Tariff’s Effects:

How Will Students Face Tariffs

By Julieanna LaDuca

Trump’s recent tariffs on most imports has everyone worried about the future of our economy. People worry about how prices will be affected especially when it comes to students who are full time in college and may not have the means already to support themselves. Tariffs are going to affect students, and here is what we can expect in the coming years.

The tariffs are expected to raise everything by two to three dollars extra, especially things that may be hard to source. According to The Metropolitan, “It’s well known that they already face financial hardships while navigating their academic years. According to an interview in Teen Vogue with Adam Hersh, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, tariffs are expected to drive up prices on everyday essentials.”As an example that morning caffeine burst so many rely on when they need to wake up in the morning may go from $8 to $10 with the tariffs. The most impacts on students however are going to be seen mostly in daily essentials such as: textbooks, pens, food, and housing with this increase. The Metropolitan also suggests students to start making a monthly budget to organize and not overspend.

Not only will college students see an impact in these essentials but the cost of tuition and technology are also expected to rise. According to the Suffolk Journal, “With major Boston universities exceeding $100,000 price tags, and Suffolk University’s own tuition and extra costs ballooning 5.67% for the 2025-26 school year,” This is super high of a raise for just college tuition prices, most financial aid won’t even cover $100,000 worth of college. Most students get around $60,000 worth of financial aid if they meet certain requirements, chances are if you’re not lower class you will be paying most of the tuition out of pocket. The prices of technology comes in because of where Apple and other big tech companies are based mostly. Apple especially runs out of China. Experts are estimating Apple products to run a price increase of $2,300 if Trump makes these tariffs permanent without a deal.

When it comes to the financial strain most students face it’s not a surprise numbers may drop if prices become too high. In fact most college students’ stress is made up of finance stuff because they may not have time to work a job on the side. A job on the side is possible for some but you need a suitable location and some form of a bank account to deposit your checks in. Most banks charge for opening an account with savings and getting a debit card. Money is connected everywhere and the more the tariffs fight against each other the more we will be paying the price.

When it comes to the tariffs people aren’t 100% sure especially because President Trump will often do these things to scare other countries into negotiation. We will see if we actually face these issues or if this is just one of those strategies.