By DERRICK THOMPSON
Student Reporter
As the fall semester comes to an end, Northwestern is now listed nationally among the top five cost-friendly schools in the nation.
Northwestern came in at fourth in the nation as one of the most affordable schools in the United States, followed by University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Northwestern has been receiving a bit of national attention within the past year, starting with the Men’s Basketball team’s Harlem Shake video, which landed the school on national television, and now the university is back in the spotlight as one of the most affordable schools in America. Total 2014-15 expenses for Northwestern Oklahoma State University in-state and out-of-state students are $11,272 and $17,782 respectively.
“Those numbers are accurate,” Associate Vice President for University Relations Steven Valencia said, “although every group has a little different way of calculating expenses. We usually figure tuition, fees, room and board, and books. That’s the way we calculate our expenses. We have several different room and board packages, for both semi-private and for private rooms (and) it depends on the number of meals you get. So it varies a little bit, but essentially the information is accurate, and we’re proud that we’re able to keep our tuition and room and board rate as low as possible.”
Although the tuition is cheaper in the eyes of the new and incoming student, current Northwestern students can see a bit of an increase in fees due to lack of state funds forcing Northwestern to raise its tuition. “Unfortunately, the last few years state funds haven’t been real good and that forces us to have to pass the cost not only on the university but also on students and families,” Valencia said. “But our goal is to keep tuition as low as possible.”
The cost to attend Northwestern has helped many families put students through school with a great education on a much smaller and underpopulated campus. Students are able to receive academic scholarships to help them pay for school along with financial aid and student loans. Fifty-seven percent of Northwestern students graduate with little to no federal debt due to loans taken out for school.