While the high-stakes environment of some high schools may give them an elite and noteworthy reputation, it often comes at an extreme cost to the mental and physical wellbeing of students who struggled to cope with academic pressure.

Boston University President Robert Brown announced an overall 3.4 percent increase in the cost of tuition for the 2016-17 academic year in an email sent to BU students on Friday. This includes a 3.7 percent...