Penn’s Board of Trustees voted to approve a 3.9% increase in undergraduate tuition costs for the coming academic year, along with allotting a record $347 million to the undergraduate financial aid budget.
During a Thursday meeting, Penn administrators announced that the total cost of attendance will increase from $91,112 to $94,582 for the 2026-27 academic year. Tuition will increase from $63,204 to $65,670, fees from $8,032 to $8,308, room and board from $13,132 to $13,644, and meal plan charges from $6,744 to $6,960.
Both the tuition increase and the financial aid budget are pending final approval by the Board of Trustees at its stated meeting on Friday.
The tuition increase comes after Penn's total net assets increased by roughly $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to a Feb. 6 financial report. The document indicated a $1.5 billion increase in revenue, a $1.3 billion increase in expenditures, and a nearly 400-student increase in enrollment.
The changes also precede a 4% federal excise tax on endowment income set to take effect this July. Earlier this year, Provost John Jackson Jr. and Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield cited the tax — along with other financial uncertainties — while announcing a 4% reduction to certain expenditures across all schools and centers.
“As the impacts of federal policy changes have become clearer and costs continue to rise across the University, we are reaffirming our responsibility for careful financial management,” Jackson and Dingfield wrote at the time. “With this in mind, we have asked Schools and Centers to undertake a proactive planning process for the coming fiscal year that will enable us to thoughtfully manage costs and support our long-term financial outlook.”
During the meeting, Vice President for Budget Planning & Analysis Trevor Lewis announced that endowment income is projected to comprise 28% of funding for undergraduate aid.
Accompanying the tuition rise is a 3.8% increase in the undergraduate financial aid budget for fiscal year 2027. In 2024, Penn announced a new financial aid initiative — titled “The Quaker Commitment” — to support middle-income families.
The policy — which went into effect at the start of the 2025-26 academic year — increased financial aid packages, guaranteed full tuition scholarships to a greater number of students, and raised the income threshold for families eligible to receive full tuition scholarships from $140,000 to $200,000 with typical assets.
“The Quaker Commitment covers the cost of tuition for families under 200,000,” Dingfield explained on Thursday. “There are plenty of families who have annual income over $200,000 who still receive aid. So if you look at the distribution of the aid program, actually we go quite a bit higher than that.”
During the meeting, Lewis attributed the “higher growth in the aid budget” to the new plan, which he said “makes Penn education more affordable.”
“Overall, these investments reflect a continued effort to expanding access, strengthening affordability, and supporting students,” Associate Vice President of Student Registration and Financial Services Mariana Valdes-Fauli said at the meeting.
Penn’s tuition increase is similar to that of Brown University, which recently announced a 4.25% increase in undergraduate tuition. Columbia University voted in November 2025 to freeze tuition for the 2026-27 year.
“The approved budget reflects ongoing efforts to manage costs responsibly while sustaining investments in faculty, research, student support, and the student residential experience,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement. “At the same time, the University remains focused on balancing the resources required to deliver a world-class education with its commitment to substantial financial aid support for students and families.”
The changes are expected to be finalized by the committee in early April.
Staff reporter Kathryn Ye covers central administration and can be reached at ye@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies biochemistry and philosophy.
