Yale Expands Financial Aid, Waives Costs for Families Under $100,000
Yale will eliminate tuition and most costs for new undergraduates from families earning under $100,000 and cover tuition for families under $200,000.
Overview
Yale University announced Tuesday that it will eliminate tuition and other expected costs for new undergraduates from families earning less than $100,000 and will meet or exceed tuition costs for families earning up to $200,000, Provost Scott Strobel said.
The change follows similar moves by Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT and comes as elite colleges expand socioeconomic aid after the Supreme Courts rejection of affirmative action, school officials said.
Provost Scott Strobel said in a statement that the policy is "central to our mission to educate exceptional students from all backgrounds," and Undergraduate Financial Aid Director Kari DiFonzo confirmed the school will raise the qualifying threshold, officials confirmed.
Of Yale's roughly 6,800 undergraduate students, about 1,000 currently attend tuition-free and just over half qualify for need-based aid, Kari DiFonzo, director of undergraduate financial aid, said.
Yale said the policy will take effect for students entering this fall, while other reports have cited implementation in the 2025-26 or 2026-27 academic years, marking conflicting accounts about the timetable for the changes.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present this as straightforward reportage: neutral language, contextual facts about peer universities and Supreme Court impacts, and source content confined to a Provost quote praising the policy. Coverage notes both expansion of aid and mixed diversity outcomes, indicating balanced presentation rather than editorial framing.
Sources (3)
FAQ
Yale will eliminate all expected costs of attendance, including tuition, housing, meal plan, travel, hospitalization insurance, and a $2,000 start-up grant, for families with typical assets and annual incomes below $100,000.
The policy takes effect for new Yale College students entering in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Families with typical assets and annual incomes below $200,000 will receive need-based scholarships that meet or exceed the cost of tuition.
Previously, Yale offered free tuition to families earning up to $150,000; the new policy expands it to $200,000, following similar moves by Harvard and MIT.
Currently, about 1,000 Yale College undergraduates attend tuition-free, and over half (56%) qualify for need-based aid.
History
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