Arizona's Public Universities Provide Superior Financial Aid

The Arizona Board of Regents put out a study concluding that 95 percent of students attending a public university in Arizona pay for their tuition through some sort of financial aid.

Almost half of Arizona college graduates graduate debt free and earn $20,000 more annually than people with only a high school degree.

Tuition at private universities is averaged at $32,405, compared to public schools, which average $9,410 for in-state students and $23,893 for out-of-state students.

On the list of states with the most student debt to the least student debt, Arizona ranks the sixth lowest. Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming, California, and Washington are the five states before Arizona.

Arizona has three four-year public universities: Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona.

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Dominic Davis, an ASU student, said his university does one of the best jobs of any school when it comes to financial aid.

"I think ASU does a better job making college more affordable than most colleges because there are plenty of opportunities to cut costs. I mean, you have scholarships and grants and all that, but you can also take on a position like a REL or a CA. The university gives these positions free housing and board, which I haven't heard of any other school doing," Davis said.

According to students, ASU does a phenomenal job when it comes to offering students positions on campus, where they are able to earn money or even free housing.

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NAU is the second public university in Arizona that does whatever they can to accommodate their student's financial needs.

Jack Murphy, a sophomore at NAU is very impressed with the school he is at and how they accommodate to his out-of-state tuition.

"NAU does a really good job of helping out-of-state students with tuition by participating in the WUE program and an even better job of helping in-state students. They offer a scholarship called the Lumberjack and it's awarded to any student who completes high school without a C on their transcript and awards them full academic tuition," Murphy said.

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U of A is the third public university in Arizona that many students are successfully receiving financial aid from.

Payton Maxwell, an ASU transfer and U of A student is very happy about her transition to U of A and all the school did to help her financially.

"U of A was amazing when I transferred. U of A typically doesn't redeem scholarships that were previously awarded if you transfer from another 4-year university, but the president of U of A specifically granted me the Wildcat Excellence Award. It is the scholarship I got when I applied as a senior that I lost when I chose to go to ASU," Maxwell said.

Maxwell said this redemption helped her complete her schooling at a four-year university closer to home.

"These kinds of exceptions are normally never made, but because of the extenuating health-related circumstances, U of A was incredible, and granted me my scholarship! They were incredibly generous and it was an enormous blessing." Maxwell said.

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Grand Canyon University is a private, non-profit, Christian university in Phoenix.

Annabella McGilvray, a freshman at GCU, said she has had a positive experience with her financial aid.

"My school gives really good scholarships academically and since I attended a Christian high school I got a scholarship for that as well. Christian schools tend to be more expensive than public, but GCU makes sure it's affordable," McGilvray said.

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California is one of the schools that is listed as more affordable in terms of financial aid and student debts compared to Arizona. California ranked number four.

Chapman University is a private university in Orange, California.

Vanessa Gonzalez, a journalism major at Chapman, is ecstatic about her transition from ASU.

" Transferring to a private school has actually helped me, despite contrary belief. As soon as I got accepted, I got a letter that I received a scholarship of $10,000 for good grades. I also received grants from the school to help with almost half of my tuition. Private schools are very expensive but they provide a lot of financial help. This makes the cost close to equivalent to public school tuition," Gonzalez said.

College students and data experts have come to the conclusion that college is expensive no matter where the student chooses to go.

However, it depends on what state and school the student goes to for how much financial aid the school provides and how willing they are to work with students.