Tufts University announced on Tuesday that U.S. undergraduate students from families earning less than $150,000 a year with typical assets will attend tuition-free, beginning in the fall of 2026. The new policy, referred to as the Tufts Tuition Pact, intends to make the university’s commitment to affordability more transparent and accessible.
“The cost of higher education continues to be a major concern for families across the country,” University President Sunil Kumar said in an announcement. “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.”
Under the Tufts Tuition Pact, students from families earning less than $60,000 per year will receive financial aid with no loans. For families earning up to $150,000, Tufts will cover the full cost of tuition, and often other expenses, based on a sliding scale.
While expenses such as on-campus housing, meals, books and supplies may not be fully covered for students from families earning more than $60,000 annually, these costs are still taken into account when determining need-based financial aid eligibility, according to Meaghan Hardy Smith, associate dean of financial aid.
“Tufts remains committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students,” Hardy Smith wrote in an email to the Daily. “That means families who qualify for the Tuition Pact may also receive additional need-based aid to help cover these other expenses.”
Additionally, any families with incomes up to $200,000 may also receive scholarships and grants that cover the cost of tuition, depending upon their individual circumstances. To help families better understand their potential costs, JT Duck, dean of admissions, encouraged prospective students to use the Tufts Net Price Calculator to estimate their true cost of attendance.
The Tufts Tuition Pact does not change how financial aid eligibility is calculated, according to Hardy Smith. As the university continues to review financial aid eligibility on an annual basis, families must continue to meet the income and asset criteria for the tuition-free benefit to be renewed each year.
“If family income decreases, students may become newly eligible; if income increases above the threshold, their aid package will adjust accordingly,” Hardy Smith wrote.
The policy aims to dispel concerns about Tufts’ “sticker price,” which often does not reflect what families actually pay after financial aid.
“Some families see the sticker price and automatically shut the door without understanding how much aid they may qualify for,” Duck said in the university release. “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.”
Although the official cost of attending Tufts has risen annually, the actual average cost for students has declined in recent years due to the increasing financial aid provided by the university. For fiscal year 2026, the university has allocated over $143 million for undergraduate financial aid, helping to keep the average student debt at graduation from Tufts below $15,000 — significantly less than the national average of nearly $40,000.
“Tufts has made significant investments in financial aid in order to ensure affordability for students across income levels,” Hardy Smith wrote. “This has been possible through a combination of institutional funding, philanthropy, and federal and state resources.”
As the number of U.S. high schools represented in Tufts’ applicant pool continues to grow, Duck hopes to expand geographic diversity — especially in regions like the Southeast — by emphasizing Tufts’ affordability through the pact’s messaging.
“The clarity of the ‘tuition-free for families earning under $150,000’ message is designed to break down cost barriers early in the college search process and encourage students to see Tufts as a realistic option,” Duck wrote to the Daily.
The university plans to share this new policy through admissions outreach, high school partnerships, community-based organizations and direct communication with prospective families with the goal of reaching students from every part of the country.
“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,” Duck said in the university release.
