Stanford offers free tuition for families making < $125k

[Deleted]

Link to article here.  Sounds pretty awesome to me.


Stanford offers free tuition for families making less than $125,000

By Emily Jane Fox

Last week, 2,144 teenagers got the news they'd long dreamed of: they got accepted to Stanford University.

The cherry on top is that Stanford also announced it was expanding financial aid. The university said that no parents with an annual income and typical assets of less than $125,000 will have to pay a single cent toward tuition. The threshold for this aid was previously $100,000.

"Our highest priority is that Stanford remain affordable and accessible to the most talented students, regardless of their financial circumstances," Stanford provost John Etchemendy said in a statement.

As it stands, the school said that 77% of its undergraduate students graduate with no student debt.

Stanford, which came in fourth place in U.S. News and World Report's national university rankings, admitted just about 5% of applicants. A record 42,487 students applied. About 16% of the admitted class are the first in their families to go to college.

Stanford isn't the only elite school to offer such financial aid packages. At Harvard, parents making less than $65,000 are not expected to contribute. Families making between $65,000 and $150,000 contribute from 0-10% of their income.

Like Harvard and Stanford, Yale parents making less than $65,000 do not have to contribute to tuition. Beyond that, Yale subtracts a family contribution from the cost of tuition, room and board, books and personal expenses, and will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need.


At Princeton, parents making less than $140,000 do not pay tuition. Those making less than $60,000 are covered for tuition, room and board. Those making between $60,000 and $120,000 only pay a percentage of room and board. Princeton covers more for families with lower incomes.

[killercupcake]

Wow. That's pretty cool.

[lilafowler]

Shit. I should have tried harder in high school.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2015 18:35:18 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Wow,  I had no idea that this was going on. Ditto, Lila, maybe I should have aimed higher. lol

I will keep you informed for the next 16 years?

We have kids about the same age!

[killercupcake]

Apr 2, 2015 18:32:46 GMT -5 lilafowler said:

Shit. I should have tried harder in high school.

Right? Damn. 

[Jalapeñomel]

edited because I still haven't learned to read. Clearly I can't get into Stanford. 

[snipsnsnails]

Mmhmm, you think I'm pressuring my kids into an Ivy track already for nothing? That endowment's gonna pay up!

[Ohhmm(bligo)]

All right! My last obstacle has been cleared.

[Marmee]

That is pretty awesome! I went to state school & I left with way more debt than my brother who went to Rice. I knew then that I should have aimed higher. lol

[AHappierHour]

That's pretty cool!

[rupertpenny]

Good thing I just signed B up for Mandarin preschool haha. This makes me feel slightly less ridiculous about it for some reason.

[grayskies]

Wow, that's awesome!

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2015 18:46:32 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Good thing I just signed B up for Mandarin preschool haha. This makes me feel slightly less ridiculous about it for some reason.

I see nothing ridiculous about this!  You're in China!

[flutermed]

Man I should have gone to Princeton.

[jlt19]

That's great, but it sounds like they've had something similar, just a slightly lower threshold. I really wonder how many have not gone there because of that $25k difference.

[rupertpenny]

Apr 2, 2015 18:48:57 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Apr 2, 2015 18:46:32 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Good thing I just signed B up for Mandarin preschool haha. This makes me feel slightly less ridiculous about it for some reason.

I see nothing ridiculous about this!  You're in China!

But they don't even speak mandarin where we live!

I actually feel more ridiculous about the fact I'm freaking out about schooling options when she's only one. I had a meltdown last month about how if we didn't get her into school soon she'd never go to college haha. It was kind of pathetic.

[fryjack2]

I think this is awesome.

[underwaterrhymes]

That's fantastic!

[meganew]

Hey, my kids can afford college! Better start reading to them and shit.

[mich1]

Only problem is that they have a ~ 6% acceptance rate. Lowest of the list....

colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/lowest-acceptance-rate

[imhischeeseburger]

Time to buy and cover DD's room in Yale memorabilia. Less than 65,000 you get free tuition and board?! Sign her up now lol.

[nsl]

I mentioned in a randoms thread yesterday that I have a student who got in to all of these schools. Her family is so far below the federal poverty line it makes me ill to think about it. The fact that she can realistically plan to attend one of these schools (provided she can afford the living expenses, which are not inconsiderable) makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about the kind of elite, selective universities that would have laughed at my own application.

[W.T.Faulkner]

Fuck yes, Stanford!

[adhdfashion]

That's awesome!

[pantsparty]

Wow, that's amazing!

[Moe]

See? Even Stanford thinks 125k families are struggling middle class!

lol.

[isabel]

I had no idea these schools were doing this. I think it's pretty amazing.

[cville]

Apr 2, 2015 21:22:06 GMT -5 farmvillelover said:

pretty awesome.

sidenote: stanford waitlisted me. it was my #1 choice and the only school that didn't take me. i still get sad thinking about that sometimes lol

Princeton for me. They also wait listed my husband, which made me feel better.