , it's $3,000 per semester on top of tuition and book expenses," she said.

Essential Knowledge offers a worksheet to help figure a student budget on their Web site. Click here to find it.

The Raytown students' stories are not unique to the metro area. In a recent nationwide poll, one in six students said economic circumstances have forced them to change their college plans.


LET ME BEGIN BY STATING THAT I AM A GRADUATE OF RAYTOWN HIGH SCHOOL. AND LONGVIEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE. AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI. AND IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS I WILL BE A GRADUATE OF A FEW MORE SCHOOLS SINCE I PLAN TO GO ALL THE WAY. THOSE WHO ARE CLOSE TO ME KNOW THAT IF I DECIDE ON SOMETHING IT WILL GET DONE. COME HELL OR HIGH WATER. THAT BEING SAID, I POSTED THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE IT BROUGHT UP SO MANY EMOTIONS AND MEMORIES FOR ME. YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING WOW THIS IS A PRETTY SIMPLE ARTICLE ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND THE SCHOOL KIDS SO WHAT GIVES?! TO ME THIS ARTICLE MEANS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. I GREW UP WITHOUT PARENTS FOR THE MOST PART. (THANK U GMA FOR TRYNA BEAT MY ASS THOSE FEW TIMES YOU CHASED ME OUTSIDE LOVE U AND MUAH) IT MUST BE SAD FOR THE "BLIND MEMBERS" OF THE MIDDLE CLASS+ TO READ ARTICLES LIKE THIS. WOW HARD TIMES ARE HITTING SOME NEW AREAS THESE DAYS...OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE OF THE WORLD! WHAT PLANET ARE YOU LIVING ON???? PRAISE GOD FOR MY EYESIGHT AND HUMBLENESS:)I AM SO THANKFUL I DID NOT END UP AS A MEMBER OF THE BLIND COMMUNITY (IF WE HAD A LIL MORE $ AND EVEN 1 STABLE PARENT I WOULD HAVE) I WANT TO MAKE A T-SHIRT THAT SAYS "THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING AND STARVING 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM YOU!" I LIVED IN RAYTOWN DURING HALF OF MY CHILDHOOD (WOULDN'T CALL IT THAT) AND ALSO ON 31ST AND LINWOOD IN A GIRL'S HOME THAT IS NOW CLOSED DUE TO BUDGET CUTS. (DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO THERE-MAYBE SOON ON ANOTHER POST) THAT HOME TAUGHT ME MORE IN 1 MONTH THAN I LEARNED IN SEVERAL YEARS OF MY LIFE IN RAYTOWN. MOST OF THE GIRLS WERE WARDS OF THE COURT. 2 GOT PREGNANT, 3 RAN AWAY, 1 GOT HIT BY THE METRO (RIP GINA LOVE U GIRL I WILL NEVER 4GET U)AND THE REST EITHER WENT TO JAIL OR DIDN'T TALK TO ME BECAUSE THEY WERE TAUGHT NOT TO TRUST WHITE PEOPLE. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW THIS EXPERIENCE (AND MANY OTHERS FOR THAT MATTER) WOULD/COULD AFFECT A YOUNG GIRL WITH NO GUIDANCE. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE DAY I DECIDED I WAS GOING TO BE SOMEBODY. I WAS 14 SITTING ON THAT FRONT PORCH AND TOLD GOD AND MYSELF THAT I WAS DONE FEELING POOR, NEGLECTED, LOST, UNLOVED, WEAK, AND UNIMPORTANT. YES, I ADMIT I MADE THAT DECISION ON MY OWN, BUT WITHOUT A FEW STAR PLAYERS (YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE OF COURSE AUNT SHARON YOU R #1 :) WHO KNOWS WHERE I'D BE RIGHT NOW. WHEN I GOT OUT I WENT BACK TO THE OTHER WORLD CALLED RAYTOWN. THE BLIND SAY IT'S FASCINATING HOW 2 WORLDS CAN BE SO CLOSE TOGETHER IN 1 CITY. THE REALISTS SAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. I THINK DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE "LIVING" (LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY) IN BOTH OF THESE WORLDS I BECAME THE LATTER...WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY I AM SO OUTSPOKEN AND ACCORDING TO SOME "TELL MY BUSINESS TOO MUCH" (AND I DON'T CARE BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE LIED TO ME MY WHOLE LIFE SO WHY SHOULD I BE LIKE THEM? I APPRECIATE THE 100. REAL IS REAL LIKE IT OR NOT. SO IF U ASK ME FOR MY OPINION OR WHAT I'M DOING, ETC., YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED AT THE ANSWER...) BACK TO THE POINT:

RAYTOWN HAS A COUNSELOR AND A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND STUDENTS WITH PARENTS FOR THE MOST PART. I THINK I AM GOING TO WRITE THE NEWS STATION AND ASK THEM TO COME INTERVIEW SOME OF THE KIDS FROM A KC MO SCHOOL DISTRICT. BETTER YET, MAYBE I'LL JUST DO IT MYSELF. MAYBE SOME EYES WILL OPEN IN THE BLIND COMMUNITY. I TAUGHT AT A KC SCHOOL WHICH HAD THE CRAPPIEST COUNSELOR I'VE EVER SEEN. SHE HAD THE TITLE AND MADE THE $ BUT I WAS THE DAMN COUNSELOR! SHE DIDN'T EVEN CARE TO EXPLAIN COLLEGE TO OUR KIDS. MOST OF OUR KIDS HAD 1 PARENT IF THEY WERE LUCKY. THERE WAS NO A+ PROGRAM FOR FREE TUITION AND THESE KIDS NEED IT MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE. I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE NEXT DIRECTION IN MY LIFE BECAUSE I AM AT A CROSSROAD RIGHT NOW. I'M SO GLAD I CAME ACROSS THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE I AM FINALLY FOUND. I PLAN TO TAKE THE LSAT 1 MORE TIME AND IF I DON'T GET INTO LAW SCHOOL THIS TIME, I'M MOVING ON. I WAS THINKING I COULD CHANGE THE SYSTEM BY TRYING TO CHANGE THE LAWS, BUT I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT I WANT IF THE FIRST FEW ATTEMPTS DON'T WORK. (LSAT SCORE NOT HIGH ENOUGH AND BEING WHITE DOESN'T HELP ME OUT HERE OR I'D BE IN BY NOW-I'LL GO THERE LATER TOO-THAT'LL BE A GOOD ONE TO READ-NO WORRIES I ALWAYS STAY EDUCATED) BECAUSE I DON'T GIVE UP ON DREAMS. SOMETIMES THEY JUST NEED TO BE MODIFIED. I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO WASTE AND A GREAT PURPOSE TO FULFILL. I WILL DIE TRYING TO HELP EVERY LOST ADOLESCENT I CAN. BECAUSE THAT LITTLE GIRL WITH NO GUIDANCE USED TO BE ME. AND I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART FOR HER. PZ.