A proposed 10% tuition increase for non-resident students at UF raised concerns among out-of-state and international students. Students are left questioning the fairness of the proposal and considering its financial implications.
The proposed increase would raise the per-credit-hour cost by approximately $90, adding nearly $1,000 per semester for full-time students. While the Board of Trustees hasn’t yet voted on the proposal, international and out-of-state students are already concerned.
Salma Hage, a 17-year-old incoming UF biomedical engineering freshman from the Dominican Republic, learned about the proposed increase just days after being accepted into UF.
“As international students, we’ve already sacrificed so much,” Hage said. “I’m not the one paying for my own fees. [My parents] worked so hard to get me to where I am now.”
Cost played a central role in her college decision. She was accepted into her first-choice school, Tufts University, but ultimately chose to attend UF due to its lower cost of attendance.
International and out-of-state students currently pay more than twice what in-state students pay per credit hour. The proposed increase would further widen the gap in a move some students view as inequitable.
Hage said she understands the necessity of tuition increases, but she questioned why in-state tuition will remain untouched by the change.
“[As] international students, we already pay so much,” she said. “I don’t understand why in-state tuition is staying the same.”
Astrie Ting, a 20-year-old UF neurology junior, grew up in Taiwan but qualifies for Florida residency. She understands the significance of the tuition increases, she said.
Even with in-state costs, Ting’s tuition is still more expensive than her siblings’ in Taiwan.
“My parents are waiting for me to graduate to retire,” Ting said.
While she understands the gradual rise of tuition costs, she said the university should honor the cost students agreed to upon enrollment, protecting them from mid-degree changes.
“If people get in, and that’s the maximum they can pay out-of-pocket, and now you raise it, what do you want them to do?” she said. “Drop out?”
Chetan Shinde, a 28-year-old UF computer science graduate student from India, said the mid-program increase could significantly affect students who rely on loans from their home countries.
“As an international student, [we] take out loans to come to the US and study,” Shinde said.
Loans are sanctioned for a specific period of time, usually two or four years, he said. If tuition costs increase, it’s difficult to find extra funding, he added.
A $5,000 tuition increase is sometimes the equivalent of an average year’s salary in his home country, he said.
Shinde emailed UF’s Board of Trustees to share his concerns and offered what he believes would be a fairer decision: apply the tuition increase only to incoming students.
“If we start rolling out this increasing fee for new students, they might [be able to] plan out their education and their expenses accordingly,” Shinde said.
He questioned why in-state tuition remained untouched in the proposal. Shinde called for transparency and fairness, suggesting increases in operational costs should be shared across the student body.
“UF belongs to all of us,” he said. “If there are financial constraints like increasing cost of operation, I think that should be barred by everyone.”
Contact Swasthi Maharaj at smaharaj@thealligator.org. Follow her on X @s_maharaj1611.
