Education is a must to be successful in life. The society is always stressing the fact that people should go to college to attain a four-year degree. However, if the price of tuition cost, books, units and living expenses continue to rise, how could anyone afford to go to college if they pursue higher education?

There are many students out there who are working full time to pay for their cost of school. People may tell them to apply for financial aid, but receiving financial aid is not as easy as it may seem. It is a long process where a student has to send in their parents' taxes and what not. It is an even harder process if the student claims independence from their parents.

What about scholarships? It does not help much if the scholarships are granted to students that belong to a certain race or a certain major.

What about your parents helping you with school? Some parents feel that when a teenager hits 18, then they are on their own. Also, some parents may not have enough funds to put their kids through school. Not everyone makes $50,000 a year.

A student has to pay on average $26 per unit. Each book costs anywhere from $80 to $200. There are parking fees and living expenses. Some students do not have enough money for school, so they put school off until they make enough money. Or they can only afford to take a few classes and not the full load of 12 units or more. This means it will take longer for a student to graduate college.

It is a sad sign when you can see that someone wants to go to school to make a good living, but does not have enough funds for the rising cost of college expenses and tuition.

What people should know and become aware of is if the cost of college tuition, units, books and expenses continue to rise, there would be a decrease in the amount of students in college. The lower class would not have enough money for school if the expenses continue to go up.

The state of California must look into the future and see what it's doing to students by increasing tuition cost. Dan Pham Newbury Park