Students from the Gulf Coast are learning the hard way: Paying for tuition at Sacramento State is not the best part of getting a higher education.

Twenty-three students, who originally enrolled for the fall semester at various two-year and four-year colleges in the Louisiana and Mississippi areas, had to evacuate when Hurricane Katrina hit.

While they have already enrolled and are currently attending classes at Sac State, the evacuated students still have to pay the tuition for the current semester. However, the university has taken some measures to help the students with their financial burden.

“The university has already waived the application fee and out-of-state fees for these students,” said Linda Joy Clemons, the director of financial aid office.

With this special waiver, the students do not have to pay $4,068 for out-of-state costs and $55 for the application fee.

“These students, regardless if they showed proof of payment to Louisiana or Mississippi colleges, still have to pay Sacramento State administration fees,” Clemons said.

The Sac State in-state fees that these students do have to pay are $1,536 plus $108 for parking if they have transportation.

The students also do not have to take the required placement exams, which include the English Placement Test, the English Diagnostic Test, the Writing Proficiency Exam, the Entry Level Mathematics test and the Math Diagnostic Testing.

Only two students out of the group had to be concerned about housing. Yet both of these people spoke to the Department of Housing and Residential Life and received a “waiver on student boarding,” Clemons said.

Because the other 19 students are originally from the Sacramento region, they do not require campus housing, according to the office of Student Affairs.

The students also did not come from the same school. Some were enrolled at various universities including Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, University of New Orleans, and a couple of Mississippi community colleges, according to Student Affairs.

The Financial Aid Department also worked with these students to fill out applications for federal grants, such as the free application for federal student aid.

The Golden Key Honor Society also started a donation program where each of the students received a free Intel laptop, according to Student Affairs.

“The 23 students range in college levels, from graduate students down to freshmen,” said Miguel Molina, associate director of administration and records. “They are also mixed in how long they are going to stay at Sac State, from only one semester to finishing their education here.”

A scholarship is in the making for these new students, provided for by University Advancement. The initial amount is $5,000; though if students do want to make donations, they can do so by logging onto www.csus.edu/giving/

This scholarship will go to help the evacuees with tuition, books, housing and other needs.

Jamie Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]