Ten Elite Schools Where Middle-Class Kids Don't Pay Tuition

Students lucky enough to be accepted to some of the most competitive schools in the country can save hundreds of thousands of dollars on tuition

A statue of former Princeton University President John Witherspoon outside the East Pyne building on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J.
Photographer: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

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By Akane Otani

April 1, 2015 at 7:02 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In a trend that's bound to come as a relief to parents of high school seniors facing sticker prices that approach $63,000 a year, a growing number of Ivy League and elite colleges are making college more affordable for middle-class families.

Stanford University announced last week that, starting this fall, students whose families make less than $125,000 a year will not pay any tuition. Previously, the school had set the bar at $100,000. With the move, Stanford has made it possible for more middle-class students to get a degree for what they'd spend in tuition at an in-state, public university (students with a family income above $65,000 a year still have to cover room and board). That makes an admissions offer that's already among the most coveted in the country even more attractive.