It’s Been Almost a Year Since Utica College Abandoned Deep Tuition Discounts. Here’s What Happened After.

Weeks into the fall semester, Utica College, a private school with 2,900 students in upstate New York, announced a 42 percent reduction in tuition from $34,466 to $19,996 for the 2016-2017 academic year. The price reset was met with skepticism from higher education experts who cast it as a gimmick to bolster enrollment, evidence that small liberal arts schools were in crisis. But lowering the published price meant running the risk of losing money on the families who could afford to pay full freight. So how did it turn out?  Applications from students looking to transfer to Utica are up 65 percent, and up 10 percent for would-be freshmen. Financial aid appeals are down. Campus visits are on the rise. And the average family income has grown 25 percent to $93,170.