The slightest mention of the new semester can conjure the anxieties of fresh tuition bills.
Almost every student, parent, university official or prospective student weighs tuition heavily in evaluating his or her investment of time and money.
"It is important to remember that the sticker price of tuition is not the cost of your education. Tuition is like shopping for cars," said Director of the Murphy Institute Richard Teichgraeber, who teaches a seminar on university economics.
The standard tuition and fees at Tulane University stood at $25,390 for the 2000-2001 year, according to the University Registrar Web site. Currently, tuition and fees is set at $36,610 for 2007-2008, a trend of nearly a five percent annual increase.
In 2005, U.S. News and World Report ranked Tulane No. 43 in its 2006 America's Best Colleges issue. Since then, Tulane has dropped to No. 50, tied with Syracuse University in New York. As Tulane's national ranking begins to decline, its tuition and fees face increasing scrutiny from students choosing between the many prestigious private universities in the nation.
Just hours away, Rice University of Houston, Texas, ranks No. 17 in America's Best Colleges of 2008 and charges an annual tuition of only $28,400, according to Rice's website.
"Rice, historically, even in the late of 1980's, charged no tuition," Rice's Vice Preisdent for Enrollment Chris Munoz said. "Over a period of time they began charging tuition, and Rice still is anywhere from $6,000 to 8,000 less than its peers."
Rice boasts a strong reputation in nanotechnology and architecture. It also has a high percentage of pre-med students as it is located across from Texas Medical Center, which houses medical and research institutions of Rice, Baylor and Texas A&M.
Rice offers a "value system of being thoughtful to others, of manners. I find that most Rice students faculty and staff are truly friendly and really enjoy and encourage others' success," Munoz said. In addition, Rice has made a commitment against annually increasing its tuition. Most universities, Tulane included, generally suffer an annual increase of five or more percent.
Although Rice stands out as a Southern university with an esteemed ranking and lower tuition, many Southern universities charge tuition fees comparable to Tulane's, but maintain higher rankings.
Vanderbilt University, ranked No. 19 in the nation, is one of the many schools where tuition has risen recently. With a 2007-2008 tuition of $34,414, the cost has increased by approximately 5.5 percent. However, Vanderbilt offers an average award package of over $30,000 and a need-blind admission policy, similar to Tulane.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Clay
posted 11/09/07 @ 4:27 PM CST
You forgot to mention one other thing those other schools have that boosts their rankings and holds back Tulane's: the dreaded E-Word (Engineering)... (Continued…)
George
posted 11/10/07 @ 2:41 PM CST
Regarding the rankings drop, our problems have been going on for a while. The big drop was in 2000. We dropped from #34 to #44.
alex
posted 11/11/07 @ 4:30 PM CST
Frankly, I was amazed that the school was able to stay in the top 50 at all after Katrina. This years incoming class is larger than the year before and the SAT/GPA numbers are up as well so we will hopefully see a boost this year. (Continued…)
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