The cost of going to college in Virginia will again rise this fall.

The State Council of Higher Education in Virginia found that the commonwealth’s public colleges had, on average, raised tuition and fees by roughly 3.2% for in-state, undergraduate students from the past academic year to the 2026-27 academic year. It will cost in-state students, on average, $28,902 to cover the 2026-27 academic year minding room and board, according to SCHEV’s annual report on tuition and fees.

Annual hikes in tuition have been typical for institutions around the nation for decades. At Old Dominion University, for example, SCHEV recorded the cost for an in-state, full-time student would be about $14,040 in tuition and all mandatory fees for the 2026-27 school year. That total does not account for an additional cost in room and board. Five years ago, for the 2021-22 school year, it was $11,160 to cover tuition and all mandatory fees. Twenty years ago, for the 2006-07 school year, that total was $6,098," reports The Virginian- Pilot. 

Photo: The Rotunda stands tall on the University of Virginia’s Charlottesville campus on July 27, 2025. (John Buzbee/The Virginian-Pilot)