First-time students to pay lower tuition at Hendrix

A 32% decrease in the published tuition rate for first-time incoming students next fall at Hendrix College is a way to reach out to students concerned about cost and encourage them to apply to the liberal arts college, school officials said.

The Conway college’s 2021-22 tuition will be set at approximately $ 33,000 for students enrolling for the first time next fall, down from the published yearly rate of $49,140 for the current academic year.

Hendrix President Ellis Arnold said in a statement that “there are students who would thrive at Hendrix but don’t apply because they’re concerned about the published price.” “By lowering our tuition, we want to let those students and families know that we hear their concerns and, most importantly, they can come to Hendrix,” Arnold said Friday in announcing the tuition reset.

The change won’t affect the tuition rate for continuing students, who will “continue under their current cost schedule,” according to the college’s website.

The move will, however, come with adjustments to financial aid packages for those incoming students, officials said.

The college, which enrolls about 1,100 students, in the 2019-20 academic year provided students with an estimated $28.4 million in needbased institutional aid and $10.1 million in aid without consideration for a student’s financial need. The numbers are published in the school’s annual Common Data Set provided by the college.

Arnold, in his statement, touted the college as having “one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country.”

Ryan Cassell, the college’s vice president of enrollment and dean of admission, in a phone interview said more than 95% of Hendrix students receive some form of financial aid, including state grants and awards from outside sources.

Cassell said that while the change in tuition had been considered for months, the college also considered the pandemic’s reflect effect on family finances.