According to the National Association of College and University Business Offices (NACUBO) the average discount for incoming first-year, first-time undergraduate students for the 2024–2025 admissions cycle was 56.3 percent at private colleges and 51.4 percent for all undergraduates.

As discussed, in an article, by Josh Moody, in Inside Higher Ed, “Tuition Discounting Hits Another High” tuition discount ended close to 60% at private colleges and a little over 50% overall, shows how schools in general are willing to dig deeper into their pockets to secure the needed student headcount.

Private colleges and universities rely more on tuition dollars, especially schools that do not have strong alumni backers and/or endowments.

With the number of high school graduates declining overall in the next few decades, a stop gap in federal funding for public universities and a bottle neck in international students studying in the US, it will be interesting to see what will be in the future with how deep schools will go with offering discounts to entice students and families to commit to one school over another.

Your kitchen table discussion should include, one thing for sure, stay informed and when discussing your options, don’t commit too quickly as schools may circle back to you with an offer you did not expect.