Swarthmore College’s new program could make tuition free for students from families who earn less than $200,000 annually, school officials announced Tuesday.
“The Swarthmore Tuition Guarantee is a powerful demonstration of our belief that a student’s intellectual curiosity, creativity, and talent should decide what’s possible, not whether they can pay for tuition,” Valerie Smith, the college’s president, said in a release. “We hope it communicates to families that their financial circumstances are not a barrier to a transformational liberal arts education at Swarthmore.”
The announcement follows Swarthmore’s long-standing approach to access, according to the release, including the use of “need-blind” enrollment, which does not consider a student’s finances in the admission process. The school also offers loan-free financial aid to cover housing and tuition.
