For the 2024–25 academic year, Tufts’ undergraduate tuition will increase, making the estimated cost of attendance a staggering $92,167. Although 38% of the class that matriculated in the fall of 2023 doesn’t pay that full ‘sticker price,’ the cost itself is shocking. Even so, over 60% of students pay that full sticker price; over the course of a four-year degree, that sums to over $350,000.
Crossing the $90,000 mark for the first time poses the question of where our tuition dollars go, a question without a clear answer.
In the midst of tuition increasing, the Office of the President sent Tufts faculty and staff a message about the financial state of the university, generally citing increased expenses as the reason for the institution’s need “to perform a delicate balancing act.”
Phillip Levine, a professor of economics at Wellesley College, told the Boston Globe that $90,000+ is the highest number that someone would pay. At Wellesley, according to him “you’d have to be making at least $300,000 with typical assets” to pay the full sticker price.
There are no quick solutions to the issue, but Tufts could take steps like reducing or eliminating the 1.5% per month interest on late tuition so students have more leeway if they need more time to pay.
Most of all, information about paying for Tufts is key. Current and prospective Tufts students need to understand what meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need means. If students and families understand that they’re not expected to be able to afford over $90,000 per year, but instead it could be closer to $40,000, $20,000 or even $0, then more students outside of the ultrarich would approach Tufts. More extensive resources, such as Washington University in St. Louis’ Financial Aid Dictionary, show us that better information is possible.
At the same time, Tufts must forge ahead toward growing its endowment. Having an endowment smaller than our peer institutions, like WashU, Brown University and Dartmouth College has been an issue since at least 2001.
Lastly, Tufts should bring us, the students, into the conversations about the university’s finances. As noted by a two-part series on where Tufts tuition goes, a significant amount of information isn’t accessible to students, and students aren’t notified about Tufts’ finances.
Tufts is often called on to reduce the residency requirement, which currently sits at eight semesters of full-time study. This has been changed in the past, with students who were enrolled in the fall of 2020 required to attend Tufts for only six semesters, showing it’s possible to complete the undergraduate requirements on a shorter timeline and remain part of the Tufts community. There was also a 2007 change that added exceptions to the requirement. However, seeing that much of Tufts’ funding comes from tuition, it makes sense why it may not be a strategic move for the university. There is an opportunity to learn from our peers and institute a formal 3+1 master’s program, like those offered by Harvard University and the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, in addition to the 4+1 programs currently offered. Students in these programs would stay a part of the Tufts community for four years, Tufts would still collect four years of tuition, the requirements of the bachelor’s degree would not be compromised, and students would be able to earn a master’s degree they likely would not have otherwise pursued.
Tufts’ housing and dining is required for first-year and second-year students. Tufts should make those resources more powerful and support students using them. Tufts should make more of its meal plans usable, removing limits for frequency and expanding their functionality to all “retail” locations, and even off-campus locations.
I know firsthand how complex understanding the process of financial aid is at large and here at Tufts. When I accepted federal loans through the university, I knew it would show up on my credit report, but it wasn’t clear that it would add two separate accounts and increase the reported balance long after the loans were drawn from. I was also unaware that a switch in loan servicers would cause my credit report to show two brand new accounts, impacting my credit report unexpectedly. If that sounds complicated, imagine how many other examples there are of students struggling to navigate the complex maze that is financial aid.
These ideas may seem like a chaotic combination of patches, but collectively, they improve the position of Tufts’ financial aid program. An issue that draws from a myriad of components should be met with an equally complex number of coordinated solutions.
The pandemic showed us how quickly it’s possible for Tufts to act — when motivated. The university should use the same level of coordination to make Tufts more accessible, affordable and valuable to students to make progress on University President Sunil Kumar’s goal of Tufts “opening its doors as wide as possible.”
