Colleges and Universities announcing FREE tuition - News and Discussions

[AZ_HighCountry]

Nice to see Harvard finally putting some of that $56B+ endowment to use. Can't wait to see the racial makeup of those who qualify for their program.

 

[RescueRanger]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting in 2025

Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting next fall, thanks to newly expanded financial aid. Eighty percent of American households meet this income threshold.

news.mit.edu

Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting in 2025​

Newly expanded financial aid will cover tuition costs for admitted students from 80 percent of U.S. families.

This part warms my heart "Newly expanded financial aid will cover tuition costs for admitted students from 80 percent of U.S. families.".

Well done USA, . Charity begins at home.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

This part warms my heart "Newly expanded financial aid will cover tuition costs for admitted students from 80 percent of U.S. families.".

Well done USA, . Charity begins at home.

it was "newly expanded" because Trump said if colleges didn't start spending their $billions in endowments he'd yank their not-for-profit status or tax it somehow.

So money has magically appeared.

 

[krash]

Ha! I have yet to see any university offer free tuition

Plenty in Europe that've been doing it for years.

 

[Feroze]

Plenty in Europe that've been doing it for years.

A University that does not run on tuition. How does it operate then?

 

[krash]

A University that does not run on tuition. How does it operate then?

Like our universal health care system, with public budgets from federal and state governments, for example in Germany and Norway. Believe grants would also be a part of it somewhere. It's not per individual institute, it's the law; a universal education system of sorts. A few European countries have it, some with conditions.

They are run and funded as educational institutes should be and not as money printing businesses with billions in external investments and endowment funds larger than the foreign reserves of most countries.

 

[Feroze]

Like our universal health care system, with public budgets from federal and state governments, for example in Germany and Norway. Believe grants would also be a part of it somewhere. It's not per individual institute, it's the law; a universal education system of sorts. A few European countries have it, some with conditions.

They are run and funded as educational institutes should be and not as money printing businesses with billions in external investments and endowment funds larger than the foreign reserves of most countries.

I see, I think you are correct.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Colgate Expands Free Tuition Program to Families Earning Under $175,000

Colgate University will offer tuition-free enrollment to families making less than $175,000, beginning in the fall of 2026, the administration announced on Monday, Oct. 27. This announcement comes following an expansion of the Colgate Commitment, the university’s no-loan financial aid...

thecolgatemaroonnews.com

Colgate Expands Free Tuition Program to Families Earning Under $175,000​

Knox College will offer free tuition for qualifying students in 2026

Knox College will offer free tuition to qualifying Illinois students starting fall 2026 through its expanded Prairie Promise program.

www.galesburg.com

Knox College will offer free tuition for qualifying students in 2026​

Jeff Yass gives $100M to University of Austin for tuition

Yass, a school voucher supporter and an influential figure in Texas politics, said the only condition for the gift was for the school not to receive government funding.

www.texastribune.org

Billionaire Jeff Yass gives $100 million to University of Austin for free tuition​

Several Illinois colleges add free tuition programs for qualifying students

'Every institution across the state who is able to offer such a tuition free program is so integrally important.'

www.25newsnow.com

Several Illinois colleges add free tuition programs for qualifying students​

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania announces free tuition for students from families making up to $200K

Swarthmore College is making it more affordable for students to attend the liberal arts school in Delaware County.

www.cbsnews.com

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania announces free tuition for students from families making up to $200K​

Yale to offer free tuition to families with incomes below $200,000

An expansion of Yale’s financial aid program will also cover all costs of attendance for families with incomes below $100,000.

news.yale.edu

Yale to offer free tuition to families with incomes below $200,000​

Notre Dame announces that families with incomes under $150,000 will pay zero tuition

The University of Notre Dame today announced significant enhancements to its undergraduate financial aid program, marking a bold expansion of the Pathways to Notre Dame initiative.

news.nd.edu

Notre Dame announces that families with incomes under $150,000 will pay zero tuition​

University of Cincinnati announces new grant providing free tuition for students in families making under $75K

The University of Cincinnati announced a new grant that will help low-income students attend the school with free tuition, according to a press release from the university.

www.wcpo.com

University of Cincinnati announces new grant providing free tuition for students in families making under $75K​

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/education/unt-dallas-announces-new-trailblazer-trust-to-cover-tuition-for-eligible-texas-high-school-graduates/287-e69539c3-09f9-4802-b31d-075bbcc2fdc4

UNT Dallas will give free tuition to students from families earning $100K or less​

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania announces free tuition for students from families making up to $200K

Swarthmore College is making it more affordable for students to attend the liberal arts school in Delaware County.

www.cbsnews.com

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania announces free tuition for students from families making up to $200K​

Yale to offer free tuition to families with incomes below $200,000

An expansion of Yale’s financial aid program will also cover all costs of attendance for families with incomes below $100,000.

news.yale.edu

Yale to offer free tuition to families with incomes below $200,000​

Notre Dame announces that families with incomes under $150,000 will pay zero tuition

The University of Notre Dame today announced significant enhancements to its undergraduate financial aid program, marking a bold expansion of the Pathways to Notre Dame initiative.

news.nd.edu

Notre Dame announces that families with incomes under $150,000 will pay zero tuition​

University of Cincinnati announces new grant providing free tuition for students in families making under $75K

The University of Cincinnati announced a new grant that will help low-income students attend the school with free tuition, according to a press release from the university.

www.wcpo.com

University of Cincinnati announces new grant providing free tuition for students in families making under $75K​

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/education/unt-dallas-announces-new-trailblazer-trust-to-cover-tuition-for-eligible-texas-high-school-graduates/287-e69539c3-09f9-4802-b31d-075bbcc2fdc4

UNT Dallas will give free tuition to students from families earning $100K or less​

Will bed interesting to see what the reality of this turns out to be.

 

[Watandar]

College enrollments peaked a few years ago and will only decline from now on. The demographics dictate it. Some of these colleges are more ahead than others in dealing with this new age of annual enrollment decline.

They say there will be fewer colleges and universities 25 years from now.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

College enrollments peaked a few years ago and will only decline from now on. The demographics dictate it. Some of these colleges are more ahead than others in dealing with this new age of annual enrollment decline.

They say there will be fewer colleges and universities 25 years from now.

Many of today's college-age youth are finding certain trades are paying better than someone with a 4 year degree.

My oldest granddaughter's boyfriend had a full ride scholarship to become a mechanical engineer. He decided to become a mechanic instead and is doing very well.

 

[Watandar]

Many of today's college-age youth are finding certain trades are paying better than someone with a 4 year degree.

My oldest granddaughter's boyfriend had a full ride scholarship to become a mechanical engineer. He decided to become a mechanic instead and is doing very well.

Sure, the trades are having a moment and are a good entry point for many young people. But the fine print on the trades are being left out. They often involve quite physical work in all kinds of outside environments and people's bodies cannot handle it anymore once they are 50 and beyond.

Coming back to universities, they had their heyday in the 1975 to 2015 period. You saw skyrocketing enrollment, tuition and stupidity like all sorts of idiot courses and degrees in that era of abundance. But the party is over now.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/06/30/doj-sues-rhode-island-over-college-tuition-benefits-for-noncitizens/

DOJ sues Rhode Island over college tuition benefits for noncitizens​

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday added Rhode Island and Massachusetts to the list of states it is suing over higher education tuition benefits for noncitizen residents.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Providence and another in U.S. District Court in Boston claim that laws in each state discriminate against U.S. citizens and incentivize illegal immigration.

In the Rhode Island case, the Trump administration called three state laws unconstitutional: one qualifying noncitizens who meet certain criteria for in-state tuition and two qualifying them for state-funded scholarships. The DOJ argued these laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, under which federal law overrides conflicting state legislation.

The complaint claims the state superseded a federal law barring noncitizens from receiving postsecondary education benefits unavailable to out-of-state U.S. citizens.

“This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a news release.

The complaint challenges three laws, beginning with the Student Success Act, which codified eligibility requirements for in-state tuition at Rhode Island’s public postsecondary institutions into law in 2021. Those requirements mirrored the residency policy set by the state’s Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner.

Out-of-state students pay over twice as much as in-state students at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and Rhode Island College (RIC). At URI, in-state students pay about $15,684 for annual full-time tuition, while out-of-state students pay about $37,350, according to the university’s website. The DOJ complaint misstated that the university “charges non-Rhode Island residents approximately $17,116,” which is actually in-state tuition for graduate students.

The other two contested laws adopt the residency policy in their eligibility requirements for the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship, which covers two years of free tuition at RIC for state residents, and Rhode Island Promise Scholarship, which provides two years of free tuition at the Community College of Rhode Island.

On June 18, Gov. Dan McKee signed legislationamending the policy in the Student Success Act to expand eligibility for in-state tuition by reducing the number of consecutive years a student must attend a Rhode Island high school from three to two.

The complaint uses language from the existing law, with the change set to take effect Wednesday, July 1.

In a footnote in its complaint, the DOJ said the new law “in no way cures the current, unconstitutional statute given it further loosens the requirement.”

The footnote also said the amendment was introduced on Feb. 27. According to the General Assembly’s website and the bill text, the legislation (H8252/S2650) was introduced on March 6.

In the complaint, the DOJ wrote that the statutes adhering to the residency policy “engage in blatant unequal treatment favoring illegal aliens over U.S. citizens from other states,” which it called “squarely prohibited and preempted by Congress.”

The DOJ named as defendants the state, the Rhode Island Board of Education, Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education and Commissioner of Postsecondary Education Shannon Gilkey.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner acknowledged a request for a comment but did not follow up with a response as of late Tuesday afternoon.

The Rhode Island case was assigned to Chief Judge John McConnell Jr.

A dozen states targeted​

Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the only New England states on the list of 12 states the DOJ has filed complaints against for providing noncitizen residents with higher education benefits not available to out-of-staters.

The others are California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.

The DOJ has successfully challenged noncitizen higher education benefits in four states, including in its first complaint in June 2025 against Texas, where, within a matter of hours, a federal judge blocked a state law that gave undocumented students a tuition break. The other three states to see laws nullified are Kentucky, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Most recently, on June 24, the DOJ filed a complaint against Kansas for giving tuition breaks to noncitizens. The dispute led to a consent decree, but a judge has yet to finalize the agreement.

The DOJ’s complaints have cited Congress’ Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which declares that “aliens within the Nation’s borders [should] not depend on public resources.” The act, passed in 1996, also says it’s in the government’s interest “to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits.”

The 12 DOJ complaints also mentioned two executive orders by President Donald Trump in 2025.

The first, issued on February 19, orders federal departments to ensure “no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.” The second, from April 28, instructs officials to stop laws “favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens,” specifically mentioning state laws providing noncitizens with tuition benefits.

“These Executive Orders emphasize that Federal and state governments must not confer greater benefits to illegal aliens present in our Nation than to U.S. citizens,” the complaint states.

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General will defend the state in federal court. Attorney General Peter Neronha is term-limited and four Democrats and one Republican have declared their candidacy to run for the four-year office.

Tim Rondeau, spokesperson for Neronha, said Tuesday afternoon that the attorney general’s office has yet to receive the DOJ’s complaint, adding that the state’s tuition laws “have served all Rhode Islanders well.”

“The public can be reassured that this office will continue to aggressively defend this state’s laws against unlawful overreach by this administration,” Rondeau said.