February 27, 2003

Undergraduate tuition will increase 4.8 percent for 2003-04 academic year

Undergraduate tuition at Northwestern will increase 4.8 percent to $28,404 for the 2003-2004 academic year from the current year’s $27,108, University officials announced today. The increase, which was approved recently by Northwestern’s Board of Trustees, is approximately the same rate of increase as the past four years.

Northwestern will continue its long-standing policy and increase the total amount of grant funds for undergraduates by the same percentage as the tuition increase for the coming year. Northwestern provides approximately $51 million annually in financial aid to undergraduates. Approximately half of Northwestern’s undergraduates receive direct aid grants and scholarships and nearly 60 percent receive some form of assistance, including aid grants, external scholarships, loans or work-study funds.

Northwestern also will continue its policy of “need-blind” admissions, in which a student’s ability to pay is not considered during the admissions process.

The Board of Trustees approved an increase of 6.2 percent to $8,814 from $8,299 in room and board rates for an undergraduate student living in a double room and on the standard 16-meal-per-week board plan. The higher increase in room and board rates is needed to support continuing facility maintenance and an adequate renewal and replacement program for the residence halls.

Approximately 4,400 of the Northwestern’s 7,700 undergraduate students live in University residence halls.

The undergraduate student activity fee of $120 will not increase next year.

Total undergraduate costs, including tuition, activity fee and room and board will be $37,338 for 2003-2004, compared to $35,527 for the current academic year, a 5.1 percent increase.

Northwestern’s total costs are lower than average for major private research universities. Among a group of 16 similar institutions that includes Ivy League universities, Chicago, Duke, Stanford, Washington University in St. Louis and others, Northwestern’s total costs for the current year rank 13th out of the 16 institutions and are $351 less than the mean total costs of those institutions.

The Board of Trustees also approved tuition rates for most of its graduate and professional programs. Graduate school tuition will increase by 7.1 percent to $28,404 next year and law school tuition will increase 5.9 percent to $33,896. Tuition for the Kellogg School of Management and the Feinberg School of Medicine will be finalized later this year.