Brown To Offer Full Tuition To Moderate, Low-Income Students

PROVIDENCE, RI — Brown University made a commitment this week to radically expand financial aid, saying the school will fully cover tuition for families making $125,000 per year or less.

The new program will further cover all expenses for students coming from families making $60,000 per year or less, including tuition, books, room and board and other needs.

"Brown has a longstanding commitment to matriculate talented students from all income backgrounds," President Christina Paxson said. "The University is also committed to promoting educational achievement among children from our surrounding communities. The remarkable growth in Brown’s endowment and the success of the BrownTogether campaign provide an opportunity to build on these two commitments, ensuring that the University continues to attract the best and brightest students from all over the world, and expanding college-going in Rhode Island."

The aid and access initiative is three-pronged, focusing on increasing financial aid for moderate-income students, moving towards need-blind admission for international students and creating a college-preparedness program for Providence students.

The Providence student program will address the college preparedness of students in the city, "whose levels of college attainment are below state goals," Paxson said.

Under current admissions guidelines, the university is need-blind when it comes to domestic students, it currently has a "need-aware" policy for international students, that considers financial need as part of the admissions decision.

"Need-blind admissions for international students will have wide-ranging positive impacts for the University and the world," said Provost Richard Locke. "It will create new opportunities for students to learn from international peers who have distinct experiences and perspectives, while also providing a Brown education for talented young people who will go on to serve their communities locally, nationally and globally."

The full program is expected to add almost $25 million per year to the current undergraduate financial aid budget, which was $153.7 million in the 2020-21 school year.

"With these new investments in attracting top talent and supporting them through their years at Brown, we have an opportunity to further demonstrate Brown’s commitment to building a community that serves the best students from around the world," Paxson said.

Read more about the initiative from Brown University.