• Age: 17

• Address: Price Hill

• College status: Plans to attend Cincinnati State, majoring in computer network engineering technology

• Estimated cost: $5,400 a year

• How she'll make it happen: She's still seeking financial aid from the college, hoping for scholarships. She'll get a student loan if needed and some help from her parents. For now, she's working at Springdale Cleaners in Westwood. "I plan on working a lot more hours at my job," she says. "That way I can get the education I need to get out of jobs like I am at now. I plan on saving all of my money and not spending a dime."

• How high college costs are affecting her: She planned to attend Northern Kentucky University, but because of increasing tuition, she couldn't afford to go there.

"It's like we're scrimping and scraping just to get her through, and we've got three more behind her," says her mother, Tracy Huddleston. "There's really not that much out there for her to apply for without, basically, paying the whole thing back. ... I think it should be more feasible for everybody."