Aniela Cabrera | Staff Writer
FIU kicks off the 2025-2026 academic year with a packed first night full of fun and concerns about increased tuition.
On Monday, August 25th, the FIU administration welcomed students back with its annual F1RST NIGHT celebration, alongside a surprise announcement: a last-minute increase in out-of-state tuition. While students gathered at Pitbull Stadium to celebrate the start of the school year, many also expressed mixed emotions about what the tuition hike means for them and their peers.
On July 30th, while students were still away on summer break, FIU announced a 10% increase in out-of-state tuition. The hike marks the first change in more than a decade, as both tuition rates and financial aid for out-of-state students had remained unchanged for over 10 years.
This announcement was made after students had enrolled in classes, housing payments had been submitted, and it was less than a month before classes were scheduled to begin. Students are navigating what this means for them and their families, as well as how they can cover the additional $1,000 plus annual tuition increase.
PantherNow interviewed various students in attendance to get their thoughts on the 10% tuition increase.
Laura Kedding from North Carolina said, “It definitely made it a more difficult choice to come here, but at the end of the day, for me it was about scholarships and the opportunities I would have at school… It did make it a bit more difficult for me to come and attend.”
Compared to 2022 (photo on the left taken by Cherish Lakes), there are noticeably more students in attendance this year. The concourse was full of students as well.
In-state student Nathan Jennings isn’t affected by the policy, but doesn’t agree with it and its impact on others. “The FIU administration put a lot of the money back into FIU, but it just always seems like they are raising tuition and housing prices, for what kind of seems like no reason. If you’re going to have the whole point of the university being an international university, why are you going to increase out-of-state tuition?” said Jennings.
Students previously enrolled at FIU, as well as the freshman class of 2029, accepted their FIU admittance before the increased tuition rate. Unfortunately, the tuition rate they accepted their admittance with is legally allowed to change “year-to-year” according to the Florida state government. Out-of-state tuition also has the opportunity to increase by 15% if a university chooses to do so.
Florida law mandates that tuition or fee proposals must be publicly posted and communicated to students at least 28 days before the proposal is considered by a university’s Board of Trustees. A July 30th notice for an August 25th semester start may seem short, but FIU sent an email on June 27th announcing the proposal.
While students look to solutions to help lighten the load, finding more scholarships and applying for in-state residency are ideas being thrown out as options.
Cody Simonton is a mechanical engineering student from Colorado. Simonton said, “It definitely is unfortunate, especially given how big a cost difference it is from in-state tuition versus out-of-state tuition…kind of maybe looking into more research into how to get in-state tuition and what it’s going to take for that to make it work.”
However, in order to become an in-state resident, out-of-state students face many hurdles, specifically in regard to dependency. According to Florida statute 1009.21, students who depend on out-of-state parents for support are presumed to be legal residents of the same state as their parents.
FIU’s Panthers’ F1RST NIGHT started in 2022 on the first day of classes to commemorate the school year and to allow students the opportunity to learn about the various clubs and organizations the campus has to offer. Popularity for the event has increased since then.
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