Emory University is increasing undergraduate tuition from $59,920 to $63,400 — a 5.8% increase — for the 2024-25 academic year. The total cost of undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board is increasing by 5.9% from $79,054 to $83,715, according to a March 7 press release.
The Board of Trustees signed off on the increase in accordance with recommendations from University President Gregory Fenves.
According to Consumer Price Index inflation forecasts, the average inflation rate will be 3% in 2024 and 1.8% in 2025. In 2022 and 2023, the inflation rate was 9.59% and 4.06%, respectively.
This year’s tuition increase is greater than recent years, following a pattern of increasingly-large tuition mark-ups that began in 2022. Last year, Emory increased tuition by 4.9% for the 2023-24 academic year, following a 4.5% increase for the 2022-23 academic year and a 3% increase for the 2021-22 academic year. The Board of Trustees voted against changing tuition for the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but previously planned to increase the price by 4%.
Tuition has spiked from $54,660 to $63,400 in the past four years, marking a 15.99% increase.
Emory is committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for all domestic students, the press release stated. The University currently awards students $168 million in scholarships and need-based grants each year.
The University replaced need-based loans with institutional grants in January 2022 as an expansion of Emory Advantage, allowing more students to graduate debt-free. Out of about 8,000 undergraduate students at Emory, over 3,000 are part of the program this academic year.
Emory First intern Terrence Lurry (25C) is among the students participating in the Emory Advantage program. However, Lurry said some of his peers still face difficulty paying for housing and meals even with the grants.
Lurry expressed that he would appreciate more transparency regarding tuition increases.
“That would one, help address some of … the tension and some of the discomfort that brings students from low income backgrounds and first generation students, but also transparency as to why they’re raising those prices that I think would be very beneficial in one, helping students address the financial costs but also … them having to shift their academic focus or their extracurricular focus in order to pay for these things,” Lurry said.
Emory is increasing tuition by a higher percentage rate than many peer institutions. Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) announced a 4.5% increase in their tuition last month, raising tuition from $61,750 to $64,500. Likewise, Georgetown University (D.C.) is also increasing tuition by 4.5% to $67,824 for the 2024-25 academic year. Other peer institutions that increased tuition for the upcoming academic year include Brown University (R.I.) by 4.5%, Duke University (N.C.) by 4.35% and Carnegie Mellon University (Penn.) by 3.72%.
News Editor Lauren Yee (25Ox) contributed reporting.
Update (3/20/2024 at 1:45 p.m.): This article was updated to include comment from Emory First intern Terrence Lurry (25C).
