Private College Tuition Discount Rate Hits All-Time High Of 53.9%

National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), Private College Tuition Discounting Continued Upward Trend During COVID-19 Pandemic:

Private colleges and universities significantly discounted listed tuition and fee prices for most students in 2020-21—continuing a long upward march in discount rates that only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2020 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study, 361 private, nonprofit colleges and universities reported an estimated 53.9 percent average institutional tuition discount rate for first-time, full-time, first-year students in 2020-21 and 48.1 percent for all undergraduates—both record highs. By providing grants, fellowships, and scholarships, these institutions forgo about half the revenue they otherwise would collect if they charged all students the tuition and fee sticker price.

In another long-term trend, most students received grant aid in 2020-21 and were awarded larger grants than in previous years—covering an average of 60.3 percent of listed tuition and fees for first-time undergraduates and 54.3 percent for all undergraduates. Nearly 90 percent of first-year students and approximately 83 percent of all undergraduates received some form of institutional grant aid.

Inside Higher Ed, Tuition Discount Rates Reach New High