Mar 08, 2017 07:04 PM EST By Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald Reporter

The increase in the cost of higher education all over the country has been going up and it has been unstoppable. More and more low income students just find it difficult to get into college, or at least finish their major and obtain a degree. But a student from Concord High School has just figured a brilliant way to pay for his college.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the total costs of tuition, room and board was roughly at $16,188 at public institutions, for the academic year 2014-15; $41,970 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,372 at private for-profit institutions. This only means that attending college is equivalent to a great deal of money especially for those who cannot afford it like Gabe Harley.

Harley, a graduate from Concord, was raised by his 70 year old grandmother Marianne Lundy who has used up her retirement account to pay for Harley's first two years at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, according to Delaware Online. She retire early because she had to take care of her sick mother, and that means no one was going to pay for Harley's college. Just as when Harley almost gave up on the thought of finishing college, his friend was able to come up with a solution.

Harley started with a fundraising account. He said that he was uncomfortable with the idea at first but did it anyway as it was the only way he could finish college. At present, Harley is not the only one who turns to online fundraising to gather funds for their education. One of the most popular platforms now is the GoFundMe which allows people to raise money for any event or any challenging situations.

Harley was able to raise a total of $6,700 which was enough to pay for one semester in college, then a local family whose daughter sang with Gabe in the Wilmington Children's Chorus, paid for his second semester.

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