LaSalle University slashing tuition

OLNEY (WPVI) -- Next year, LaSalle University will be slashing tuition from just over $40,000 to almost $28,800.

"It's going to help my family's financial needs, it's just really terrific," freshman Dan Jonsson said.

"There were a lot of families and students walking away from the table because the sticker price had just gotten too high," Tom Delahunt, Vice President of Enrollment Services, said.

The price difference is around $11,000, but students won't save anywhere near that number as room and board will increase, and the amount of school financial aid given out will decrease.

"The average savings that a student will see is about $1,000 or so, but every student will have a smaller bottom line next year than they would have had if we had done business as usual," Delahunt said.

"My scholarship is still lowered, so I'm still paying the same price," freshman Pauline Sazon said.

Sazon and other students received an email Tuesday explaining the change.

"It's going to equal out overall: we're paying less, but the scholarships get lowered," freshman Harrison Quidort said.

But the markdown helps make the university more competitive.

This year's full-time undergraduate enrollment is just over 3,000 students, which is down 417 from two years ago.

"I think it will draw people towards the school if the tuition is lower because a lot of people look at private Catholic schools and the tuition is high in the 50,000s," freshman Jocelyn Harwood said.

"I wish this could have happened to us a lot sooner," senior Brian Civil said.

But students say this is a game changer for when they graduate.

"I think it's pretty exciting news. I have to pay these loans off when I get older, and now I think it will be a lot less now," sophomore Stefan Sutton said.

Last year, Rosemont College cut tuition and saw soaring applications and enrollment.

Right now, applications this year at LaSalle are up 44 percent.