Can I Afford a Selective College?

Are you a high achieving, low-income student who thinks they can’t afford a selective college? Think again. No one needs to go to a selective college to have a happy, successful life. But if you aspire to attend places like Harvard, Stanford or Yale - and now USC - then you might go not only cost-free, but also leave with no student debt.

As part of a trend among selective colleges to try to increase socio-economic diversity on their campuses, many have policies that grant tuition waivers to students whose families have incomes below a certain level. And this income level isn’t always as low as you might think. The University of Southern California is the latest such college to follow this trend. As a recent New York Times article (Feb. 21) reports, beginning Fall 2020, USC will waive tuition for undergraduate U.S. citizens whose families earn less than $80,000.

Other selective colleges with huge endowments can afford to be even more generous. For example, students at Harvard whose families earn less than $60,000 attend the college cost-free. Those in the $65,000 - $110,000 income bracket pay between zero and ten percent of their family income. At Stanford, students whose families earn less than $65,000 attend cost-free and those whose incomes are below $125,000 receive a tuition waiver. At Yale, students whose families earn less than $75,000 attend cost-free.

For a list of 30 colleges that have tuition waivers based on family income, see a 2018 Forbes Magazine article by Zack Friedman:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/09/25/colleges-free-tuition/#6b55912a3566

As I've said, no one needs to go to an Ivy League or selective college to have a happy life and successful career. But many of those colleges have been at it for a long time and do a lot right. With the financial, intellectual and scientific resources that come with huge endowments and distinguished faculty, these colleges can be wonderful launch pads into adulthood! So, if you aspire to attend a selective college and have done all the research to make sure it’s a good fit for you, coming from a modest background doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t afford it.