Wake Forest, Emory, Ohio State University Launch Free Tuition Programs

In just the past week, three major universities — Wake Forest, Emory and Ohio State — have each announced free tuition programs for undergraduates meeting certain income, residence or academic requirements.

The eligibility criteria differ from institution to institution, but each plan extends the school’s existing financial aid commitments dramatically, and they suggest that the upcoming admission cycle will be another challenging one as universities push out more resources to gain advantages in an increasingly competitive admissions environment.

Here is a summary of the three programs.

Wake Forest University

On September 17, Wake Forest University announced new tuition plans for undergraduates from North Carolina meeting various annual family income requirements.

Called the North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University, the initiative has three levels:

• Admitted students from North Carolina with an annual family income of $100,000 or less will receive financial aid that covers tuition and standard living expenses.
• Admitted students from North Carolina with an annual family income between $100,000 and $200,000 will receive financial aid covering tuition; they will be required to pay only standard living expenses and applicable fees.
• Admitted students from North Carolina with an annual family income between $200,000 and $300,000 will receive financial aid covering 50% of their tuition.

“The North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University demonstrates our deep commitment to students from our home state,” said Wake Forest University President Susan R. Wente. “This initiative is also personal for me,” Wente added. “As a Pell grant recipient, private colleges in my home state felt entirely out of reach. I want talented North Carolinians from across the income spectrum to know they can come to Wake Forest and receive a transformational education.”

The program will begin for new undergraduate students enrolling in the fall of 2026.

Emory University

At Emory, students who come from families earning $200,000 or less annually will be able to attend the university tuition-free starting in fall 2026.

Emory Advantage Plus represents a significant expansion of the original Emory Advantage program, which began in 2007 to serve students from families with lower incomes. Emory expanded the program in fall 2022 by eliminating need-based loans as part of its financial aid packages and replacing them with institutional grants.

All new and returning domestic undergraduate students who meet the income requirements will be eligible for the expanded program. Emory plans to spend more than one billion dollars in undergraduate financial aid over the next four years.

“Offering free tuition to every student whose family income is $200,000 or less is about leadership,” said Interim Emory University President Leah Ward Sears. “When students sit at the kitchen table with their parents to discuss college, I don’t want finances to be a consideration,” Sears said in the university’s news release. “If they qualify to come to Emory and they want to come to Emory, we will make sure they can afford Emory.”

The Ohio State University

Last week, in his first state of the university address, Ohio State University President Ted Carter announced three new financial aid programs as part of a larger, strategic plan for the university entitled Education for Citizenship 2035.

The first is called Buckeye Bridge, which involves a new partnership with Columbus State Community College. Under that plan, any Columbus State graduate who is from the state of Ohio and whose family adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less, can transfer to Ohio State and finish their undergraduate degree there tuition-free. About 1,000 students transfer from Columbus State to Ohio State annually.

The second program represents what Carter called “an attempt to attract the best students from the state of Ohio.” With it, any student from Ohio who achieves a perfect ACT or SAT score will not only be accepted to Ohio State, they will have their full cost of attendance paid by the university. “That’s tuition fees, living on campus, the whole thing, plus a $5,000 research stipend. This will bring the best students. If we think there’s 400 to 500 students that achieved that perfect score in the state of Ohio, I want them to pick Ohio State first,” said Carter.

The third program is intended for students at Ohio State’s regional campuses. Under it, Ohio residents who attend any of the regional campuses, and come from a family with adjusted gross income of less than $100,000, can attend tuition free. Then, after one year of maintaining good academic standing, those students can transfer to the Columbus campus, tuition-free, to complete their undergraduate degrees.

With their new policies, these universities join a growing number of prominent institutions offering free tuition to students from families meeting certain income thresholds. Not only do such programs seek to answer concerns that college has become too expensive, they come at a time when higher education needs to boost the public’s confidence in their value and purpose. While it’s still early in the new application cycle, look for more universities to join the free tuition band wagon.