STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It is something many at Penn State's campus are hoping for: a tuition freeze for in-state residents for the upcoming school year.
"I think it's awesome, the less money I have to pay the better,” said freshman Kevin Doherty.
Penn State leaders last froze tuition in 2015/2016.
Under the latest proposal, the freeze for 2018/2019 would apply to in-state students at all Penn State campuses.
Freshman and sophomores at the main campus in state college currently pay around $17,000 a year in tuition.
Out-of-state students pay more than $32,00 per year.
The proposal calls for their tuition to go up more than 3.5%.
The cost of the most common housing and meal plans for everyone, however, is going up 2.5%.
"Not good obviously, I don't want it to go up, but can't control it," said Julia Klose, a freshman from New York.
Just last year, the state auditor general released a scathing report accusing Penn State of 'whopping tuition increases' over the years and accepting out-of-state students at a higher rate than Pennsylvanians.
Penn State's president says "We do must to all we can to keep the door to a Penn State education open to..the best and the brightest students across the Commonwealth."
"I had a lot of friends at my high school who really loved Penn State and really wanted to come here but could not afford it, so kind of you know, I'm not saying it separates us, like if you can afford it, hey great, you can come here, if you can't, it's like sorry and I feel like that's not fair for them at all,” said incoming freshman Shawn McBride.
Penn State's Board of Trustees will vote Friday afternoon on the tuition proposal and the school's $6.5 billion budget.