Tufts Will Be Tuition-Free for U.S. Families Earning Less Than $150,000

Tufts University announced today that U.S. undergraduate students whose families make less than $150,000 a year will attend tuition-free, beginning in the fall of 2026. Students with an annual family income of less than $60,000 will typically receive a financial aid package with no student loans.

The new policy, known as the Tufts Tuition Pact, is meant to ensure that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, including middle-income families, know that a Tufts education is within reach. Tufts is one of the few universities committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all admitted students.

"The cost of higher education continues to be a major concern for families across the country," said Tufts University President Sunil Kumar. "By covering tuition for students from families earning under $150,000, we're not only easing that burden-we're sending a clear message that Tufts is committed to meeting the full need of all its students."

The Tufts Tuition Pact aims to allay concerns about the "sticker price" of college, which does not represent what many families pay. Despite annual increases in the official cost of Tufts attendance, the actual average cost for Tufts students has decreased in recent years, thanks to the growing amount of financial aid the university provides.

"Some families see the sticker price and automatically shut the door without understanding how much aid they may qualify for," said JT Duck, dean of admissions and enrollment management for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering."We really do want to make Tufts affordable to every admitted undergraduate, and the Tufts Tuition Pact communicates this more clearly than anything we have done before."

The new policy applies to U.S. families with typical assets who apply for financial aid.

The university can take this step thanks to the generosity of generations of donors, many of whom have earmarked their gifts to help meet student financial need.

"We are so grateful to our donors who have made this pact possible by investing in undergraduate financial aid over the years," said Meaghan Hardy Smith, associate dean of financial aid at Tufts. "Their continued dedication is what will make these policies sustainable, and life-changing for so many students."

The pact builds upon Tufts' longstanding efforts to minimize the need for undergraduate student loans by increasing financial aid scholarships and grants. For fiscal year 2026, the university has earmarked more than $143 million for undergraduate financial aid. This commitment of aid means the average amount of student debt post-graduation from Tufts is under $15,000-much less than the nationwide average of nearly $40,000.

While 96% of Tufts students are employed or continuing their education within six months of graduating, Tufts has long recognized that helping them graduate with limited debt sets them up for long-term success.

"There are values that guide our financial aid work, and they prioritize making Tufts accessible to those who otherwise couldn't afford it," Hardy Smith said.

With the pact, students from families making less than $60,000 a year will have no loans, and Tufts will cover, at a minimum, the cost of tuition-and most likely more, on a sliding scale-for students from families that make up to $150,000 a year.

Additionally, many families with incomes up to $200,000 will also receive scholarships and grants that cover the cost of tuition,depending upon their individual circumstances. Duck encourages families to use the Tufts Net Price Calculatorto estimate the cost of attendance for their specific student.

"You may see the sticker price and write it off. Please don't." Duck said. "Do a deeper dive on Tufts, because it might be more affordable than you realize."

Duck said he hopes the Tufts Tuition Pact will help the admissions team reach exceptional students from every part of country. Every year for the past few years, the number of high schools represented in the applicant pool and the admitted class has grown as more students from more parts of the country learn about what makes Tufts a distinctive option for higher education. Duck wants to keep that trend of geographic diversity going by expanding outreach in parts of the country, such as the Southeast, where Tufts has traditionally seen fewer applicants.

"The Tufts Tuition Pact is going to help us make inroads in a lot of these communities, in ways that we wouldn't have been able to before," he said. "I'm excited for the new audiences, whether here in the Boston area or across the country, that may now consider Tufts a viable option."