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7 Tuition Free Colleges

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Younger generations start out in the real world with a bit of debt. This is contributed by college and credit cards. There are colleges that offer free tuition to students who’s parents make under a certain amount. I’ve compiled a list of 8 Tuition Free Colleges that your student can check out:

Princeton: Princeton offers students a full tuition package if their families made under $65,000. This includes tuition, room, and board. 84% of Princeton’s students graduated debt free. The average grant offered to students was $48,000. Read how Princeton’s Aid Program Works.

Tuition Free Colleges

About Princeton from their website:

Princeton University is committed to building a diverse campus community. Our 5,200 undergraduate students benefit from living and studying at a residential research institution, where faculty and staff devote much of their time and energy to teaching, advising and supporting undergraduates. Princeton University’s 500-acre campus is located in a cosmopolitan town (population 30,000) in central New Jersey, with easy access by train to Philadelphia and New York City, each about 55 miles away.

Cornell University: Parents with a combined income of less than $60,000 and assets totaling less than $100,000 pay nothing for their child’s education. Students contribute money from a summer job and a small amount of money from savings. Here are some Financial Aid Examples.

About Cornell from their website:

Cornell is a private, Ivy League university and the land-grant university for New York State. Cornell’s mission is to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge; produce creative work; and promote a culture of broad inquiry throughout and beyond the Cornell community. Cornell also aims, through public service, to enhance the lives and livelihoods of our students, the people of New York, and others around the world.

Harvard College: Students who have parents that make $65,000 – $150,000 will be expected to pay 0% – 10%. Income over $150,000 would be expected to pay over 10%. There is no special application to fill out. The student just applies for financial aid for the grant amount to be determined. The student would be expected to work at least 12 hours a week to help contribute. Outside awards can help reduce or replace the student’s work term. See how their aid works here.

About Harvard College from their website:

When you attend Harvard College, you become a part of the rich, storied history of the nation’s oldest institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1636, Harvard has undergone countless changes over the centuries, yet has always maintained its core as a haven for the world’s most ambitious scholars.

Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT): Students with a family income under $80,000, the Institute ensures that scholarship funding. These sources will allow them to attend MIT tuition-free.The first $5,500 of financial need is met with an offer of a student loan/term-time job. The remaining need, if any, is met with an MIT scholarship. Students receiving scholarships and grants from sources outside MIT may use this financial aid to replace the student loan/term-time job. Read more about this free tuition option with MIT.

About MIT from their website:

For students, the campus has 18 residence halls, each with its own distinctive personality and community. As a whole, the campus is urban and walkable. At its edges, the campus merges with various Cambridge neighborhoods, including Kendall Square—where the close association of industry and research expertise has made this area the most innovative square mile on the planet.

Stanford University: There is no parent contribution expected for students with a family income of less than $65,000. Students will still be expected to contribute toward their own expenses from their summer income. Also from part-time work during the school year, and their own savings. The expected parent contribution from parents with total annual income below $125,000  is low. Tuition charges are covered with need-based scholarship, federal and state grants, and/or outside scholarship funds. Families with incomes at higher levels (typically up to $225,000) may also qualify for assistance. Especially if more than one family member is enrolled in college. You can read more here.

About Stanford University from their website:

Stanford University, located between San Francisco and San Jose in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, is one of the world’s leading teaching and research universities. Since its opening in 1891, Stanford has been dedicated to finding solutions to big challenges and to preparing students for leadership in a complex world.

Texas A & M University: This one is for in-state students only!  Parents must have a combined adjusted income of $60,000 or less. The student’s eligibility is based on need per the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA). There is no special application to complete for free tuition eligibility. Read about Aggie Assurance here.

About Texas A & M from their website:

Texas A&M is the state’s first public institution of higher education. With a student body of more than 59,000 and more than 5,200 acres on the College Station campus, Texas A&M is also among the nation’s largest universities. Our origins, however, are much humbler: we owe our existence to the Morrill Act, approved by the United States Congress on July 2, 1862. This act provided for donation of public land to the states for the purpose of funding higher education whose “leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanic arts.”

Yale University: For students families that earn under $200,000 are eligible for some financial assistance to Yale. The less the income, the more the grant. The expected parental contribution is zero for families with incomes less than $65,000. $65,000 – $100,000, the average parental contribution is $5,600. Family income of $100,000 – $150,000 the average parental contribution is $12,650. For family income of $150,000 to $200,000, the average contribution is $27,500. In addition, three forms are to be completed for the financial. You can find them HERE.

About Yale from their website:

Yale’s reach is both local and international. It partners with its hometown of New Haven, Connecticut to strengthen the city’s community and economy. And it engages with people and institutions across the globe in the quest to promote cultural understanding, improve the human condition, delve more deeply into the secrets of the universe, and train the next generation of world leaders.

Most noteworthy, there are quite a few schools around the country that offer free tuition. I know I listed some of the top schools in the country. Therefore, don’t limit yourself. Make sure and research schools that offer free tuition. They believe that every student has the right to an education. And put their money into helping lower income students achieve their dreams for the higher education they’ve always wanted and desired.

If you are a student or are a parent of a student looking into going to college, have you applied to any of these schools, or other schools that offer free tuition?  Consequently, how did you find the process?

24 Comments

  1. robin Rue

    This is good info to keep in mind when my boys are older. College is so darn expensive and anything helps!

    Reply
  2. Chrishelle Ebner

    This is great info. However, I am one of those families who makes over $100,00 as a family. My daughter has been super busy filling out scholarship apps the past couple of months.

    Reply
    1. Jacqui (Post author)

      Good Luck! I hope she is able to find something! There are other colleges that allow higher salaries. Make sure to check them out!

      Reply
  3. candy

    These are great university and nice to have the information you have given. Hard for some families. All my kids paid their way through college and graduated with out owing any money. It can be done with some planning. Means more they did it on their own, they all have extremely good jobs now.

    Reply
    1. Jacqui (Post author)

      That’s awesome! It is a great feeling, knowing you’ve accomplished something so important. Especially at such a young age.

      Reply
  4. Franc Ramon

    This is really great especially for less fortunate families. These are also reputable schools, which could give a student great scholastic credentials and learnings.

    Reply
  5. Christy Maurer

    We visited Yale before and it is gorgeous. I love that these Ivy League schools have such great scholarship programs so that the kids who would otherwise not be able to afford them, can still go.
    Christy Maurer recently posted…Sanctuary Cove Book Review and Huge Giveaway US/CAN 3/21My Profile

    Reply
  6. paula schuck

    Really??! Harvard has a program that can help people who can’t afford tuition! I am amazed. I am pinning this for later. Thanks so much! This is extremely helpful. My daughter is in high school. It will not be long before I am looking at college/university and that is frightening.

    Reply
    1. Jacqui (Post author)

      It is insane how much college costs. Luckily my kiddo’s dad works at a University, so he’ll be able to get tuition for free. We’ll just have to pay for dorm and meal plans.

      Reply
  7. Pam Wattenbarger

    I never knew about all these colleges offering free tuition and tuition aid! This is great information for people looking into colleges.

    Reply
  8. Jenn

    I had no idea We have a daughter getting ready for college this year. I can’t believe the cost, even for community college.

    Reply
    1. Jacqui (Post author)

      The cost is completely outrageous! I’m always on the look out for scholarships for my teen who doesn’t start college until 2019 lol. There are much more than these 7. Make sure to check them out!

      Reply
  9. valmg @ Mom Knows It All

    Those are all very well-known schools. I found myself wondering if the offer would extend to parents that want to go to school and fit the income requirements.

    Reply
    1. Jacqui (Post author)

      That’s a great question! I didn’t think to look that far into it.

      Reply
  10. Annemarie LeBlanc

    I only have one more child in college and he will be done in a year’s time. And then I’m home free! Yay. Sending a child through college entails a lot of sacrifice. I am proud that my kids were sensitive to our financial situation and did their very best to get academic scholarship grants to help out with the tuition payments. Thank you for the information you provided about these schools. I will let my niece check these out too.
    Annemarie LeBlanc recently posted…8 Ways to Celebrate Canada’s 150th AnniversaryMy Profile

    Reply
  11. Stephen

    These are some fantastic schools. I found this post super helpful – thank you!!

    Reply
  12. My Teen Guide

    I’m really glad that you shared this information. This is so helpful. Will check it out.

    Reply
  13. Victoria Heckstall

    Glad to know this info, I need to keep this in mind for the future.

    Reply
  14. Mimi Green

    This is a great list. It sounds like I need to quit my job. O_o I promised myself that my kids wouldn’t start out in debit. Although they need scholarships if they don’t they will still be debit free.

    Reply
  15. Emily

    Wow, I had no clue this was an option for these universities! My kids are a ways away from college right now, but it is so nice to know there is a ton of options!

    Reply
  16. Jenn @ EngineerMommy

    Yes, this is an important post. College can be so expensive. It’s important to find ways to save money. I went to a school that offered me a full tuition scholarship and it helped so much financially!

    Reply
  17. Jamie H

    My grandparents spent every fall in Branson, Missouri when I was a kid. And every year they visited College of the Ozarks, which is a tuition-free college. Every student has to work a certain number of hours. After seeing the cost of tuition when I went, I was wishing I had gone there!

    Reply
  18. Kate | Life of a Ginger

    WOW! It’s really nice that these amazing schools provide tuition help. My daughter is a freshman in college and even with scholarships and grants she still had to take out loans.

    Reply
  19. Kassee Lane

    This is really awesome. I had no idea that schools like these had such a great program for parents that don’t have a lot of money. It makes me feel better that with my grandsons are older that my daughter will be able to afford it.

    Reply

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