Sewanee Stays the Course on Bucking Tuition Trend

Sewanee sits atop Monteagle. (photo courtesy University of the South)

The University of the South is continuing to buck the trend of rising college tuition. A news release from Sewanee says current students will pay the same amount for tuition and fees next year.

Freezing tuition is uncommon in an age of ever-growing college price tags. But it comes a year after the University of the South did something even more rare, cutting tuition by 10 percent.

It’s more of a marketing move than anything else. Last year, fewer than 30 percent of students at the school atop Monteagle paid the full $46,000 tuition. Sewanee President John McCardell says he’d like to stop some of the wheeling and dealing that goes on with merit-based scholarships and move to using financial aid primarily for those who truly can’t afford to pay.

By comparison, private colleges and universities nationally are expected to increase tuition by roughly four percent next year.