How Much Does It Take?: The Financial Cost of Being a Stuyvesant Student

Minimum:
$25 (gym uniform)
$14 (gym locker)
$7 (locker)
$230 (senior dues)
$47.50 (SAT test)*
——————————
$276

Additional Costs:
$7 * 3 (lockers)
$94 * 3 (Advanced Placement tests)*
$44 * 3 (SAT Subject Tests)*
$50 (ARISTA membership)**
$20 (team uniforms/club apparel)
$15 (SING! dues)
$220 (Senior prom)
$35 (drafting kit)
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$775

$740 + $276 = $1,041

The average Stuyvesant student spends around $1,000 over their four-year tenure here. Though this number seems small in comparison to the average private high school tuition ($18,000), it is a significant financial burden on many students.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 1,545 students (46 percent of the student body) were “economically disadvantaged,” meaning they qualified for free or reduced lunch. A family’s annual income must be below $39,000 or $47,000 for a three and four-person household respectively, to be labeled as “economically disadvantaged.” Despite these statistics, Stuyvesant does not qualify for Title I funding, since the threshold for Title 1 funding is for at least 60 percent of the student body to qualify for free or reduced lunch. If Stuyvesant did qualify for these funds, they could be used for a variety of causes, including lowering the prices of lockers, increasing teachers’ salaries, and enhancing the social work services offered at Stuyvesant.

Senior Debi Saha said, “Thinking about the percentage of free and reduced lunch at Stuy, I think it’s a little ridiculous that we have to pay [for lockers].” In fact, lockers are free at the majority of public high schools, including Bronx Science, Beacon, and Hunter. At Bronx Science, students are given a new hallway locker every year at no additional cost.

However, Saha has found help from multiple in-school organizations: “Something amazing about this school is the Alumni Association. I [couldn’t] afford the Big Sib shirt, and my mom just lost her job, and they really helped with paying for that.”

Junior Grace Ye has also found ways around the high costs. “I don’t think lockers are all that expensive if you split them,” she said. “[My friends and I] are splitting it with other people. They are also not necessary, but are nice if you have a winter coat.”

Students are required to pay three fees during Camp Stuy Part 2: a locker for freshman year, a gym locker, and a gym uniform. The gym uniform, which costs $25, has been met with the most resistance from the student body. Junior Emma Donnely explained, “I do feel like personally, I have to spend a lot of money at Stuy, more than I would have wanted to. For example, the gym uniforms. I’ve had to buy them multiple times.” Of course, Donnely’s situation isn’t the case with the majority of students but is still notable. Freshman Emma Lu, too, was not expecting to purchase anything during Camp Stuy: “I was surprised,” she recalled. “Especially for the quality of the shirts and shorts, $25 seemed like a lot.”

In addition to these mandatory fees, many school-related events cost exorbitant amounts of money. Most notably, senior prom costs $220. “For prom, it’s your senior year; you should be able to go regardless of your financial background. I’ve been thinking [about] what I [should] do. That’s been my dilemma,” Saha explained. “I would really like the chance to go to prom, even if it was just for half the time or even if I didn’t eat anything, just for the experience.”

Ye agreed. “I think it should definitely be cheaper; it’s just not fair,” she said. “Everybody should have the opportunity to go. They could lower the cost if they asked [alumni] to donate; there are so many different ways to save money.” Though the cost of senior prom is similar at many other public high schools, other schools have created other initiatives to make prom an option for all students, regardless of financial status. For example, at Bronx Science, where prom tickets cost $164.16, financial aid is available via an application. In addition, Bronx Science partnered with Adrianna Pappell, a clothing company, to provide free prom dresses to all those who are interested.

Another opportunity that more students should have the ability to attend is SING!. SING! tickets currently cost $30 for both the Friday and Saturday night performances and $20 for the New Haven performance on Wednesday night. Saha, who was the junior SING! Coordinator last year and SophFrosh SING! Coordinator in 2018, expressed dissatisfaction with these prices: “I think upwards of 30 is ridiculous. We’ve been doing an initiative to get it down to 25. It’s really heartbreaking for me to see people who work so hard never to be able to watch it,” she said. However, the Student Union has been working with SING! coordinators to add a Thursday performance of the same caliber and standard of those on Friday and Saturday. All three shows, then, would cost less.

*These prices are the normal fee. All SAT and Advanced Placement tests are free for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
**As of 2019, ARISTA membership is $15 for those who qualify for free lunch and $30 for those who qualify for reduced lunch.