On Monday, March 11, Pomona College President Gabrielle Starr and Vice President Jeff Roth sent an email to students announcing that the college would be increasing its tuition for the 2024-25 school year. This increase marks the 10th consecutive year of rising costs at the college.
For the upcoming school year, tuition will be $65,000, housing and food will be $21,394 and the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) student fee will be $420. Including an estimated $1,100 for books and supplies, as well as $1500 for personal expenses, the comprehensive fee will be $89,414, reflecting a 4.82 percent increase from last year’s $85,300. This increase is lower than the 5.05 percent increase seen the previous year.
Monday’s email began by outlining some of the factors that can shape a student’s educational time at Pomona, including research opportunities, social and cultural experiences and extracurricular activities. It also emphasized that, although the college ensures that every student receives some form of financial support, the recent rise in tuition was inevitable.
“Philanthropic support and thoughtful stewardship of our endowment mean that every Pomona student receives a subsidized education — no one pays the full price,” the email read. “At the same time, cost pressures continue to build and we will need to raise tuition next year to meet them.”
The other Claremont Colleges have also announced tuition increases from last year, projecting 2024-2025 prices of $93,131 at Harvey Mudd, $91,510 at Claremont McKenna, $90,386 at Scripps and $89,792 at Pitzer Colleges. These reflect increases of 7.60 percent, 5.79 percent, 3.81 percent and 3.79 percent respectively.
The email also explained that this increase would be accompanied by an increase in financial aid for students.
“When we need to increase tuition, we also increase aid, fulfilling our commitment to meeting students’ full demonstrated need through financial aid,” it read.
Roth, who also serves as Pomona’s chief operating officer and treasurer, later clarified in an email to TSL that the key factors in the tuition increase were inflationary trends. He explained that the decision to raise tuition was not made lightly.
“Each year, we carefully evaluate our fees in light of the cost of providing a Pomona education and then make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees,” he said.
However, Roth also stated that financial aid would be adjusted accordingly.
“Financial aid is increased to cover the additional student fees,” he said. “Changes in a student’s financial situation may also affect aid provided.”
Paul Dieken, director of financial aid at Pomona College, emphasized this point, explaining that the college examines a student’s demonstrated need when determining their financial aid award. Their demonstrated need is determined in part by their Estimated Family Contribution, which is calculated based on reported income and assets.
“Assuming the family’s income and assets remain unchanged, their estimated family contribution should stay the same from year to year,” Dieken said in an email to TSL. “When the cost of attendance goes up, and the family contribution stays the same, the need goes up and so does the amount of aid to cover that need.”
Still, some students expressed concern with the new price of tuition. Elizabeth Newman PO ’27 suggested that this price might deter students from applying to Pomona in the future.
“I think that the price tag perpetuates an air of wealth around the school, regardless of whether or not it’s accurate,” Newman said. “And I think that that can be really dangerous, because schools do better with diversity and it’s really important that you have students of all income levels.”