In an email sent to all students, the University announced Wednesday afternoon that tuition and fees will increase 3.6 percent the next academic year, which is the lowest increase since the 2009-2010 academic year. Next year will be the eighth consecutive year that the tuition increase rate has decreased (sounds confusing, we know – but it means tuition is going up by less each year), according to the email.
Undergraduate tuition will cost $52,239 for the 2017-2018 academic year. Room and board fees, along with student activity and athletic fees, will increase by a little over 3 percent, and the student health fee will remain at $200. This adds up to a cost of about $68,725 for a student living on campus in a double room with a full meal plan to attend Northwestern next year.
In addition to announcing tuition costs, NU renewed its commitment to eliminating student loans. Next year, $174 million will be allotted for undergraduate aid, and aid packages will consist of grants, scholarships, students' expected summer earnings and work study to prevent students from having to take out loans. For students who already have taken out loans, or started before fall 2016 when that initiative began, NU will offer the Debt Cap scholarship to assist with loans over $20,000.
Finally, the University significantly increased financial assistance for undocumented immigrants who graduated from a U.S. high school for the first time this year, and it plans to continue that policy next year.