Tuition prices rise across Ivies for next year

The high cost of attending an Ivy League institution will get a little bit more expensive next year, according to tuition and total cost information released by seven of the eight Ivy schools. And while the average tuition increase of 4.5 percent was significantly lower than the double-digit increases typical of the 1980s, it is still almost double this year's inflation rate. Penn trustees recently voted to raise tuition 5.3 percent, from $21,130 to $22,250. While this represents the largest tuition hike among the Ivies, the total cost of a year at Penn only increased 4.5 percent -- from $28,096 to $29,354 -- and remains slightly lower than at most other Ivies. Tuition for Brown University next year will be $22,592, a 4.6 percent increase over this year's $21,592 tuition. Next year, Brown students can expect to pay a total of $29,900 for tuition, room, board and fees -- a 4.3 percent increase from the current year. "Brown and its peer institutions face the daunting challenge from students and their families of continuing to provide an outstanding education with an increasing array of services and programs while maintaining the lowest level of tuition increases possible," Brown Provost James Pomerantz said in a written release. Tuition for Cornell University's private colleges will jump to $21,840 next year -- a 4.5 percent increase over this year's $20,900 tuition -- while total costs will increase to $29,050. Cornell officials have yet to determine tuition for the colleges which receive funding from the state of New York. Dartmouth College trustees approved a 4.8 percent tuition hike, bringing undergraduate tuition to $22,896 for the 1997-98 school year. Next year's total costs will rise 4.5 percent to $29,507. Harvard University raised its tuition 4.1 percent to $20,600 -- its lowest increase in 30 years. But the total cost of attending Harvard next year will be $30,080, making it the most expensive Ivy League school. Jeremy Knowles, dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said the 4.1 percent rate reflects his goal of "continuing to lower tuition increases year by year despite the rising costs of financial aid, information technology, library materials and other items essential to sustaining the quality of Harvard's academic programs." Tuition at Princeton University increased 4.2 percent to $22,920, but the total cost of a year at Princeton will only increase 3.9 percent, from $28,325 to $29,435. This is the first time in 30 years that the university's total costs have grown at a rate less than 4 percent, according to Princeton officials. "This represents a determined effort on our part to restrain the rate at which tuition increases, and to bring the rate of increase more closely into line with increases in family incomes," Princeton President Harold Shapiro said in a written release. Yale University trustees approved a 3.7 percent increase in total costs for 1997-98 -- from $28,880 to 29,950. Yale's $23,100 tuition is the highest among the Ivies for the upcoming academic year. Columbia University trustees will determine undergraduate tuition for 1997-98 at their June meeting, officials said.