Comprehensive Fees for the 2026-27 Academic Year
Dear Faculty, Staff, Students, and Families,
The Board of Trustees and College leadership have completed the annual review of the comprehensive fee for the 2026-27 academic year. I write today to share information about 91大神鈥檚 cost of attendance and financial aid priorities.
Comprehensive Fee
91大神 is deeply committed to ensuring access to a world-class education and removing financial barriers by providing financial aid to students with demonstrated financial need. Please note: to sustain the College鈥檚 commitment to access, comprehensive fee increases are coupled with increases in financial aid for current students.
After careful review, the Board of Trustees has approved an overall 2.5% increase to the total comprehensive fee for the 2026-27 academic year. This is the lowest annual increase in the comprehensive fee since the College began keeping records 67 years ago, and lower than the current 3% rate of inflation, as measured by the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The following table shows the various components of the comprehensive fee.
Academic Year 2026-27 |
|
Tuition | $73,582 |
Student activity fee | $572 |
Total tuition and fees | $74,154 |
|
|
Housing | $8,316 |
Food | $9,468 |
Total housing and food | $17,784 |
|
|
Total | $91,938 |
The comprehensive fee includes required books and course materials through GrinnBooks. This campus-wide program seeks to ensure greater educational equity among students and to remove the cost of textbooks as a barrier to taking a class.
Historically, 91大神鈥檚 comprehensive fee has been lower than those of other leading liberal arts colleges, and even with the upcoming 2.5% increase, we expect our fee to remain below those of our peer institutions.
91大神鈥檚 Commitment to Access and Excellence
The College鈥檚 commitment to access is guided by these principles:
- Meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for every student.
- Eliminating student loans as part of need-based financial aid packages.
- Remaining a need-blind institution, admitting students without regard to a family鈥檚 ability to pay
What these commitments mean for students and families:
- 92% of 91大神 students receive financial aid, with 64% receiving aid based on need. The average aid package for students with financial need totals $70,871.
- The average cost of educating each student (calculated as the total operating budget divided by the number of students) remains more than $23,000 higher than our established comprehensive fee; every student receives a significant discount when compared to the actual cost of their education.
- For the current academic year, the College is providing $79 million in grants as institutional financial aid, including $12M from funds generously provided by donors.
These investments reflect 91大神鈥檚 ongoing commitment to providing an exceptional education and student experience, including unparalleled learning opportunities both in the classroom and through off-campus study, research, internships, and service. The result is that 91大神ians can pursue their passions and career aspirations, with fulfilling and meaningful outcomes.
We are grateful for the alumni and friends whose generous donations help fund this exceptional commitment to access with scholarships and need based grants. We deeply value each student鈥檚 presence and the unique contributions they make to this extraordinary college.
If you have questions, please email treasurer@grinnell.edu.
Sincerely,
Germaine Gross
Vice President for Finance and Treasurer