Tuition, Financial Aid Increase for 2011-2012

Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees voted on Feb. 26 to increase tuition and residential comprehensive fees by 3.8 percent for the 2011-12 academic year.

Continuing its commitment to a strong financial aid program, Wesleyan will increase its budget for aid by 11.8 percent. Wesleyan admits first-year students without regard to their financial circumstances and meets, through grants and loans, the full demonstrated need of all students eligible for financial aid.

Tuition will be $43,404 for all students in 2011-2012. For freshman and sophomores, the residential comprehensive fee will be $12,032. For juniors and seniors, the fee will be $13,678. The higher residential comprehensive fee for juniors and seniors reflects the higher cost of the options available to them. Juniors and seniors have access to apartments and houses in addition to residence hall rooms. They also have greater flexibility in dining options.

“During the past three years we have taken many steps to reduce our annual operating expenses and minimize the need for tuition increases,” says President Michael S. Roth. “As a result, the university is financially stable and moving forward with balanced budgets. We continue to raise student charges by no more than required to sustain the high-quality liberal arts education that distinguishes Wesleyan.”

Careful budget controls have been no impediment to academic innovation, Roth says. He cited Wesleyan’s College of the Environment, the Shapiro Creative Writing Center, and the Wesleyan Media Project, devoted to the study of political campaign advertising, as examples of strong new programs that are creating opportunities for students.

“Faculty and students continue to re-imagine liberal arts education even as we strengthen the economic foundations of the university,” he says.

“Our fastest growing major is the interdisciplinary study of Neuroscience and Behavior, which underscores the desire of faculty and students to explore those exciting areas between traditional disciplines where the most far-reaching discoveries are being made,” Roth adds.

Applications to Wesleyan have risen by 22 percent since 2008, and the number of students seeking early admission—indicating that Wesleyan is their top choice—has soared by 44 percent in that period.

“Wesleyan’s reputation, already strong, is clearly on the rise,” Roth says. “More and more, students from across the country and around the world are saying they want to come here.”