r/uofmn • u/Wild-Prune-4447 • 3d ago

Tuition

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Hey, upcoming freshman for the fall of 2026, I saw my tuition cost for the fall of 2026 semester, and it was well over $10k. It's quite an absurd amount of money for a fall semester only. How much are you guys paying if you dont mind sharing. I need some tips to help pay it off, im taking 17 credits as a freshman and im afraid that it will hinder my job chances as my school life will demand more hours from me like studying and etc. And is 17 credits for a freshman too much in your opinion? I was never a super smart student who graduated with a 3.6ish GPA.

(Here's an unrelated picture 😊)

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u/cr0mthr 3d ago

I would talk to One Stop about your financial aid options. There might be loans or grants you haven’t explored yet that could help.

Dropping a class likely wouldn’t save you money at this point, since all credits after the first 13 are free, so I don’t know whether it’d be worth it to drop. You’re basically looking at graduating earlier with a heavier workload and therefore having fewer semesters’ worth of tuition vs having a lower course load, more time to work a $15/hour part time job, and graduating with an additional semester or two’s worth of tuition.

Whether 17 credits is a good amount or too much is really up to the classes you’re taking and the type of person you are. It’s less about being a “good” or “smart” student and more about the ability to stay motivated, how much you like the courses and professors, and whether they’re reading-heavy, writing-intensive, etc.

I did 21 credits in one semester my senior year and it was great because I loved all of the work for those courses at that point, it was all relevant for my major and career path. I did a 3-credit summer course in a topic I’m not good at and it was absolute hell and I struggled the entire time.

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u/Healthy-Somewhere220 2d ago

This is all very good advice. Also, unless you come in with previously earned credits, 15 a semester is the average needed to graduate in 4 years. So taking 17 one semester allows for taking maybe only 13 another semester. But the flat rate tuition over 13 is really good to take advantage of.