Swarthmore College to Offer Free Tuition for Families Earning Up to $200,000

Swarthmore College announced it will provide free tuition to domestic students from families with annual household incomes of $200,000 or less. The Swarthmore Tuition Guarantee takes effect for the 2027-28 academic year. The college has practiced need-blind admissions for domestic students since the 1950s and already meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, including international students.

All institutional aid is provided without loans.

For the 2026-27 academic year, listed tuition and fees will rise to $72,722 from $68,766. Total student charges, including housing, food, and the student activities fee, will reach $95,770. The college’s financial aid budget for the upcoming year exceeds $71 million, with an average aid package of more than $75,000. Fifty-six percent of current students receive institutional aid.

677 million per student. The college funds its aid program primarily from endowment returns. Several other universities have announced similar expansions. The University of Chicago will guarantee free tuition beginning fall 2027 for families earning less than $250,000.

Yale will offer free tuition to undergraduates from families earning below $200,000 starting next fall. The University of Notre Dame will cover full tuition for students from families earning below $150,000 beginning in 2026-27. Johns Hopkins, the University of Utah, Smith College, Bryn Mawr, and the Stevens Institute of Technology also introduced or expanded free-tuition programs in the past year.