CNN New Script Sample
Detour to College
Stand Up
This year, matriculation has come at a higher price, literally. The average cost of tuition
at a four-year public college is up more than six percent. Public versus private, in-state
versus out-of-state: Different schools come with different price tags. And for many
families, college choices can mean tough choices. Fredericka Whitfield has one student's
story.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
Move-in day for college freshman Pressley Chakales to a place she never expected would
bring so much happiness and harmony.
Sound Bite: PRESSLEY CHAKALES, UGA FRESHMAN:
I've been working all day getting my room together. But I like it, I'm excited
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
Also excited: her parents Peter and Ann.
Sound Bite: PETER CHAKALES, FATHER:
This is like a ride to a suburb when you live in Atlanta, so she's close.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
But the hour-long ride to the University of Georgia in Athens didn't come without
detours. Like thousands of American households on tighter budgets, savings and 401Ks
taking double digit losses, family plans are forced to be flexible.
Sound Bite: PRESSLEY CHAKALES
I was really, really completely set on going out of state.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
Oh, we remember. We first met the Chakales last spring. College acceptance letters were
coming in, along with the prospect of a full scholarship available to Georgia students
with a 3.0 GPA or higher planning to attend an in-state school. But at the time, Pressley
and her parents were not seeing eye to eye.
Reporter Question:
So, your heart tells you one thing, but the purse strings tell you another.
Reply: PRESSLEY CHAKALES
Yeah, definitely.
Reporter Question:
So, what are these conversations like with mom and dad when you all try to come to grips
about a happy medium?
Reply: PRESSLEY CHAKALES:
They can get heated.
Reporter Question:
That was last March. Now?
Reply: PRESSLEY CHAKALES:
I ended up getting into UGA off the wait-list, and my decision immediately changed to
back in-state, because I was going to UNC Wilmington, but I switched back to UGA to
save an indescribable amount of money.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
A huge relief for her parents. Even though they spent years saving for her higher
education, the thought of unloading at least $25,000 a year for four years of out-of-state
undergrad was stressful beyond words.
Sound Bite:PETER CHAKALES:
Well, it would have been very tough. It was frightening. The financial part was absolutely
frightening.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
Staying in-state, able to benefit from that Georgia full academic scholarship cut their
expenses by more than half. Out of pocket now: $10,000 a year for Pressley's housing,
books and other fees. The benefits of their family decision: endless.
Sound Bite: ANN CHAKALES, MOTHER
I think she'll be able to study abroad for a semester if she wants to, and that probably
would not have happened if she had gone out of state.
Voice Over: B-Roll Video
The Chakales are confident Pressley will maintain a 3.0 or better to keep the state
scholarship until graduation. But the family savings plan continues. In three years, it'll be
Pressley's younger brother's turn.
Sound Bite: ANN CHAKALES
We will probably start prepping our son a little bit earlier.
Wrap Up:
In hopes that he, too, qualifies for the same kind of in-state help. Fredricka Whitfield,
CNN, Atlanta.