Although public high school is technically free, there are many hidden costs associated with being a student here, some monetary and some mental. Students often forget all of the costs that can accumulate with school supplies, events, tests, and more. Furthermore, as the workload builds up, the mental costs can feel just as real—and as burdensome—as the financial ones.
Some optional fees for students include parking spots and school lunch. Juniors and seniors are able to purchase a parking pass for $80, which gives them a spot in the school parking lot. Students are also able to paint their parking spot for an additional fee of $20. Along with this, many students purchase school lunch. This can add up, depending on how frequently students eat school lunches.
There are also many advantages that money can bring to learning and getting good grades. Fancier school supplies, textbooks, and paying for tutoring are all things that could give some students an academic edge over others. Students are also able to pay to take exams that may give them more opportunities when it comes to college, such as AP tests, ACT and SAT tests.
There are so many exciting things to do at SHS, but a lot of these things come with a price. Tickets for school dances are one of the fees that many SHS students pay. Although not mandatory, a homecoming ticket costs $30 and a prom ticket costs around $85, not accounting for the outfit that many students have to purchase for the dance. Students are also able to attend school sporting events all year for a one time charge of $28, or buy tickets for individual games they want to attend. Field trips are another opportunity that many classes host during the school year, but cost money to attend.
Mental costs:
Ryan Lynn, 12: “The cost of being a student leans heavily on where we are mentally a lot of time in our lives that are important to many of us. This could be sleep, practice, or family time.”
Andi Bell, 12: “The mental cost of being a student is honestly really high because you’re surrounded by stress 24/7 thanks to the need to meet standards and extracurriculars. Something that helps me is thinking about how the work I’m doing today will help me become successful in the future!”
Lola Darbyshire, 12: “School causes sacrifices that it shouldn’t. Most of the time for me my sleep schedule and my mental health are the first to be sacrificed. “
Abby Wood, 12: “Being a student can be mentally draining,”with all the pressure and workload, which leads to feeling super stressed or burnt out. For me, I try to find ways to chill and take care of my mental health between all the studying and assignments.”
Zechariah Johnson, 12: “I believe the mental toll on students can be described as a few things: tiring, annoying at times, and painful. With the students having lives outside of school, it makes it hard to maintain a good academic career and as a result makes you tired, even causing headaches from exhaustion. It can be annoying trying to meet assignment deadlines while working long hours at work or even sports.”
