HYDE PARK — Tuition, room and board costs at the University of Chicago will top $60,000 next year.
Tuition for the 2013-14 academic year will be $45,324, with an additional $14,715 for room and board. That total is a 4 percent hike from the 2012-13 school year, when the total cost was $57,711, including $43,581 for tuition.
On Friday, the university sent letters out to a record 30,369 college applicants. Only 2,676 of those were acceptance level in the most competitive year ever for admission at the Hyde Park school. About 1,400 students are expected to enroll as undergraduates next year, according to the university.
The school said 117 students from Chicago were admitted, more than half of which are African American or Hispanic. For the broader class of students admitted, a roughly equal portion came from the east coast, Midwest and west coast.
Financial aid to undergraduates is expected to rise by more than 5 percent, officials said. Growth in the grants and scholarships to incoming students has slowed since a decision in 2011 to boost aid by 15 percent to bring in more low- and middle-income students.
The average University of Chicago student graduates with $22,663 in debt, according to the university.
“We are working to ensure that qualified students of all backgrounds and all income levels can enrich their lives in the College, and embark on life after graduation with as little debt as possible,” said James Nondorf, vice president and dean of college admissions and financial aid, in prepared statement.
The incoming class will be the first to benefit from the UChicago Promise program, which helps students from Chicago to graduate debt-free by offering grants and scholarships instead of loans for financial aid.
The university’s Odyssey Scholarships program also offers assistance to students whose families make less than $90,000 a year. Some 1,100 students have benefited since the program was launched in 2008.
