Penn increases tuition and other costs by 3.9%

The full cost to attend the University of Pennsylvania for the 2024-25 academic year will rise 3.9% to $87,860, after a vote taken Thursday by the school’s trustees.

The costs include tuition of $60,920, fees of $7,766, and $12,640 for a standard room and $6,534 for meals.

The overall increase for undergraduate students is similar to last year’s hike when the board raised tuition and room and board 4% to $84,600. The percentage increases over the last two years return Penn to pre-pandemic-level hikes. Percentage increases were smaller during the pandemic.

Penn noted that it also will increase its financial aid budget 4.5% to $311 million, noting that 46% of students receive need-based aid. The university enrolls more than 10,400 undergraduates.

» READ MORE: Penn raises tuition, other costs 4%, while expanding full financial aid to more families

“Each year when assessing increases in undergraduate charges, we grow our financial aid support at an even higher rate, keeping costs stable for families with demonstrated need,” Trevor Lewis, vice president for budget planning and analysis, said in a statement.

The university said the average financial aid package this year is $66,764, about three-quarters the cost of attendance.

Penn announced last year that it would expand its full aid program to families who make less than $75,000 with “typical assets” — the threshold had been $65,500. Under the plan, Penn said it would provide students in that group with summer internships, tuition and research funding, stipends for food during Thanksgiving and winter breaks when dining halls are closed, graduation regalia, and grant funding to cover the cost of Penn’s health insurance plan, the university said.

Penn’s increase in costs this year is smaller than those of some other elite universities that have announced hikes, including Duke University, Stanford University and Brown University.