Tuition Trends for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
The cost of tuition throughout the nation - and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison - has skyrocketed over the past decade. However, income levels in Wisconsin have not mirrored this increase, and financial aid has not kept up with the tuition hikes. The figures on this sheet illustrate this trend.
Tuition Costs1
- One year in-state tuition and fees for 2008 — $7,188
- One year in-state tuition and fees for 1995 — $3,408
- Increase over ten years — 83.5%
- Increase over last two years— 13.9%
Debt of Graduates2
- Average amount of debt for graduates who have debt in 2007 — $21,018
- Average amount of debt for graduates who have debt in 1997 — $16,721
- Average number of students receiving financial aid for 2006–2007 — 61%4
Family Incomes3
The UW’s increasing tuition has made the university too expensive for most Wisconsin residents. In 2002, 34.2 percent of the families of incoming freshman at UW-Madison had a yearly income of $87,778 or more and 61.6 percent made more than $61,638 per year. At this same time, only about 30 percent of families in Wisconsin made $58,000 or more.
1 Office of Budget, Planning and Analysis, Data Digest 2007–2008. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Madison WI, March 2008.
2 Data Digest 2007-2008.
3 These figures are based on a four-person, two-income family and come from the following source: “University Student Finances.” The Wisconsin Taxpayer, April 2004: 74:4.