In 2015, NYU was considered the fourth-most expensive university to attend, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s analysis of College Board data. With new financial aid initiatives, the university has moved down to the 43rd most expensive higher education institution in the United States, including tuition, annual fees and housing. While NYU has recently made efforts to reduce tuition costs and bolster aid, the university continues to fight its reputation as one of the priciest higher education institutions in the country. In a written statement to WSN, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said that in 2010, the university began prioritizing affordability and accessibility regarding financial aid. Since then, NYU has increased its budget for undergraduate financial aid to $475 million per year — taking up nearly 12% of its $4.1 billion annual budget. This is a larger part of the budget than is spent at some of the university’s peer schools — Columbia University currently allocates around $200 million annually to financial aid, taking up around 3% of its annual budget, and Fordham University awards $71.8 million in aid for first-year students, around 10% of its annual budget. “NYU is hampered compared to many peer private research universities by having a relatively small per-student endowment,” Beckman wrote. “NYU works very hard to make the application process for financial aid as simple and straightforward as possible; however, some of the information required is by the federal government in order for scholarship aid to flow.” For the 2023-24 academic year, NYU announced it would increase tuition by 3.6%. Beckman said President Linda Mills recently announced increases in scholarship grants that match increases in annual tuition. The university has also increased its average scholarship grant by over $20,000 from 2016 to 2021. In 2006, NYU’s average financial aid package was $20,000 per year. Click the link below to read the full story. ✍ Gabrielle Panelo and Nikki Mirala for Washington Square News 📸 Qianshan Weng for Washington Square News
