On Wednesday, March 13, Vice President for Enrollment John W. Buckley communicated via email to students and families on behalf of Fordham University, stating that there will be a 4.4% increase in tuition for the 2024-25 academic year.
The email stated that 2024-25 undergraduate tuition, food and housing fees will increase by 4.4%. This email comes following a 6% tuition increase announcement made last year for the 2023-24 academic year, meaning tuition at Fordham has increased 10.4% in two years.
“Understanding that every penny spent on a Fordham education represents the life savings of so many students and families, this is not a decision we take lightly,” read Buckley’s email. “While this increase is less than last year’s, I understand that an increase of any amount is a burden.”
Last year’s 6% increase went towards tuition and room and board, following a rise in inflation and the university losing $119 million in funds during COVID-19, according to a 2023 Fordham Ram article.
Students find the rising cost of housing and dining to be unreasonable. “Freshman year, I lost 20 pounds because I cannot eat here,” said Kate Cassidy, FCRH ’26. “Everyone gets food poisoning. Fordham also does not care about alternative diets and medical complications. I stopped eating meat at 11 years old and got diagnosed with celiac this year and I have more ease finding meals literally anywhere else than I do at Fordham.”
The rise in dining costs follows the closing of the Marketplace, Fordham’s main cafeteria, in the McShane Campus Center due to renovations. The Marketplace has been under construction since October 2023 and will remain closed until the start of the 2024 fall semester. Alternative, temporary dining locations have popped up in the second-floor ballroom of McShane and in Faber Hall’s Bepler Commons.
“The quality and conditions of dining and housing do leave me wondering what the increase in tuition is even going towards,” said Paolo Liaci, FCRH ’27.
Fordham’s website states that, on average, undergraduate tuition for the 2024-25 academic year will be $62,990, a raise of nearly $3,000 from the $60,335 tuition of the 2023-24 academic year.
“I already pay separate fees for housing that traps me in elevators and exposes me to food that I’m allergic to,” said Maddy Keith, FCRH ’27. “Why is tuition going toward them too, especially when there’s a huge commuter population that doesn’t get to take advantage of what they claim to be improving?”
Rose Hill housing costs for the upcoming academic year will range from $11,000 to $18,750, and meal plans range from $7,660 to $8,940. Lincoln Center housing ranges from $11,900 to $24,285, and meal plans range from $7,745 to $8,965.
“With yearly tuition rises and a president whose salary is equivalent to what most student’s parents would make combined in about five years, Fordham has nothing special to make the price worth it,” said Lillian Hunter GSB ’27. “Students are better off either paying these prices to attend a place like NYU or Columbia or transfering to a state school to save themselves the headache.”
Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications and special adviser to the president, declined to comment on what changes would be made to dining and housing for the 2024-25 academic year that would warrant a 4.4% tuition increase.
“Not even the professors want to be here and they [the university] expect us to pay more money,” said Cassidy. “My philosophical ethics professor moved to Hawaii, and is still getting paid the same for an in-person class. It’s so annoying and I’m so mad they keep cranking the cost [of tuition].”
“Approximately 89% of all undergraduate students receive some type of financial aid,” said Howe. In Buckley’s email, it states, “We [Fordham] spend nearly $300 million a year on financial aid, which will continue to be one of our largest line items on our budget, as we’ll contribute millions of additional dollars this year to support students with the greatest need.”
“Of course the university can’t fully offset the tuition increase with financial aid — that would defeat the purpose of the increase — but Fordham will allocate approximately $300 million in financial aid to students and families with the greatest need,” said Howe.
Students requesting financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). However, due to significant Department of Education processing delays, the earliest Fordham began to receive FAFSA information from students was March.
“I think that families and students are paying for their children or themselves to get a decent education, and it’s not fair to raise the tuition and make this education unattainable for people that are trying to better themselves,” said Leah Renshaw, FCRH ’27.
Students may potentially also see an increase in the Student Activities Fee, following the Student Activities Fee Referendum currently underway. The referendum will decide if the SAF will increase by $95, going from $135 to $230. The fee has not increased in 11 years, in which it went up by $25.
“I’m so grateful that my family is supporting me through college but I can barely afford Fordham for all four years as it is, and things like this make me regret choosing to go to school here, honestly,” said Keith. “I feel like I’m constantly pushing my family’s boundaries to go to a mediocre school.”
