News 12 at 6 o'clock, December 4, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.---A new study shows almost all state's make college tough to afford and now Georgia students have another fee to pay.

It's Richard Spencer's second year at Augusta State. He can't wait to finish, but there's one part of graduating he dreads.

"I'm just thinking about the number of hours that I have to work in order to pay it off," said Spencer.

He is about $50,000 in debt from school, mostly because before ASU he went to a private school for three years, but now he's still racking up money in loans every semester.

"A lot of my money is free from the government but a lot of it I will have to pay back once I graduate," Spencer said.

A new report says too many people are in school debt like Spencer. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education gave an "F" to all but one state on affordability.

They found in Georgia, in 1995, students borrowed about $2,900 for school. This year that amount is more than $4,600.

ASU student David Smith is about $10,000 in debt himself, and believes the costs keep many from going to school.

"With the fees being so high and some people not being qualified to get money to help them pay for school, that's kind of not putting an emphasis on education," said Smith.

The study found in Georgia, poor and working-class families must put 40% of their income to pay for public four-year colleges, even after aid.

Georgia students got another blow: the Board of Regents announced Wednesday another fee for school up to $100.

Spencer says if we really want a change in the economy, school can't be so expensive.

"Because more people would get educated. More people would get technical jobs and they would be able to produce more for society as a whole," said Spencer.

He says his loans will be worth it in the end, but for now he's worried about more numbers than just his grade point average.

South Carolina is a similar case to Georgia. The study found both states have to pay a large share of their income for school.

Only California got passing marks in the study. It got a "C" mainly because of their relatively low-costing community colleges.