Here’s what’s happening: WashU is wasting money on educationally irrelevant investments, taxing Arts & Sciences (and its other schools) to make up for its deficits, and defunding what matters.  

Undergraduate tuition for the 2026-2027 academic year is set to increase by 4.5%, going from $68,240 to $71,310 before financial aid is applied. Housing costs, meal plans, student activity fees, and student health fees will increase concurrently.

Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer David Gray said though the University is navigating financial challenges, WashU will not back away from its financial aid commitments. According to Gray, all University programs are subject to reexamination, but the University values its financial aid initiatives as a key part of WashU’s mission.

WashU’s Brown School will be the first in the nation to fully fund practicum credits and offer living stipends for all Master of Social Work (MSW) students starting this upcoming fall semester. The Practicum Support Award will cover the costs of both the foundation and concentration practicums, totaling 960 hours needed to complete WashU’s MSW.

I am thankful for initiatives like the WashU Pledge and the adoption of need-blind admissions, but WashU must do more. Several of my friends and classmates have transferred due to rising costs, and prospective students are increasingly ranking other schools above WashU because of financial concerns. WashU is losing talent not just from lower economic backgrounds, but also those from the middle class.

At home in Florida in November of 2024, Junior Kayleigh Hernandez was brought to tears discussing her future. Months earlier, she had been evicted from her WashU housing and was unable to continue taking her classes.

Over the summer of 2024, then-rising-junior Kayleigh Hernandez was confronted with a notification that shocked her: She had an outstanding balance of $50,000 owed to WashU. As a first-generation, low-income (FGLI) student, Hernandez normally paid a greatly reduced tuition that ranged in the hundreds of dollars.

Washington University students and parents were notified of a tuition increase for the 2024-2025 academic year on Feb. 1. The cost is a 4.5% increase from the current year, making it the highest tuition increase in the past 10 years. 

A WashU education continues to grow pricier, but after a pandemic and record endowment growth, the University should consider the necessity of raising tuition yet again.

While the change to need-blind admissions has been long-desired — almost an unachievable fantasy — this turn of long-halted gears on a highly supported admissions modification is commendable. It also shows that plenty of other “fantastical” financial changes are equally possible.