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Health & Fitness

Barbara Buono's Plan for Higher Education

The typical American college student pursues a higher education to seek better job opportunities in the future. Unfortunately, current college students face unaffordable tuition, rising student loan debt, and high unemployment in the New Jersey job market.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono knows what it is like to struggle to pay for college, and she plans to help all New Jersey students afford a higher education.

“When it comes to higher education, too many college students are drowning in debt,” Buono said in a video about her plan for New Jersey students. “I couldn’t have made it through Montclair State and Rutgers Law without loans.” 

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Buono cites her personal story about education in New Jersey as a reason for supporting tuition equality. She would like to provide the opportunities she had to young people like Gonzalo, a student struggling to pay for higher education who immigrated to the United States from Chile at age 12.

As an undocumented New Jersey resident, Gonzalo pays triple what the average student does for a community college class.  

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“Classes on average at my county college cost $300 for an American citizen or a permanent resident,” he said. “I had to pay $1,000, and the cost kept going up.”

Undocumented immigrants living in New Jersey who are pursuing a higher education -- commonly referred to as “DREAMers” -- can only afford to take a few classes per year. Yet they pay the same taxes and fees as the rest of us.

“I’m taking one class a semester and that’s it,” said Rodrigo, Gonzalo’s older brother. “Last semester I took two classes, and it cost me about $4,000.” Watch their story here

To help out Gonzalo and other “DREAMers” like him, Buono plans to allow undocumented immigrants living in New Jersey to pay in-state tuition.

In an effort to lower rising tuition costs for all New Jerseyans, Senator Buono has already taken action in the state legislature. She cosponsored the bill to create the original NJ STARS scholarship program.

And Senator Buono will invest in higher education so we can reduce tuition costs.

“It’s time to make higher education a right for all who want to pursue it, and not a privilege for the few who can afford it,” Buono said.

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