UM cost of attendance climbs $5,000. Students to pay $93,000 next year | WLRN
Wow! I guess they (and other private schools) can keep raising their price as long as there are willing takers. Perhaps we are seeing a bubble, that may burst at some point (?)
This stood out to me (emphasis added by me):
For perspective, rising seniors were given a $75,240 COA estimate when they committed to UM in 2021. This has increased by 24.4% just in their four years as students.
3 Likes
Direct costs tuition/fees/room/board are âonlyâ $86K. There are schools whose direct costs are or will be over $90K for 2024-25. For example, NYU Tisch will be ~$94k in direct costs this fall.
I also found this snippet from the article interesting:
The COA increase comes at the same time as students are grappling with an adjustment to the Universityâs financial aid policies that will limit federal and state aid for students taking courses outside their main degree of study.
That info is on the website here: Terms and Conditions | Undergraduate Financial Assistance | University of Miami
@kelsmom What does this mean in practical terms? Does this mean U Miami gross direct COA will only include courses needed for the studentâs degree and financial aid will be applied to that (possibly artificially deflated) number?
For most students, this probably wonât make a difference. It looks like UMiami has beefed up its financial aid compliance efforts. Federal regulations do require that financial aid not be used for courses that donât count directly toward the degree (this is a huge headache for community colleges). Federal aid is based on full time enrollment, which is typically 12 credits. For a school like UMiami, the impact is minimal ⊠if there is a 3 credit class that doesnât count toward a degree, but the student is taking 16 credits, 13 credits count toward the degree ⊠thatâs full time, so there is no impact on aid (because the tuition is the same for 12 or 16 credits). Where it comes into play is if a student wants to extend their stay to take classes that would give them a minor or a second major. This would result in a lack of financial aid for the extra courses. schools have an automated system that will flag students whose enrollment puts them in a situation where aid is impacted. But I would caution that any student at UMiami should consult an academic advisor to find out what effect it will have on their aid (if any) if they are taking courses outside of those strictly required for their major.
I suppose that it could impact students who pay by the credit hour, if it requires adjusting cost of attendance based on actual attendance. However, I donât think thatâs the case, since COA is allowed to be set at a particular credit assumption (which is usually 12 at state schools) & there are no regulations requiring adjustments to COA based on any enrollment over the minimum level of full time enrollment.
3 Likes
How common is at UM for students to receive merit $? What do most (non financial aid) students pay?
You can figure this out in the common data set assuming a school publishes one (I am always suspicious if they donât or donât have a recent one). Most recent âŠ
For incoming freshman, assuming current COA somewhere near 90K (listed as 88.4K+ on website)
45% get financial aid, average award $55,380. Average COA 35K
39% get merit scholarships and donât qualify for need based aid. Average award 24,895. Average COA 65K.
Miami is interesting that they do have some large awards, plus they designate funds for school of music. Curious on the range.
Around 16% are paying full freight.
1 Like
Iâm curious to why the price tags keep rising.
Obviously, inflation (increasing cost in stuff like maintenance as well as having to subsequently increase salaries), but I also wonder if itâs because demand for UMiami has been increasing, and that demand is inelastic (people are still willing to pay â have to if they are a student â even with price increases, and so UMiami can raise costs and make far more profit). I think similarity with NYU.
But then, price tags have gone up in less selective and âprestigiousâ schools so that canât be the sole explanation.
1 Like
I think that everything you pointed out comes into play. Additionally, in order to have a well balanced class, need based financial aid has to increase, and that often means that the full pay folks will pay more so that others will pay less (no whining ⊠no one has to pay full price, because they can always go elsewhere). And the increasing regulations affecting colleges requires more staff.
âGo elsewhereâ is the first thing that comes to mind.
The value of paying over $90,000 / year for a bachelorâs degree to me seems questionable if you are talking about Harvard / Princeton / Yale / MIT / Stanford / Chicago. However, I can see how someone might be willing to pay this much for a university at this level. I also could see someone paying this much for a one year masterâs degree, or even maybe a two years masterâs degree if the university has a very good program in your major.
For a university ranked between 50 and 100 (or lower) for a bachelorâs degree I just do not get it. An in-state public university seems like a much better choice.
I have to wonder whether the academically strongest students will either get significant merit aid or just go somewhere else.
5 Likes
Well. At least you have the sunshine 
.
Their accelerated BSN seems like a good deal, though.