King's Lowers its Tuition
Photo of Melinda Huspen. | Photo courtesy of The King’s College.
Tuition will be slashed by $16,000 for many new King’s students starting this fall in a bid to attract more students.
Incoming domestic King’s students will now see a sticker price of $21,000 per year versus the previously advertised $37,000, according to a press release from the TKC Board of Trustees published on Jan. 18. The price drop was instituted to encourage incoming students to consider attending King’s without the stress of a high tuition cost.
“This $16,000 drop is opening up a huge opportunity for me,” Jordan Story, a high school senior said. “Now the tuition is similar to many state schools I’m also looking at, which makes it much more possible for me to come to King’s.”
The bills and financial aid for current students in the upcoming school year will still be based on original tuition costs. They will not see changes to their invoice next fall as a result of this decision.
“The tuition for each school year is considered annually by the board,” Frank Torino, Vice President of Finance at King’s said. “For this next school year, the tuition for current students is already set, so they won’t see a direct increase or decrease in their bill.”
Financial aid and in-school scholarships have changed under the tuition adjustment as well. New students are able to apply for a maximum of $5,000 in merit-based scholarships, according to the school’s website.
“The new tuition makes me more prone to go to King’s,” Kara Keathley, an accepted but not yet enrolled transfer student said. “I got pretty excited talking to my admissions counselor. It’s definitely more possible for me now. However, it probably won’t change my final decision that much because I’d still need other scholarships before I can actually afford it.”
Current students, however, will not see a change in their merit-based financial aid as a direct result of this transition. Need-based aid, such as through FAFSA, will remain unchanged.
“The bottom line is that students will end up paying the college a similar amount,” Torino said. “What we want is for the published tuition to no longer be a barrier. This announcement opens the door to more families and students considering King’s as an option.”
This advertised tuition cost will not apply to any incoming international students.
“The market that our international students come from can afford that price,” Torino said. He went on to explain that the additional $16,000 goes toward the college’s resources, staffing and support geared toward international students.
“At most private colleges in the country, there is an assumption that high price equates to high value. It’s true that providing a King’s education consistent with our mission is a costly proposition,” Tim Gibson, President of King’s, said in the press release. “For years, we’ve been able to make an education from The King’s College financially feasible for students from varied economic backgrounds by offering significant merit- and need-based aid thanks to the generous support of donors and charitable foundations who believe in our mission.”