“… Tuition at Barnard—which rose 25 percent between 2010 and 2017—remains the college’s main source of revenue, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the college’s operating budget. Including the comprehensive fee—which students pay for services like access to Dodge Fitness Center and Student Health Services—the 2017-2018 tuition and fees will be $55,032, up from this year’s cost of $52,662.” …
Wow! My D. was WL at Barnard this year, but I think we wouldn’t have been able to afford it anyway. (D was taking a shot to see how they calculated need aid. . . ) And now it’s getting even worse!
Costs won’t change for those getting need based aid – the grants will simply be increased to compenate. In some ways the change to a flat rate for housing might be beneficial to financially needy student choosing singles rather than doubles for housing – as it will provides financial aid recipient with more flexiblity for housing.
The 4.5% increase is also consistent with past years and I don’t think that Barnard’s overall COA is in any way out of step with other elite private colleges – so if you are full pay, you really need to expect increases across the board at almost all colleges. So whatever you think you can afford…you really need to assume a steady rise in costs for 4 years. If you have accepted a merit award at another college that is a specific dollar amount, you might find it diminishing in value over the years as costs rise.
Agreed with above. Every school goes up each year and this will not effect Financial Aid. Top private colleges are expensive these days.