In a Mar. 18 email sent to students and families, Wellesley College announced a 4.8% increase in the Wellesley comprehensive fee for the next academic year. The new comprehensive fee, which includes tuition, housing, meals, and the Student Activity Fee, will be $92,440.
When added with the indirect costs of attendance, including books, personal expenses, travel, and the waivable student health insurance policy, the total cost of Wellesley is estimated to be up to $100,541.
The email, sent by Piper Orton, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, and T. Peaches Valdes, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, stated that the increase in fees “reflects the increasing costs of providing a Wellesley education.”
According to the email, this new change will not affect students currently receiving financial aid as, “unless family circumstances have changed … financial aid packages will increase commensurate with the increase in the comprehensive fee.”
The 2024-25 academic year was the first time Wellesley and nearby Boston University’s total costs exceeded $90,000. Wellesley’s comprehensive fee for the 2024-25 academic year, which does not factor indirect cost, was $88,200.
The 2025-26 comprehensive fee is the highest it has ever been, according to publicly available data from the Office of Institutional Research.
This fee is also consistent with both peer institutions and other area schools’ direct costs. Other liberal arts colleges’ 2025-26 direct costs (not including health insurance) exceed $90,000, including Amherst College, which is estimated to be $93,090, and Smith College, which is estimated to cost $90,500. Boston University has a fee of $91,342.
Other schools in the area have broadened their financial aid. Harvard announced an increase to their financial aid program, providing free tuition to families making $200,000 or less and a free comprehensive fee to families making $100,000 or less, starting in the next academic year. MIT announced the same policy for 2025-26 in November. Neither school has yet released their estimated direct costs for 2025-26 for those not receiving financial aid.
This announcement comes as Wellesley, and higher education institutions across the country, face precarious financial situations. The News previously reported that Wellesley faces increased scrutiny after being placed on a Department of Education list of schools currently under investigation for Title IX violations related to antisemitism. Additionally, a proposed increased endowment tax could negatively impact Wellesley’s financial aid.
