Some ISU students have varied opinions on how next school year’s 9.9 percent tuition increase will affect them.

The state Board of Regents approved the 9.9 percent increase at its meeting Thursday for students at Iowa’s three state universities. This approval came after efforts from the ISU and UNI student governments to have the percentage lowered, while university administrators the U of I student government supported the increase.

The regents’ vote amounts to an increase of $304 for in-state student tuition and $810 for out-of-state tuition each year, said Ben Golding, president of the Government of the Student Body. Some students don’t agree on whether it will affect them negatively.

Ross Gill, senior in mechanical engineering, said the source of the problem isn’t an increase in tuition, but the number of government loans available to students to finance their education.

“The problem isn’t the tuition increase. The problem is that nontraditional students can’t get loans because of the tax bracket,” said Gill, who’s a nontraditional student at Iowa State. “The government has to change how to get financial aid.”

Gill said students also might need to re-assess how high education ranks among their priorities.

“I had to work really hard for three years to come back to school,” he said. “The value of the degree on the open market far outweighs the increase in tuition over the last decade.”

Other students said they feel they are already paying a substantial amount toward tuition costs.

“When people come in freshman year they have an idea of what they’re going to pay while they’re here,” said Jillian Parks, junior in dietetics. “They can’t account for what tuition increases will be before they graduate.”

Parks said the tuition increase is going to have a significant effect on how she pays tuition.

“It’s going to mean more loans and more money,” she said. “Already I’m paying loans, and it’s just going to increase it.”

Nick Rezich, sophomore in aerospace engineering, also said the tuition increase will affect him negatively.

“I’m out-of-state, so it kills me,” he said. “It just seems like they keep jackin’ the prices up so less people can come to college.”

On the other hand, Mark Wickham, sophomore in political science, said students need to stop complaining.

“Every other year tuition goes up 4 or 5 percent, and we always complain about that,” he said. “So this year when it went up 10 percent it looks like we have no credibility since we always complain.”

Erin Stockdill, junior in animal science, said the tuition increase is not as bad as many might think.

“You have to look at the bigger picture,” she said. “I’m an out-of-state student, and I came here because it was cheap, and even if they raise it 9.9 percent, Iowa State is still one of the cheapest out-of-state schools. If I were somewhere else I’d be paying it already; I think I’m getting pretty good service for my money.”

Gill also said ISU students are getting a good deal on their education.

“It’s a necessary evil,” he said. “ISU compared to other colleges in the U.S. is a bargain.”

While some may consider the tuition to be cheap, Laura Clark, junior in dietetics, said she is not seeing the benefits.

“I came to a state school because it was cheap,” she said. “If I’m paying this much I might as well go to a private school. We’re not getting anything better; it’s not improving our education.”