Tufts is priciest college in state

A Tufts spokesman said administrators were unavailable for comment on Thursday. School officials told the Tufts Daily, a student newspaper, that the increase was the smallest jump in over 45 years.

Tufts spokeswoman Kim Thurler told the Daily that officials wanted to freeze tuition this year, but ultimately rose fees to balance the budget in a down economy. And, she said, about 50 percent of undergrads receive some type of financial aid, with the average grant outlay totaling $27,000 per year.

While Tufts charges more than any other four-year college or university in the state, several institutions aren't far behind. Tuition and fees come to $50,288 at Boston University, and $50,970 at Boston College, according to the Chronicle. All told, nine colleges and universities in the state have eclipsed the $50,000 mark.

But private colleges remain accessible to middle and low-income students, according to Richard Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts.

He noted that last year, private colleges gave more than $400 million in need-based financial aid to state residents.

"The only line item in [college] budgets that saw an increase was the financial aid line item," he said, adding that many of the association's 60 member colleges offer need-based aid to over 80 percent of their undergrads. He also noted that financial aid offices are connecting students to federal loan programs designed to ease the debt burden after graduation.

"It's an ongoing challenge for all schools to ensure that they're meeting student need," Doherty said.

Reactions to the Chronicle report were mixed on the Tufts campus on Thursday. Sophomore bio-psychology major Keisha Dodman pays no tuition, because her father works at the school. But she believes that the fees are steep for her classmates.

"Overall, an education should not be $50,000 [per year]," Dodman said. "But at the same time, the economy is bad, and the school has to make money."

Senior international relations major John Speed Meyers pays full freight, and he's not celebrating Tufts' place at the top of the fee heap.

"I'm not happy about it," he said. "But most colleges [in the state] still charge $40,000 or $50,000. College is expensive."

It's less expensive for sophomore biology major Edward Testa, who attends Tufts on a three-quarter scholarship. He was surprised to learn that Tufts has the highest tuition and fees in the Bay State.

"Really?" he said. "More than Williams [College]"?

Testa said that aid packages have made school affordable for many of his friends.

"We get decent financial aid," he said, adding that college is worth the expense for dedicated students. "If you really go through with [your studies], then it definitely is."