Many Black students aim to attend an HBCU, but as college costs continue to rise, many students are struggling to pay their tuition and school fees. Many students have turned to crowdfunding and platforms such as GoFundMe to cover tuition.Students describe struggles, such as insufficient scholarships, student loan ceilings and unexpected financial burdens. Morehouse College senior Marion Benson shares his personal experience while attending Morehouse as a first-generation student.“The reality hit the hardest between my junior and senior year when I faced a significant funding gap,” Benson said. “Despite my efforts to secure aid, I reached a point where I could no longer remain on campus. I ultimately had to take a semester off, return home to Greenville to regroup and figure out how to bridge the financial divide before I could return for my senior year.”Benson created a GoFundMe his junior year of college as a “backup” plan after he was forced to leave campus due to lack of funding. Benson also works an on-campus job to help cover costs on top of balancing volunteering, writing for the Maroon Tiger newspaper and leading multiple student organizations.Benson said the anxiety had become paralyzing.“I want people to understand that a GoFundMe is a last resort — it is a cry for help,” Benson said. “No student wants to be in a position where they have to crowdsource their education, but the reality is that many of us weren’t prepared for the lack of affordable options.”
