2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
When abroad, many students pay more
Zoe Tillman
King's College in London charged international students studying English a tuition of $9,400 to study there in the fall. According to Penn estimates, students paid an additional $8,285 for room, board, travel and other costs.
But a Penn student at King's paid $25,831 to be there, not $17,685. Regardless of what a foreign university may charge, Penn students studying abroad pay the same tuition as their peers back home.
For the 2007-2008 academic year, Penn tuition was $16,080 per semester. If room and board were not included in the foreign school's tuition, students were responsible for that separate payment. Students also paid out of pocket for travel and other associated costs.
Students abroad also paid a $1,466 study abroad fee that funds the Office of International Programs, OIP director Geoffrey Gee said.
Many Penn students studying abroad come to the realization that, on top of the rising costs of living abroad, they're paying more than other students to be there.
"It made me feel a little upset because Penn's tuition is already so expensive," said College junior Abby Lipman, who spent last semester in Barcelona.
Administrators say the University has a right to charge full tuition if the student is enrolled at Penn and receiving credit.
"Just as we don't break down the cost differentials between a biology course and an art history course … we don't break down the difference between a semester at Penn and a semester abroad," Leo Charney, a spokesman for the Provost's office, wrote in an e-mail.
An analysis of what happens to tuition dollars when students go abroad reveals the reasons for Penn's flat pricing policy.
A student's tuition is distributed to three offices on campus, Bonnie Gibson, Penn's vice president of budget and management analysis, wrote in an e-mail.
20 percent goes to the Provost's office. These funds are used for campus-wide academic needs, Gibson wrote.
"All Penn students, regardless of where they are, have access to the same range of services and support," Charney wrote.
But a Penn student at King's paid $25,831 to be there, not $17,685. Regardless of what a foreign university may charge, Penn students studying abroad pay the same tuition as their peers back home.
For the 2007-2008 academic year, Penn tuition was $16,080 per semester. If room and board were not included in the foreign school's tuition, students were responsible for that separate payment. Students also paid out of pocket for travel and other associated costs.
Students abroad also paid a $1,466 study abroad fee that funds the Office of International Programs, OIP director Geoffrey Gee said.
Many Penn students studying abroad come to the realization that, on top of the rising costs of living abroad, they're paying more than other students to be there.
"It made me feel a little upset because Penn's tuition is already so expensive," said College junior Abby Lipman, who spent last semester in Barcelona.
Administrators say the University has a right to charge full tuition if the student is enrolled at Penn and receiving credit.
"Just as we don't break down the cost differentials between a biology course and an art history course … we don't break down the difference between a semester at Penn and a semester abroad," Leo Charney, a spokesman for the Provost's office, wrote in an e-mail.
An analysis of what happens to tuition dollars when students go abroad reveals the reasons for Penn's flat pricing policy.
A student's tuition is distributed to three offices on campus, Bonnie Gibson, Penn's vice president of budget and management analysis, wrote in an e-mail.
20 percent goes to the Provost's office. These funds are used for campus-wide academic needs, Gibson wrote.
"All Penn students, regardless of where they are, have access to the same range of services and support," Charney wrote.
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Penn Parent
posted 2/07/08 @ 5:44 PM EST
I guess Katie isn't paying her own college costs.
The subject of the bonanza for colleges created by sending students to study abroad was covered in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere in past years. (Continued…)
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