Stanford Board of Trustees sets tuition for 2006-07

The Stanford University Board of Trustees on Tuesday set rates for tuition, room and board for the 2006-07 academic year that represent a combined 5.4 percent increase over the current year's rates for undergraduates.

The undergraduate tuition rate was set at $32,994, a 5.75 percent increase from $31,200 this year. The standard undergraduate room rate rose 5.6 percent, from $5,276 to $5,571. Standard board increased 3 percent, from $4,656 to $4,796.

It is important to note that the money the university collects from tuition covers only about 60 percent of the costs of educating an undergraduate. However, tuition remains an important source of funding. It ensures that Stanford attracts and retains the best faculty and students while providing the highest quality teaching and research facilities.

Stanford also offers one of the best financial aid plans in the country. It is one of the few private universities with a "need-blind" admission policy that ensures students are accepted regardless of their ability to pay. Seventy-six percent of undergraduate students receive financial aid from a variety of internal and external sources, and 46 percent receive some form of need-based financial aid from the university.

"We are committed to continuing Stanford's tradition of excellence in education and research," said Board of Trustees Chair Burton McMurtry. "It was Jane and Leland Stanford's intent that the university admit students based on their abilities, promise and willingness to work hard and not on whether or not they could pay the cost of tuition. Stanford remains a place where a worthy student can rise through his or her own efforts."

General graduate student tuition also increased to $32,994, or 5.75 percent. Also increasing 5.75 percent are tuition rates for graduate engineering students and law students, while School of Medicine tuition rates rose 4 percent. The Graduate School of Business is in the second year of a new tuition structure in which entering MBA students pay the same tuition rate during each of their two years of study. The tuition for the incoming class of MBA students will be $43,380. The tuition for second-year MBA students will be $41,340.

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