40 US Colleges With Free Tuition for Some Students

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for students from the school’s Central Appalachian service area.

Alice Lloyd College’s Appalachian Leaders Scholarship is available to all students from the 108-county Appalachian service region designated by the school, which covers parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The college is also one of 10 “federally recognized work-study colleges” in the US, per the school’s website, and all full-time students are required to work a minimum of 10 hours a week at an on- or off-campus job.

Aside from free tuition and work-study, students may also receive financial aid in the form of grants and privately funded scholarships.

Students are expected to pay for their living expenses, including food and housing, depending on their financial aid package.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full cost of tuition for full-time students living on-campus.

Aside from the scholarship covering the full cost of tuition for students living in on-campus dormitories, the school also covers half of tuition for students living off-campus and offers a $1,000 annual scholarship to be used toward the cost of housing and food.

Students may also receive federal financial aid, such as grants or loans, to offset room and board costs.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for all students.

Berea College says that no student has paid for tuition since 1892.

The college, another of the 10 federally recognized work colleges, also requires all students to work a minimum of 10 hours at a campus job.

Aside from the free tuition scholarship and work-study program, the school also provides some students with support through stipends for professional clothing and free laptops.

Family income cutoff: $75,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for domestic students with family incomes and typical assets of less than $75,000. Students from families earning under $200,000 also receive grants and scholarships covering half of the tuition costs.

The school has also pledged to “meet 100% of demonstrated financial need” for first-year students from qualifying families, including those ineligible for federal aid, according to the school’s website.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for eligible students with family income under $200,000. Students with families earning under $100,000 a year receive financial aid packages that cover the full cost of tuition, fees, housing, and food.

The school also says it meets 100% of “a student’s demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans,” per the school website.

Family income cutoff: $175,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for US students with annual family income of $175,000 or less.

Starting in fall 2026, the school is also offering students with family incomes of up to $200,000 loan-free tuition packages.

The school also offers aid packages for middle- and upper-middle-class families through its Colgate Commitment, per the school’s website.

Families earning between $200,000 and $250,000 will only pay about 7% of their income toward tuition. For those earning between $250,000 and $300,000, the percentage rises to 10%.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for all full-time students.

Students at the College of the Ozarks are not charged tuition. Instead, all full-time students participate in the school’s on-campus work program for 15 hours a week.

In addition to the work program, the school also covers tuition through its Tuition Assurance Scholarship, which each student receives.

The school says the model allows students to graduate debt-free, though students may still need to cover other personal costs.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for students from families earning less than $150,000 with typical assets.

Columbia says students from families with annual incomes under $150,000 and typical assets can attend tuition-free, and that the expected parent contribution for families earning under $66,000 is $0.

The school’s financial aid packages are covered through grants and scholarships, and loans are not used to meet students’ financial needs.

Family income cutoff: $75,000

What’s covered: Financial aid packages with no expected family contribution and no loans for students with family income under $75,000.

Cornell says it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all eligible undergraduate students.

For students from families earning under $75,000 with typical assets, Cornell says the expected parent contribution is $0. The school offers these families financial aid packages that cover the costs of attendance through grants, scholarships, and work-study, and include no student loans.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for all students.

The Curtis Institute of Music, a highly selective conservatory, has been tuition-free for all students since 1928.

The school provides full-tuition scholarships for all students regardless of their financial situation.

Students may also receive need-based financial aid to help cover additional living expenses.

Family income cutoff: $175,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for families making under $175,000. Students from families earning under $125,000 with typical assets also receive a zero-parent contribution, loan-free financial aid package.

The college also says financial aid packages for all undergraduates do not include student loans.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition, room, and board for all admitted students.

Deep Springs College awards an automatic full scholarship covering tuition, room, and board to all admitted students regardless of financial need or country of origin.

The selective two-year college, which only admits about 14 students each year, relies on an unusual model where students work 20 hours a week on a cattle ranch, doing tasks like milking cows, irrigating the farm, cooking meals, and washing dishes.

Students are still expected to cover the expenses of their books, travel, and medical insurance, as well as a damage deposit, and scholarships are available for students who cannot afford to cover these costs.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition grants for undergraduate students from North Carolina and South Carolina whose families earn $150,000 or less.

For students from the Carolinas with family income of $65,000 or less, Duke also provides financial assistance for covering the costs of housing, meals, and course materials, without student loans.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for undergraduate students from families earning up to $200,000 with typical assets, beginning in fall 2026.

Under the school’s Emory Advantage Plus program, domestic undergraduate students from families earning up to $200,000 with typical assets will pay zero tuition.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for students from families earning $200,000 or less. Students from families earning $100,000 or less also get the full cost of attendance covered by the school.

Harvard says its undergraduate college is tuition-free for students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less. These students may also qualify for financial aid to help cover housing, food, and fees.

Families making under $100,000 receive financial aid packages fully covering all costs of tuition, fees, food, and housing, as well as additional grants to help students during their first and third years.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for Native American Indians and Alaska Native students who belong to federally recognized Tribes.

The university lists tuition at $0 for both on-campus and off-campus students.

Students may still pay fees and other costs tied to attendance.

Family income cutoff: $75,000

What’s covered: Full tuition grants for undergraduate students from families with total income and typical assets under $75,000.

The Lehigh Commitment provides full-tuition grants, scholarships, and tuition waivers to undergraduate students from families with total income of less than $75,000.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for students with family income under $200,000 and typical assets. Many students with family income under $100,000 receive financial aid covering the full cost of attendance.

The school, which prides itself on its need-blind admissions, meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all undergraduate students, both domestic and international.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for US families with total income up to $150,000 and typical assets.

Students with greater financial need also receive aid to cover housing, food, and fees. The college says it meets 100% of the demonstrated financial needs of students.

The school says it works with families individually to create financial aid packages using need-based aid and merit scholarships.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for most students from families earning less than $150,000. Students from families earning less than $70,000 receive aid packages covering the full cost of attendance.

The university says it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without student loans.

Family income cutoff: $250,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for most undergraduate families with income up to $250,000. Students from families making under $150,000 receive financial aid covering the full cost of attendance.

Princeton says it does not include student loans in its financial aid packages — which are also available to international students — and that 90% of students graduate debt-free.

Family income cutoff: $140,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for eligible students from families earning up to $140,000. Families earning less than $75,000 receive aid covering the full cost of tuition, fees, room, and board.

Families earning between $140,000 and $200,000 may also receive aid covering at least half of tuition.

The school says it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for students whose parents earn less than $150,000 with typical assets. Families earning under $100,000 also receive aid covering the cost of room and board.

The university says that families with total annual income below $100,000 and typical assets generally have no expected parent contribution toward educational costs.

In most financial aid packages, expected student contributions total $5,000, including $1,500 from summer earnings and $3,500 from part-time work, which can be covered with 8 to 10 hours of on-campus work a week.

Family income cutoff: $100,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for eligible Texas residents whose family income and assets are less than $100,000.

The school also froze its undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2026-27 school year, extending a record it has kept since 2021, when it last raised tuition prices.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for US undergraduates from families earning less than $150,000, beginning with students entering in fall 2026.

Tufts says students with annual family income under $60,000 typically receive financial aid packages with no student loans and that the school covers 100% of all students’ demonstrated need.

Family income cutoff: $100,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for most California families earning up to $100,000.

Under the University of California system’s Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, most California families earning up to $100,000 receive enough grant and scholarship funds to fully cover UC tuition.

Students may still have to pay for housing, food, books, and other costs.

Family income cutoff: $250,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for students from families earning less than $250,000 with typical assets, beginning in fall 2027.

Beginning in the Autumn Quarter of 2027, undergraduate students from families earning $125,000 or less will also have their tuition, fees, housing, and meals covered.

Family income cutoff: $75,000

What’s covered: Tuition and mandatory fees for eligible students with a household adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less.

The school also offers scholarships and grants for students above the family income threshold, depending on financial need.

Family income cutoff: $125,000

What’s covered: Full undergraduate tuition and mandatory university fees for Michigan residents with family income and assets of $125,000 or less.

Additionally, students receiving free tuition and enrolled in nursing, education, and performing arts programs will also receive further aid covering the full cost of attendance.

Family income cutoff: $80,000

What’s covered: Out-of-pocket tuition costs and mandatory fees for North Carolina undergraduate students.

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Tar Heel Guarantee covers any out-of-pocket costs for tuition and mandatory fees not covered by other forms of financial aid for North Carolina undergraduates whose families make less than $80,000 a year and have typical assets.

Students may still need to cover housing, food, books, and other costs depending on their financial aid package.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition through grants and work-study for students from families earning up to $200,000 with typical assets. Families making under $75,000 with typical assets will receive financial aid packages that cover the full cost of attendance.

Penn’s Quaker Commitment guarantees financial aid packages for these students. The school also says it no longer includes a household’s primary home equity in its financial aid calculations.

Family income cutoff: $80,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for first-year students from families earning $80,000 or less with typical assets.

The policy covers tuition, while students may still need aid for housing, food, and other costs.

Family income cutoff: $100,000

What’s covered: Full tuition and required fees for eligible Texas undergraduates with family adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less.

Separately, UT Austin covers “tuition support” for students with families making up to $125,000 and offers scholarships to offset the cost of on-campus housing for students receiving full tuition aid.

Family income cutoff: $100,000

What’s covered: Full tuition and fees for Virginia families earning $100,000 or less with assets below $100,000.

UVA says Virginia families earning $100,000 or less per year with assets below $100,000 receive need-based grants and scholarships equal to at least the cost of tuition and required fees.

Virginia families earning $50,000 or less with assets below $100,000 will receive additional support covering at least the full cost of tuition, required fees, housing, and food.

The school says it also meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all eligible undergraduate students.

Family income cutoff: $150,000

What’s covered: Full tuition or more for students from households earning less than $150,000.

Students from households with income under $150,000 typically receive awards greater than full tuition, with additional loan-free financial support for housing, food, and other expenses.

The school also says it meets 100% of the demonstrated financial need of all domestic students.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for North Carolina undergraduate students who qualify for need-based aid.

The college says loans are not applied toward tuition under the program, though they may be used for food and housing.

Family income cutoff: $75,000

What’s covered: Full tuition, fees, housing, and food for Missouri and southern Illinois students from families making less than $75,000 a year.

The WashU Pledge program provides a fully free undergraduate education to admitted and Pell-grant-eligible US students from 53 counties in Missouri and southern Illinois.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition for all enrolled US citizens and permanent residents.

The school says the scholarship is valued at more than $250,000 over four years.

Webb also offers need-based aid to help with additional attendance costs, which students are still responsible for covering.

Family income cutoff: None

What’s covered: Full tuition, room, and board for every student.

Williamson College of the Trades, a three-year men’s college focused on trade education, says every student receives a scholarship that covers the full cost of tuition, room and board, and student fees.

Family income cutoff: $200,000

What’s covered: Full tuition for families earning below $200,000. Families earning under $100,000 receive scholarships covering the full cost of attendance.

Eligible students from families making under $100,000 also qualify for hospitalization insurance coverage and an additional $2,000 grant in their first year.