USC offers free tuition to students from families making less than $80,000 a year
University of Southern California will offer free tuition to first-year undergraduates whose families make $80,000 or less beginning this fall.
The news announced Thursday is part of a major push to make education opportunities more accessible to more families at a campus where undergraduate tuition and fees exceed $56,000 a year, say USC leaders.
“We’re opening the door wider to make a USC education possible for talented students from all walks of life,” USC president Carol L. Folt said in remarks published Thursday on the university’s website.
Affordabilty and access to USC have been tentpole issues for Folt since she was named university president in September after years as the chancellor of University of North Carolina.
USC will also no longer count home ownership in its calculation to determine students’ financial need.
Calling the twin steps the beginning of USC’s “affordability journey,” Folt said “investing in the talent and diversity of our student body is essential to our educational mission.”
Two of every three USC undergrads receive some financial aid. More than one in five come from low-income households, according to USC.
USC will boost undergraduate aid by more than $30 million a year as part of the initiative — enough to give greater monetary aid to more than 4,000 students a year. Campus officials in the Thursday announcement said they expect the infusion of financial assistance will help about one in every three entering students in the fall.
“Financial barriers should not be a deal-breaker for students with the merit and the motivation to attend a top-tier research university like USC,” undergraduate student government president Trenton Stone said as part of the university’s announcement.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 2:07 PM with the headline "USC offers free tuition to students from families making less than $80,000 a year."
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