Nearly a dozen colleges and universities over the past month have announced tuition-free initiatives for incoming undergraduates as the traditional application season kicks back into full swing. It marks the latest step higher education leaders have taken to answer growing criticisms about affordability.
The majority of institutions featured on this list are promising to wave select students’ tuition and fees based on familial financial data retrieved by FAFSA. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it will cover tuition for all students whose families make less than $200,000, the approximate income threshold of 80% of U.S. households. Those making less than $100,000 will be topped off with dining, housing and an allowance for books and personal expenses.
Bridgewater State University and the University of Michigan are offering tuition-free college to families earning below $125,000. The benchmark for the University of Texas System, comprising 14 institutions, will now be $100,000.
“As a state university, we have a responsibility to serve the people of Michigan and—given the many pressures of today’s economy—we want to ensure that working-class and middle-class Michiganders can send their children to this great university and benefit from all that it offers,” said Katherine White, chair of the board of regents at the University Michigan, according to mLive.
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Five institutions offer tuition-free schooling for undergraduates whose families make less than $75,000:
- Austin Peay State University
- Brandeis University (open to all U.S. citizens)
- Carnegie Mellon University (open to all U.S. citizens)
- St. John’s College
- University of Massachusetts system
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Most of these nine colleges have prioritized affordability to low- and middle-income families over the past decade. At $141 million this fiscal year, Carnegie Mellon has increased its investment in undergraduate financial aid by 86% since 2009. Brandeis University had committed to meeting 100% of students’ demonstrated financial aid even before the initiative.
In fact, national upticks in financial aid investments over the past 20 years have resulted in fewer students paying or borrowing money to cover their net tuition. However, many students and families are largely unaware of this help and are discouraged from applying due to intimidating college sticker prices. In the 2023-24 academic year, the tuition discount rate rose to roughly 56.1%.
University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan said the latest tuition pledge further clarifies the system’s affordability even though it had already been covering tuition and fees for 92% of students whose family income fell below $75,000, according to NBC Boston.
“It’s really important that the public is aware, and I hope this announcement makes it obvious to people how affordable a UMass education is,” Meehan said. “The sticker price is not the actual price most people pay, and in most cases it’s a lot more affordable than that.”
The Texas University System has invested over half a billion dollars in expanding its tuition-free college program since 2019. Michigan will spend nearly $9 million to increase its student family income threshold.
