September-October 2004 > John Harvard's Journal

Harvard by the Numbers

Undergraduate Tuition

During the past 20 years, Harvard’s undergraduate bill has risen from $14,000 to $39,880 per academic year (before any offsetting financial aid), an increase of 183 percent. The figures below compare tuition and fee growth to the higher-education price index (up about 110 percent); median family income (roughly doubled); and the urban consumer price index (up about 80 percent). Tuition exclusive of room, board, and fees—graphed at bottom—rose from $9,500 to $27,448.