With fall in the air and a breezy summer coming to a close, the Case Western Reserve University campus refills with students. The start of each school year brings about excitement, apprehension and everything in between. However, the start of this school year also entails an increase in tuition. For the 2025-2026 year, total tuition and fees for an incoming first year amounted to $73,986. For the academic year of 2026-2027, it amounts to $76,260. This is more than a $2,000 increase in tuition.
When looking at this fairly gargantuan number, it’s easy to start wondering what we are getting out of this. For reference, the average salary in the United States is $64,220. CWRU is a school that sits in an interesting spot—not just geographically. It’s private and has good research and opportunities, but, frankly, it doesn’t make most “Top 20 Colleges” lists. The issue, though, is that CWRU is status hungry, and this detracts from its ability to cater towards its students. Just think back to class registration, where many students were left without core classes for their major, career track or even graduation requirements. This not only left students scrambling to even have enough credits to be considered full-time, but it also overworked the professors, with some having to cover multiple sections spanning over 400 students each. Or, consider CWRU housing, which was stretched so thin spots often left for graduate students, such as the Triangle apartments, were filled by incoming freshmen.
Meanwhile, AI avatar kiosks are getting installed in the business building and a brand new research building is being constructed, all to further CWRU’s point as a school of innovation, technology and ground-breaking science. And, while these claims are true, it sometimes seems forgotten that a school is only as good as the students that come out of it. To create successful students, investment should be going into students rather than flashy technology.
No matter what the CWRU administration does, it will always be from the outside in. It is the students that get to live and change the campus from the inside out. We, as college students, are at the forefront of shaping not only our own lives, but the campus we inhabit. Thus, it is important that we invest in our time here. Whether it is talking to professors during office hours, joining a school club or volunteering, there are many ways we can make our time on campus more enriching. Furthermore, CWRU’s connection to various institutions within Cleveland, such as Cleveland Clinic or a WedWish MedWorks, contains many points of discovery. Classes and academics are important, but they shouldn’t be the entire experience. That is to say, a person who only goes to class pays the same amount of tuition as another person who does research, is in a club and volunteers, so we might as well get our money’s worth. This isn’t to say that we should try and do anything and everything and overwork ourselves. It is good to be involved in a few substantial things. This creates a beneficially mutual process; we get to grow from our experiences, and, through our involvement, create a greater impact for those around us.
Going into a new school year, whether it be your first or last, we can both acknowledge the cost of higher education, but also appreciate the privilege and opportunity. CWRU, but more largely, college, provides a very special time where things such as discourse, debate and discovery are not only allowed, but championed. It is one of the few periods of time in our lives where mistakes are expected, creating a unique place for growth unlike any other. We should make use of it.