Last Thursday, the Stanford Board of Trustees announced that tuition will increase 4% and room and board will increase 4.25% for the 2022-2023 school year, the highest increase yet. Kevi Johnson of The Stanford Daily reports that this will bring the total cost of attendance to $77,034. Many graduate programs will also experience a tuition increase of 4%. Johnson reports that Stanford’s tuition had increased at an average of 3.25% from 2010 to 2020. He also noted that the Board of Trustees voted to “keep tuition flat for the 2021-2022 year due to financial burdens placed on students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to a Stanford Report written by Chelcey Adami, the tuition increase “will help address pandemic inflationary pressures facing higher education.” In that report, Adami explains that Stanford has “one of the strongest financial aid programs in the country.” Additionally, last year the Board of Trustees changed financial aid eligibility so families with incomes below $75,000 are not expected to pay tuition, room, and board. The income level was originally $65,000.
Other top universities have also seen tuition increases. Yale, for example, announced tuition will be increasing 3.8% for the 2022-2023 academic year to $80,700. However, this is the same percentage increase as the previous year, as tuition for the 2021-2022 academic year also increased by 3.8%. Unlike Stanford, Brown University approved the lowest tuition increase in the last decade. According to a news report published on the university’s website, Brown will increase undergraduate tuition by 2.85% to $62,680. As cited in the news report, President Christina Paxson said the decision on tuition and fees was “made in context of strong endowment performance and fundraising successes at Brown.”
According to U.S. News, tuition at private universities has increased 144% from 2002 to 2022. Tuition has increased exponentially at top universities. It is important that these universities continue to offer substantial financial aid packages so all eligible students have the chance to attend, regardless of the cost. The College Board offers great resources explaining financial aid awards that we recommend checking out. Merit scholarships are also great options to help cover tuition costs. Here is a guide Command Education has assembled explaining the different types of merit scholarships and how to prepare for them.
