The Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania has approved a 3.9% increase in undergraduate tuition for the 2026-27 academic year while allocating a record 347 million United States dollars to the undergraduate financial aid budget.According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, university administrators announced the changes during a meeting on Thursday. The total cost of attendance will increase from 91,112 United States dollars to 94,582 US dollars for the coming academic year.
Cost of attendance set to increase
Under the proposed plan, tuition will increase from 63,204 US dollars to 65,670 US dollars. Mandatory fees will rise from 8,032 US dollars to 8,308 US dollars.Housing and dining charges will also increase. Room and board will move from 13,132 US dollars to 13,644 US dollars, while meal plan costs will increase from 6,744 US dollars to 6,960 US dollars.Both the tuition adjustment and the financial aid allocation remain subject to final approval by the Board of Trustees during its stated meeting on Friday.
Financial position and policy changes
The tuition increase follows growth in the university’s financial position. A financial report released on February 6 showed that Penn’s total net assets increased by about 2.9 billion US dollars in fiscal year 2025.The report also recorded a 1.5 billion US dollar rise in revenue and a 1.3 billion US dollar increase in expenditures, along with an increase of nearly 400 students in total enrollment.The adjustments also come ahead of a new federal excise tax on endowment income that will take effect in July. The tax is set at 4%.Earlier this year, Provost John Jackson Jr. and Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield cited the tax and other financial uncertainties while announcing a 4%t reduction in certain expenditures across schools and centres.“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, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.“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,” they added.
Financial aid allocation increases
During the meeting, Vice President for Budget Planning and Analysis Trevor Lewis said that endowment income is expected to account for 28% of funding for undergraduate financial aid.The financial aid budget will rise by 3.8% for fiscal year 2027. University officials said the increase is partly linked to a financial aid initiative introduced in 2024.The programme, known as “The Quaker Commitment”, was implemented at the start of the 2025-26 academic year and expanded financial support for middle income families.The policy increased financial aid packages, guaranteed full tuition scholarships for more students and raised the income threshold for families eligible for full tuition scholarships from 140,000 US dollars to 200,000 US dollars with typical assets.“The Quaker Commitment covers the cost of tuition for families under 200,000,” Dingfield said during Thursday’s meeting, The Daily Pennsylvanian reports.“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,” he added.Lewis said the higher growth in the aid budget reflects the implementation of the new programme, which he said “makes Penn education more affordable”.
Peer institutions take different approaches
Penn’s tuition increase follows similar decisions at other universities. Brown University recently announced a 4.25% increase in undergraduate tuition.In contrast, Columbia University voted in November 2025 to freeze tuition for the 2026-27 academic year.A university spokesperson said the budget reflects ongoing efforts to manage costs while sustaining academic and student support initiatives.“The approved budget reflects ongoing efforts to manage costs responsibly while sustaining investments in faculty, research, student support, and the student residential experience,” the spokesperson said in a statement, The Daily Pennsylvanian reports.“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 receive final confirmation by the relevant committee in early April.
