Stanford University to Raise Undergraduate Tuition by 7%

• During the next academic year, the total cost for tuition, fees, and room and board at Stanford will be $82,406.
• Undergraduate families with incomes under $100,000 will not have to pay tuition or room and board.
• Families with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000 will have tuition fees covered by scholarships.
• Brown, Yale, and Georgetown have also recently announced tuition hikes for 2023-24 between 3% and 5%.

Stanford University's board of trustees announced this month that there will be significant changes to tuition and financial aid structures for the 2023-24 academic year.

Among these changes includes a 7% increase in undergraduate tuition — a move, the university states, is happening to reflect inflationary costs.

This decision comes as an increasing number of universities have lowered tuition costs to address growing affordability concerns among current and prospective students.

Along with tuition, the university's room and board charges will also increase by 7% next year, to $19,922.

The current undergraduate full-tuition and fees cost is $76,924, a 4% increase from the 2021-22 academic year. In 2023-24, this will rise to $82,406.

But rises in tuition aren't the only changes to expect from the university next year. Stanford will offset its new tuition hikes by expanding its current financial aid policies.

Families of undergraduate students with incomes under $100,000 a year will not have to pay tuition or room and board fees beginning in 2023-24. For students from families earning between $100,000 and $150,000 a year, enough scholarship aid will be awarded to cover the cost of tuition at minimum.

This is a significant change from the university's current policy, which only covers tuition and room and board fees for students from families earning under $75,000 a year.

According to Stanford's website, more than two-thirds of its undergraduate students are awarded either internal or external financial aid. And as of 2022-23, 86% of students graduate with no debt.

"Stanford is committed to providing an affordable education for all students, regardless of their economic circumstances," Jerry Yang, chair of the Stanford Board of Trustees said in a statement addressing the new changes. "We are pleased that this newest expansion of our financial aid program continues and extends that commitment."

Even with the significant expansion of the university's financial aid policies, Stanford's striking tuition rises are difficult to ignore. No other major institution's year-over-year tuition costs have increased quite as much as 7%.

Still, Stanford is far from the only university to raise tuition in the face of inflation. Over the last two years, Harvard, Brown, Georgetown, and Yale have all announced tuition increases between 3% and 5%. And experts anticipate that a growing number of institutions will do the same in the coming years.