TL;DR: Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan (XU) doesn't publish one flat tuition number; cost varies by college, with third-party fee trackers estimating roughly ₱28,000-80,000 per semester and SchoolFinderPH's own comparative data placing the full year around ₱110,000-155,000. Scholarships can cover 50-100% of school fees for top XUCET passers and honor students. And no, it's not the same school as Xavier School in San Juan — that's a separate all-boys Jesuit basic-education school in Metro Manila. Confirm the exact current figure with XU's Finance Office before enrolling.
Introduction
If you searched "xavier university philippines tuition fee," there's a good chance you landed here from one of two directions: you're a Mindanao-based family sizing up Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan for college, or you searched "Xavier University" and got confused with Xavier School in San Juan, Metro Manila. This guide handles both.
If you're weighing other options in the area too, browse the full list of schools in Cagayan de Oro on SchoolFinderPH alongside this guide.
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan (often shortened to XU or Xavier Ateneo) is a Jesuit-run Catholic university in Cagayan de Oro City, and it holds the distinction of being the first higher education institution granted university status in Mindanao — a year before its sister school, Ateneo de Manila. It runs undergraduate colleges, a School of Law, a Graduate School, and its own medical school, the Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine.
What follows is what we could verify about XU's cost structure, admissions process, and scholarship programs, sourced from XU's own published pages, Wikipedia, and third-party tuition trackers where XU's official current fee schedule wasn't independently accessible for this article. Where a number couldn't be confirmed, we say so rather than guess.
How much is tuition at Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan?
Disclaimer: tuition and fees change every school year and vary by college, unit load, and year level — always verify the current figure with XU's Finance Office before budgeting or enrolling.
XU bills tuition per unit, and cost varies significantly by college since lab-heavy programs (Nursing, Engineering, Computer Studies) cost more than lecture-heavy ones (Arts and Sciences, Commerce). A third-party Philippine student-portal tracker estimates the following per-program ranges, but explicitly flags them as estimates that "may not reflect current rates" — treat this table as a planning reference, not a quote:
| College/Program | Estimated Per Unit | Estimated Per Semester |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine | ₱2,000-2,500 | ₱55,000-80,000 |
| Engineering | ₱1,500-2,200 | ₱40,000-60,000 |
| Computer Studies | ₱1,500-2,000 | ₱35,000-55,000 |
| Nursing | ₱1,500-2,000 | ₱35,000-55,000 |
| Commerce/Business | ₱1,200-1,800 | ₱30,000-45,000 |
| Arts and Sciences | ₱1,200-1,500 | ₱28,000-40,000 |
Separately, SchoolFinderPH's own comparative tuition guide across Philippine universities places XU's full academic year at roughly ₱110,000-155,000, in the same premium-private tier as Saint Louis University Baguio and University of San Carlos Cebu. The per-semester estimates above, doubled, land in a broadly similar band for the higher-cost programs, though neither source is XU's own current published rate. If you need an exact figure for a specific program and year level, contact the XU Finance Office directly — this is the only way to get a number you can actually budget against.
Does Xavier University cost more than other Mindanao private universities?
Relative to other Mindanao options, XU sits toward the upper-mid tier — more expensive than most regional colleges, cheaper than Metro Manila's top-tier private universities.
| University | Approx. Tuition Per Year | Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| University of Mindanao (Davao) | Lower tier | Known for affordability among Mindanao private universities |
| Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan | ₱110,000-155,000 | Premium Mindanao private university |
| University of San Carlos (Cebu) | ₱120,000-170,000 | Comparable premium tier, different island |
| Saint Louis University (Baguio) | ₱100,000-145,000 | Comparable premium tier, different region |
| De La Salle University (Manila) | ₱180,000-220,000 | Significantly higher, Metro Manila premium |
| Ateneo de Manila University | ₱220,000-280,000 | Elite tier, Metro Manila |
Figures for schools other than XU are drawn from SchoolFinderPH's cheapest-to-most-expensive universities guide and should be read as directional ranges rather than exact current quotes.
Quotable stat: XU's full-year cost of roughly ₱110,000-155,000 sits below De La Salle and Ateneo de Manila by a wide margin, positioning it as a lower-cost route to a Jesuit university education for Mindanao-based families.
What does the Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine cost?
We could not verify a current, specific tuition figure for XU's medical program. What is confirmed: the Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine is one of XU's three schools (alongside Education and Business and Management), and medicine is, across virtually every Philippine university that offers it, the single most expensive program on campus due to laboratory, clinical, and equipment costs.
If MD tuition is central to your decision, skip the aggregator estimates entirely and call the School of Medicine admissions office directly at (088) 853-9800, local 9816, 9434-9436, or 9438-9439. Ask for the current per-semester breakdown, not just an annual estimate, since medical programs often bill differently across pre-clinical and clinical years.
What scholarships does Xavier University offer?
XU runs a layered scholarship system built around its online scholarship exam ranking, with additional options for financial need, athletics, and government-funded aid.
| Scholarship | Eligibility | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship | Top 1-15, online scholarship exam | Full school fees + up to ₱10,000 for books/uniforms/ICT |
| Merit Scholarship | Top 16-30, online scholarship exam | 100% school fees |
| St. Ignatius of Loyola Scholarship | Top 1-2 of SHS batch (90+ students) | Full tuition and matriculation |
| St. Francis Xavier Scholarship | Score 87+ on exam; family income ≤₱500,000 | Grant-in-aid, first 70 qualified applicants |
| Academic Scholarships | Strong GWA, freshmen and upperclassmen | Varies, renewable per grade requirements |
| Government Scholarships | CHED, DOST, OWWA, PVAO, AFEBSO, GSIS qualifiers | Program-dependent |
| Athletics and Performing Arts | Active varsity/performing-arts members | Grants, performance-based renewal |
A strong XUCET (entrance exam) score matters here — the President's and Merit Scholarships are ranked directly off that exam, so scoring well can cut your family's cost before you've paid a single semester of tuition. For financial-need cases outside the merit brackets, XU's Grants-in-Aid program assesses family income and academic standing on a rolling basis.
What are the admission requirements?
Xavier University uses the Xavier University College Entrance Test (XUCET) as its primary screening tool for undergraduate admission, administered through the university's Testing and Admissions Office. Programs like Medicine, Nursing, and Education typically layer on an interview after the written exam. International applicants face additional requirements: student visa processing, proof of English proficiency, and notarized academic documents.
Because scholarship rankings are pulled from the same entrance exam results, it's worth treating your XUCET prep seriously even if you're not chasing a top scholarship slot — a middling score still gets you in, but a strong one can meaningfully lower your bill.
Xavier University vs. Xavier School: which one are you looking for?
This mix-up is common enough that it's worth a dedicated section. Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan and Xavier School are unrelated institutions that happen to share Jesuit sponsorship and part of a name.
| Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan | Xavier School | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1933 | 1956 |
| Location | Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental | San Juan, Metro Manila |
| Level | College, graduate, law, medicine | Basic education (K-12) |
| Student body | Coeducational | All-boys |
| Community focus | General Mindanao population | Originally founded to serve the Chinese-Filipino community |
| Run by | Society of Jesus (Jesuits) | Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
If you searched for "xavier university philippines tuition fee" expecting information about a Manila prep school for boys, you actually want Xavier School's own admissions office. If you're comparing college costs in Cagayan de Oro, you're in the right place.
How to choose: is XU right for your budget?
- Identify your target college first. Cost swings by tens of thousands of pesos between Arts and Sciences and Medicine or Engineering — don't budget off a university-wide average.
- Take XUCET seriously, even without scholarship ambitions. Since entrance scores double as scholarship rankings, a stronger score is pure upside.
- Ask about Grants-in-Aid early if you have financial need outside the merit brackets. This program assesses family income directly rather than requiring a top exam rank.
- Call the Finance Office for your specific program before committing. Every aggregator figure in this guide, including our own, is a planning estimate — XU's registrar has the number that actually matters.
- If your budget ceiling sits well below XU's premium-tier range, compare against affordable colleges in the Philippines, including free state university options under RA 10931.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan — founding year, Jesuit affiliation, colleges/schools, CHED Centers of Excellence, PAASCU accreditation, university-status history
- Wikipedia: Xavier School — founding year, San Juan location, all-boys/Chinese-Filipino community history
- Xavier University official Vision and Mission page — official mission statement
- Xavier University official Scholarships and Grants page — scholarship program listing (via Philippine Scholarships summary, sourced from XU's own materials)
- Philippine Scholarships: XU-Ateneo de Cagayan Scholarship Programs — detailed scholarship eligibility and benefits
- Xavier University School of Medicine contact page — Dr. Jose P. Rizal School of Medicine admissions contact details
- Third-party tuition estimate table (studentportal.ph XU profile) — per-program per-unit/per-semester estimates, explicitly labeled as unverified estimates
- SchoolFinderPH: Cheapest to Most Expensive Universities in the Philippines — comparative full-year tuition ranges across Philippine universities, including XU
