Penn's total charges pass $50K

With a little over $50,000, you could buy a Porsche, three pounds of gold or a thoroughbred racehorse — and now, a year at Penn.

Total charges — the sum of tuition, fees, room and board — will likely increase from $49,986 to $51,944.

This is a 3.9 percent increase, representing the second smallest jump behind last year’s 3.8 percent rise, according to Vice President for Budget and Management Analysis Bonnie Gibson.

The increase in total charges was approved at Thursday’s Budget and Finance Trustee Meeting and is expected to be approved by the full board at today’s Stated Meeting.

Some students are anticipating a difficult transition with the higher total charges.

“Although I understand why the University may have to increase the tuition, it’s really unfortunate that it happened now,” College sophomore Shomik Sarkar said. “I currently have a job on campus, and it’s something that more and more students are looking to do because it’s so expensive to go to school, especially in a city.”

The 3.9-percent increase in total charges places Penn “on the lower end of the spectrum of its peers” in terms of percent increase, Gibson said.

Peer schools — including Yale University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University and Washington University in St. Louis — all increased total charges by more than four percent this year.

At least 58 other private universities have passed the $50,000 mark for total charges as of November, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Penn President Amy Gutmann said that Penn has “tried to moderate our increases.”

Additionally, Gibson said she "feels very good" about the about the adjustments. While several peer institutions — notably Williams and Dartmouth Colleges — have retracted their no loan policies, Penn remains “committed to no-loan,” Gibson said.

Engineering sophomore Senem Sezgi was not surprised that tuition went up.

“I kind of knew this would happen. But it’s definitely not good news,” she said.

Recognizing the tough economic situation and the high cost of attending Penn, Director of Student Financial Services Bill Schilling emphasized that the University will “continue to meet all needs.”

Penn will also expand its financial aid budget by 11 percent. This is a $15 million increase, which brings the financial aid budget total to approximately $149 million, according to Schilling.

The number of aided Penn undergraduates increased by 10 percent in 2009-10, and aid expenditures have increased by 19 percent, Gibson explained.

Schilling predicted a further increase in the financial aid need, “though not as sharp as last year’s, as we haven’t come out of the recession.”

College sophomore Roni Mathew recognized that Penn is “very good with financial aid,” but added, “if they can help us out more, then they should.”

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