The University of Miami is home to more than 18,000 students, and many of whom face challenges beyond coursework. Rising costs of tuition, housing and daily expenses in Coral Gables are some of the biggest obstacles for UM students.
For the 2025-2026 school year, undergraduate students living on campus for one year face a total cost of attendance of $73,088, not including meal plans. Freshmen are required to purchase an unlimited meal plan costing $4,490 per semester, while upperclassmen can either choose a smaller meal plan or opt to buy their own groceries instead.
The campus brings together students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, some who can comfortably afford the price of attendance and others who struggle to keep up. But, all of them are here for the same goal: to earn a degree. Instead of focusing solely on their coursework, however, many students are forced to worry about the rising expenses that come with being a Cane.
Beyond tuition, the university’s listed prices leave out many miscellaneous, everyday expenses that students have to manage. As the cost of attendance continues to rise across all categories: tuition, fees, housing, on-campus meals, books and personal expenses, keeping up financially has only become increasingly difficult for students.
Since the 2020-2021 academic year to now, the cost of attendance jumped 30% from $75,240 to $97,774.
“I do not think UM is an affordable school,” said senior journalism major Gianna Satchell. “I know people who have transferred to other schools because of the cost.”
According to a Google Form survey posted on The Miami Hurricane’s Instagram on Oct. 31, Satchell is not alone. Out of the 50 UM students who responded to the survey, 64% of students said they find the overall cost of being a student at UM to be extremely expensive.
When asked, “Did tuition impact your decisions to come to UM,” 65% of students said yes.
UM’s setting in Coral Gables makes life off campus expensive, with students paying more for rent, groceries, and simple daily needs like coffee. Living in Coral Gables alone costs an average of $6,367 a month for a single person, which is 21% higher than the national average.
Housing for upperclassmen is difficult and limited. The most popular housing option on-campus for sophomore students is Lakeside Village. According to a statement made by Student Affairs Housing and Residential Life in 2023, there were about 2,200 applicants for the upperclassmen housing on campus. The capacity for Lakeside is 1,115 students.
Apart from Lakeside, there are other housing options for upperclassmen including Eaton Residential College and University Village. Eaton, which resembles Mahoney-Pearson Residential College, cost $11,180 per academic year.
University Village offers different arrangements of rooms affecting the price, but each one costs more than $17,000 per academic year.
Students who are unable to secure on-campus housing are left with no choice but to search for housing off campus. Based on the survey, 47.8% of students say they pay $1,500 to $2,000 for rent while 21.7% say they pay more than $2,000.
To cover living and transportation expenses, based on the survey, 38% of students rely on their jobs while 44% rely on their parents for money.
In addition to housing costs, on campus food has also increased. As of the 2023-2024 academic year, UM transitioned from allowing first year students to choose their meal plan, to requiring the unlimited $4,490 meal plan per semester; a 19% increase from the 2022 cheapest option. According to the survey, 50% of students said that food is their biggest everyday expense.
The cost of food is not limited to The University of Miami though. Nationwide the price of food has also been increasing. According to the Department of Agriculture, from July 2025 to August 2025, prices of food had increased by three percent. It is predicted that in 2026, the overall food prices are expected to continue to increase slowly.
The rise of prices makes it difficult especially for college students like those at UM to continue to afford these everyday costs.
As the expenses continue to rise, the true cost of being a student extends far beyond tuition, and continues to shape where and how students choose to pursue their education.