Penn, Brandeis boost financial aid for middle-class students

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The University of Pennsylvania and Brandeis University both announced new financial aid initiatives on Tuesday to lower college costs for students from middle-income families. 

Penn is launching the Quaker Commitment program, which will raise the annual income threshold to qualify for free tuition from $140,000 to $200,000. The university also plans to stop considering a family’s primary home equity as an asset factored into financial aid calculations, another change likely to improve affordability for middle-class families specifically. The initiatives will apply to all undergraduate students, not just incoming first-years, starting next fall.

“Penn is reaffirming its commitment to the core principle that a world-class education can be affordable to students from all backgrounds, not just those from lower-income backgrounds or those who are able to pay full price,” Mark Dingfield, vice president for finance and treasurer, said in a statement Tuesday.

Brandeis launched the Brandeis Initiative yesterday as well, which will provide free tuition to students from families making $75,000 a year or less, and half-price tuition to those making between $75,000 and $200,000. This will take effect next fall but will only be available to new students. 

Penn and Brandeis join a growing list of selective universities that have launched initiatives in the past year to make tuition free or vastly more affordable for middle-class families.