
Today Yale College announced the term bill for the 2017-2018 academic year, and reaffirmed its commitment to meet the full financial need of all undergraduate students, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Yale also recently announced a set of enhancements to its financial aid program, designed to eliminate barriers and reduce costs for students with the greatest financial need.
The Yale College term bill, which includes tuition, room, and board, will increase 3.5% from $64,650 to $66,900. Tuition will be $51,400, and room and board for students who live on campus will be $15,500.
University Director of Financial Aid Caesar Storlazzi also recently announced that Student Effort — the amount students receiving financial aid contribute toward their Yale education — will not increase for the 2017-2018 academic year. This will be the second consecutive year with no increase in Student Effort, even as Yale’s financial aid budget has expanded. The Provost’s Office anticipates that financial aid expenditures in 2017-2018 will increase more than 12% and that over half of Yale College students will receive scholarships that cover nearly their full tuition. Yale spent nearly $128 million on undergraduate need-based financial aid in the 2016-2017 academic year.
Currently more than half of Yale undergraduate students receive a need-based Yale scholarship. The average annual grant is more than $47,000, and Yale’s financial aid awards do not require students or their families to take out loans. Nearly two-thirds of the student body (62%) receives some form of financial assistance through a Yale need-based scholarship, external scholarship, or education loan. More than 85% of the Yale Class of 2016 graduated debt-free.
Yale recently expanded its financial aid awards for families with the greatest financial need. For several years Yale has not required parents earning less than $65,000 annually — with typical assets — to make any contribution toward the cost of a child’s education. Beginning in 2017-2018 all incoming freshmen who qualify for one of these generous financial aid awards will also benefit from a $2,000 Yale College Start-Up Fund for freshman year to assist with purchasing a computer, winter clothing, and other expenses; a $600 annual allowance in sophomore, junior, and senior years; and a summer income contribution in their three continuing years that is 35% lower than for most students on financial aid.
Last December Yale announced reductions in Student Effort — the amount students receiving financial aid contribute toward their Yale education — that benefit all financial aid recipients. Yale also increased funding for other supplemental grant programs, which now include a $1,000 first-year allowance for freshman international students with high financial need, and a $1,500 annual vacation allowance for all international students on financial aid to support travel, housing, and meals during holiday breaks.
Yale recently surpassed its fundraising goal for Access Yale, adding $285 million in resources for financial aid across the university. As Yale College prepares to enroll a larger student body — beginning with 1550 freshmen who will matriculate this fall — the university is well-positioned to continue to meet its commitments while expanding access for students from lower- and middle-incomes families.
“As Yale College becomes larger and more diverse, our commitment to affordability remains the same,” said Storlazzi. “We are all grateful to Yale’s many donors for their generosity and Yale’s leadership for continuing to place need-based financial aid among the university’s top priorities.”