Virginia Tech’s board of visitors on Tuesday approved a 2.9% increase in undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the 2026-2027 academic year.
The increase will bring in-state tuition costs to $17,087 annually, a $561 difference. Out-of-state students’ cost of attendance will increase by $1,203, to more than $40,000 per year.
The current price of admission for Hokie students was already higher than the average $11,950 price tag for in-state tuition at a public university in the U.S., according to the College Board.
And for students living on campus, room and board will also increase by 6.7%, totaling $15,032 annually.
The new tuition approval comes after Virginia Tech had already raised its tuition and fee rates for the current academic year by 2.9%. Tuition and fees account for 68% of Virginia Tech’s educational and general program revenue, according to a presentation by Abby Sembring, Tech’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, at a board of visitors public comment session on April 2.
Virginia Tech joins only Radford University out of the 15 four-year public institutions in Virginia that have approved their cost of attendance price tag for the next academic year — Radford University is increasing its rates by 2.25%.
Virginia Tech said in a news release that it will continue to offer two financial aid programs — Virginia Tech Advantage, aimed at providing aid for lower-income families, and Funds for the Future, which protects returning students from tuition and fee increases if their income is below $115,000 a year and they demonstrate financial need.
Emma Roshioru, who serves as president of the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Student Senate, said there are only so many hours in a day that can go toward paying off the cost of attendance.
“We, as students, need to graduate as soon as possible to prevent the cost of further tuition, so we take the maximum amount of credits at 18 hours a week, with a recommended 6 hours per credit used for homework,” Roshioru wrote in a public written statement shared at the April 2 board of visitors public comment session.
“Now add two 15-hour-a-week part-time jobs to help with tuition costs, and that’s 117 hours for work and school. Add seven hours of sleep per night, and you get an astonishing 166 hours! With a schedule like this, students are forced to choose between sleep and studying, between earning an income and gaining experience, and maintaining their well-being or simply keeping up. Such a cycle would make anyone wonder: What is the real cost of an education?”