The sticker price to attend an Ivy League school next year is stretching to more than $90,000.
At the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, the annual cost of attendance is now well above the median household income in the US, with tuition, fees, housing and other expenses totaling an estimated $92,288. Cornell University will run more than $92,000, while the price is higher than $91,000 at Dartmouth and Brown.
Many students enrolled at the eight Ivy League colleges will pay less after federal and institutional aid. With a $21 billion endowment, Penn covers costs for students whose families make $75,000 or less. Still, the steady march higher of college costs comes after one of the most chaotic application seasons ever, with more and more prospective students across the US looking to avoid the weight of the nation’s $1.7 trillion student debt crisis.
Families paying full price for an Ivy League school could face a bill of more than $350,000 for four years.
“We are having a sort of an affordability crisis in higher ed, and even the perceived affordability is a huge barrier,” said Mark Huelsman, a fellow at the Student Borrower Protection Center. “In general, it creates this access barrier for students who are like, ‘I can never afford that.’”
The increased cost of attending an Ivy League school was roughly in-line with a 4% increase rate at colleges and universities across the US, according to the Commonfund Institute. Tuition for the next academic year at Brown University jumped 4.5%; at Dartmouth College, including fees, it rose 3.8%; and at Yale University, the bill including tuition, housing and meals increased nearly 4%.
Still demand for coveted spots at an Ivy is not slowing down. This year, applications to Yale, Dartmouth and Penn were up more than 9%. But at Harvard University, applications fell 5% after a turbulent year that included the resignation of its president.
Here’s a list of the estimated cost of attendance, including tuition, housing, fees, and other expenses, at Ivy League schools for the 2024-2025 academic year.
University of Pennsylvania
• $92,288
• Students who receive aid: 46%
• Students whose families make $75,000 or less with typical assets will now receive financial aid packages that cover tuition, fees, housing and dining.
Cornell University
• $92,150
• Students who receive aid: 48%
• Families with a total income of less than $75,000 and typical assets will have no parent contribution and no loans.
Brown University
• $91,676
• Students who receive aid: 52%
• Brown covers full tuition for families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets and all expenses for families making less than $60,000 a year.
Dartmouth College
• $91,312
• Students who receive aid: 59%
• Dartmouth undergraduates from families with annual income of $125,000 or less who possess typical assets are offered need-based aid without a required loan component and have no parent contribution.
Yale University
• $90,975
• Students who receive aid: 59%
• Parents earning less than $75,000 annually with typical assets receive financial aid to cover the full cost of tuition, housing, meal plan, travel costs and hospitalization insurance.
Columbia University
• $89,587 for the 2023-2024 academic year
• Students who receive aid: 49%
• Students from families with annual incomes less than $150,000 with typical assets, are able to attend Columbia tuition free.
Princeton University
• $86,700
• Students who receive aid: 65%
• For families earning up to $100,000 with typical assets, the financial aid grant typically covers the full cost of attendance including tuition, room, board and personal expenses.
Harvard University
• $82,866, excluding books and other expenses
• Students who receive aid: 55%
• Families with annual incomes of $85,000 or less do not pay anything towards the cost of a Harvard education.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.