On Sept. 23, college President Ian Baucom announced that starting with the upcoming first year class of 2031, Middlebury College will be tuition-free for students with family incomes up to $175,000.
“Our recently adopted strategic plan — Excellence. Purpose. Joy. — has made strengthening our core and investing in our people our first priority. That begins with investing in our students and making college more deeply affordable. Talent, drive, potential, who you are as a creative, curious, and world-asking individual — not financial means — should determine who receives a Middlebury education,” Baucom wrote in the announcement.
As part of the administration’s strategic plan, the college aims to make Middlebury more accessible and affordable for students of varying backgrounds. The $175,000 threshold was originally lower — $150,000 — but was raised due to external donations.
“Thanks to the generous support of our many donors who share that vision, this new tuition program will allow more students to experience Middlebury as a place where they can thrive intellectually and personally, regardless of their economic circumstances,” Baucom wrote.
Middlebury has historically touted itself as an institution that commits to supporting students by meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need within the application process.
About 50% of Middlebury students receive financial aid from the institution, and for the current school year, the students were awarded an average of $66,000 in aid — totaling close to $80 million in total distributed support.
The announcement specified that only tuition will be waived for those with familial incomes up to $175,000. Tuition does not include the price of on-campus housing, the meal plan, or other expenses throughout the year — yet it is a considerable percentage of the overall cost. Tuition for the current academic year is $72,924.
Cost of attendance to Middlebury has steadily increased over the past few years. In March of 2025, the Board of Trustees voted to raise the cost by 4.5% — from $86,850 to $90,756. The current cost for the 2026-27 school year totals $97,386 according to Student Financial Services. For students paying full price, that’s nearly $390,000.
Nicole Curvin, vice president of strategic enrollment and dean of admissions, believes that the new tuition-free initiative is an important enhancement to the current generous financial aid policies.
“We are fortunate to cover the full calculated need for all admitted students. Our hope is that the new initiative will make Middlebury more appealing to future students as they consider affordability and their college choice. In addition, it will allow us to cover full tuition costs
for a wider band of incoming students each year beginning with the Class of 2031,” she wrote in an email to The Campus.
Several other colleges and universities across the country have made similar decisions in regards to financial aid and accessibility. In January, Yale University announced that it would expand financial aid to provide free tuition for families earning under $200,000 and cover all costs of attendance for families under $100,000. This year, students at Tufts University with family incomes under $150,000 attend school tuition-free. Williams College waives tuition for students under a $200,000 threshold.
Middlebury already partners with nationwide scholarship programs Posse and QuestBridge, which aim to aid applicants of certain demographics with their higher education endeavors. Determined by a highly competitive process, the Posse Foundation awards students full tuition scholarships at certain colleges and universities solely based on merit. QuestBridge serves specifically low-income and high-achieving students, and offers a fully funded four-year scholarship to select students within their program.
Posse scholar Kwame Boateng ’27 feels that the announcement may be disproportionately felt on campus.
“It helps with the overall tuition aspect of it, but room and board for a low-income family is still a big thing,” Boateng said. “The majority of the kids here are super wealthy, so I don’t know if this has any kind of impact.”
President of the Middlebury QuestBridge cohort, Talitha Hicks ’27 hopes that the decision will allow for more students of diverse backgrounds to attend Middlebury.
“To apply for QuestBridge, your family income is typically lower than $65,000, so that’s about a third of the way Middlebury is capping [the threshold] at. Even that in it of itself will allow the student body to diversify,” Hicks said.
Hicks works with high schoolers looking to apply to college through the QuestBridge scholarship program and speaks with prospective students about Middlebury.
“It came up in conversation how Middlebury is becoming a tuition-free college for those making $175,000 and below, and the students right away said ‘I want to go there,’” Hicks said. “So I think just that shows that even though it is just tuition, hearing that a school is tuition-free even for a certain income, makes people more comfortable and feel that they can afford to attend.”
Norah Khan ’27 (she/her) is the Editor-in-Chief.
She previously served as a News Editor and Arts & Culture Editor. She is a joint Political Science and English Literature major with a minor in Spanish. She spent her summer interning at Seven Days and completing research on campus. In her free time, she enjoys running on the TAM and cooking with friends.
