When writing college application essays, we often think that this is the hardest part of the process – the difficulties of applying and getting in. But financial aid and paying for college has become an increasingly challenging hurdle! The evidence is in the rising costs every year – and the growing list of colleges offering free tuition for a wider and wider group of families.
I’m grateful to @dearmodernscholar on Instagram for posting this list. Please contact each college/university for specifics. And don’t forget to have parents fill out the NPC for each college you’re applying to. That’s the Net Price Calculator, which will give you an estimate of the costs.
Make sure that the time you spend writing college app essays and filling out applications is not wasted if you can’t afford to attend the college you’re applying to! And be sure to check out my post about merit aid RIGHT HERE.
Amherst College: Adjusted gross household income of $75,000 or less to qualify for tuition and mandatory fees
Barclay College: Offers each dorm resident a Full Tuition Scholarship worth $20,000
Berea College: Tuition Promise Scholarship covers the cost of tuition for all admitted students
Brandeis University: Free or half tuition for families earning up to $200,000
Brown University: Families with a total annual income equal to or below $125,000, that have typical assets may be eligible for funding that covers the full cost of tuition Caltech: Students with family income of less than $100,000 (with typical assets) can expect a no-loan financial aid. Students with family income of less than $200,000 (with typical assets) can expect aid to cover tuition College of the Ozarks: No students pay tuition
Columbia University: Students coming from families with annual incomes less than $150,000 (and typical assets) are able to attend tuition-free
Cornell University: Free tuition for families that make less than $75,000 a year Dartmouth College: Zero parent contribution and no loans for families with annual income below $125,000
Duke University: Full tuition grants for admitted undergraduate student residents of North Carolina and South Carolina whose families have a total income of $150,000 or less
Emory University: Undergraduate students whose families earn $200,000 or less
Harvard University: Free full cost of tuition for families earning $200,000 family income and below, with typical assets
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend tuition free
Norte Dame University: Free tuition for families earning up to $200,000 and half tuition if annual household income is below $150,000
Penn: Covers minimum tuition with grants and work-study for students from families that make up to $200,000 with typical assets
Princeton University: Undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will pay no tuition
Rice University: Family income between $75,000 and $140,000 pay no tuition and half tuition between $140,000 and $200,000
Rider University: Offers free tuition for eligible in-state students
St. John’s College: Fully covered freshman year tuition for U.S. students from families earning under $75,000