Swarthmore College will make tuition free for families who earn under $200,000 annually, the school announced Tuesday.
The highly selective small college already is one of a small number nationwide that are “need blind” for U.S. students, meaning the school does not consider students’ finances in the admissions process and provides aid to help them cover tuition, fees, housing, and meals.
Jim Bock, vice president and dean of admissions, said the new step is designed to make costs more transparent for families who might look at the sticker price and think they cannot afford the college. Tuition at Swarthmore — which admitted only 7.4% of applicants for its fall 2026 class and enrolls about 1,700 students — tops $72,000 annually.
The $200,000 income limit applies to families “with typical assets,” school officials said. The college said decisions on what constitutes typical assets are made on a case-by-case basis.
The change would take effect for students entering in fall 2027.
“My fear is too many families are not considering us based on cost alone,” Bock said. “I just think we haven’t done a good job as a profession talking about affordability at the most selective colleges. We need to be more clear about that.”
Middle-income families with students attending Swarthmore pay very little, he said, but that message has not gotten through.
“We continue to get these questions, not just from counselors, but from families, in particular middle-income families,” Bock said.
Swarthmore is among a growing number of colleges nationwide setting such caps. Bryn Mawr College announced last fall it would make tuition free to families earning $175,000 or less with typical assets. The University of Pennsylvania in 2024 expanded its full-tuition scholarships to families with typical assets and incomes of $200,000 — up from $140,000. Lehigh University and Dickinson College are among others that have set caps.
Bock said he could not estimate how many more families will be aided by the new policy because it depends on who applies, is admitted, and decides to attend. In Swarthmore’s incoming class for fall 2026, 54% of students qualified to receive some level of financial aid, he said.
The new cap would cover the vast number of American households. Nationally, only about 12% earn over $200,000 annually.
Swarthmore said it was able to institute the new cap in part because it no longer has to pay a 1.4% federal excise tax on its endowment earnings. The college was one of several small schools that were exempted in the latest federal policy change.
The college, which has a $2.7 billion endowment, paid about $2 million in fiscal year 2024.
At Swarthmore, endowment earnings cover 60% of the school’s operating costs.
Swarthmore’s financial aid budget for next year is about $71 million, with an average aid package of more than $75,000 per student each year.
The new tuition guarantee will leave only the cost of room and board and fees for qualifying families. Next year, that comes to about $23,000, which is less than some state and state-related colleges. Depending on income, some families also receive aid to help cover those costs, too.
“In reality, we might be one of the more affordable options,” Bock said.