Tuition hike sparks concern among students

69 angry faces, 33 sad faces and five surprised faces: these were the Facebook reactions of Penn students when they received news of Penn’s tuition hike via a Daily Pennsylvanian Facebook post on Thursday.

Last week, administrators announced that the University will be increasing the total cost of attendance by 3.9 percent, from $63,526 to $66,000 for the 2016-17 academic year. The financial aid budget will also be increased 3.9 percent, from $208 to $214 million, in an effort to offset the burden aided students may face in paying tuition.

This is the seventh consecutive year that tuition has increased by 3.9 percent, and the eighth year that Penn has kept the increase under 4 percent. Financial aid budget has also steadily increased for the past several years.

“I think it’s natural,” College freshman Vivian Dai said. “I’m not really surprised.”

Dai says Penn covers about a fourth of her college tuition and in comparison to other colleges she applied to last year, provided the best financial aid offer.

“One of the main reasons I decided to come here is because of the financial aid package,” she said. “Obviously my parents will be a little bit more upset [with the tuition increase].”

According to Vice President of Budget and Management Analysis Bonnie Gibson, there was a 36 percent increase in the number of freshmen who received financial aid from Penn from 2008 to 2016. 39 percent of aided freshman last year were from families with annual incomes under $80,000

“We were always aiding the students from under $80,000,” said Gibson at Penn’s Board of Trustees Budget and Committee meeting last Thursday. “Particularly in the years during the economic downturn, we have begun to aid more heavily the students in the middle income ranges.”

In 2015, 20 percent of aided students received grants of $60,000 or more, 43 percent received grants of $50,000 or more and 71 percent of all aided students received grants of at least $35,000.

However, Penn’s tuition increase continues to worry some students who are on financial aid. 

“The price of college is ridiculous as it is,” Engineering junior Jessica Ramos said. “And then increasing it, that’s even more ridiculous.”

Ramos, whose family is currently financing other siblings in college and is of lower middle class status, pays about $10,000 a year in family contributions. The rest is covered by grants from Penn.

“I personally wouldn’t be here if Penn didn’t provide me with grant money,” she said. “If I had to pay 66 grand, I would go somewhere else.”

College freshman Sydney Li, whose tuition is 95 percent covered by aid from Penn, expressed worries over the tuition increase.

“Penn advertises themselves as a institution that makes sure students who come from low income families don’t have to worry about paying tuition to get a good education,” she said. “[But] the tuition hike does worry me a lot [because] even being on financial aid, my family still has [a] very difficult [time] paying our contribution. Aside from tuition, we have a lot of additional costs that really add to the burden of paying for things.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.