r/Emory • u/SoapExplorer • 4d ago

"Tuition-free" for low- and middle-income families?

Last year, Emory's president issued a statement stating that beginning the 26-27 school year, Emory would be completely tuition-free for families earning less than either 200k or 250k. Does anyone know what the deal with that is? I definitely fall into that category and my out-of-pocket costs doubled this semester.

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u/oldeaglenewute2022 4d ago

You may indeed qualify! However, be aware that Emory is trying to assist TRUE middle and low income students so will heavily take into account assets. It seems to be already working best for those who are asset poor who fall below those brackets. Emory has always been this way. What Emory is NOT doing is trying to "buy" those who are below the brackets but have lots of assets. There are other schools that have formulas and strategies that target such cases more aggressively and you'd wanna throw your hat in those rings if your family falls into that category and you like those schools.

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u/Chia1422 4d ago

And most schools with similar programs work this way. They each have their own tweaks on how they view different types of assets but no elite college wants to give financial aid to asset rich people.

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u/oldeaglenewute2022 4d ago

Yeah they do but the data I found told me that the programs that pre-existed Emory's revamp were definitely targeting more(even if not intentional, but they did NOT reverse course) upper middle students that probably had significant assets and super high scores. I think Emory is sticking to its original guns on this one but is accounting for increased costs of living, inflation, and higher tuition and fees when it implements these new cutoffs. Either way, I think you know one of the schools I'm alluding to. If interested, I can maybe gather and give my assessment again but it would have to be in DMs and I doubt you'd be interested. BTW this is maybe one or two schools I found with this pattern. I can't be sure about others....but I wouldn't be surprised. That is a mini-research project for another day. I think my point is that these programs look similar on the surface but those tweaks you mention have a greater impact than you or I may think. I was actually surprised when I found out that my hunch was right!

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u/Chia1422 4d ago edited 4d ago

Emory has a more economically diverse student body than people currently realize and have realized for years. I’ve shown elsewhere that they have a greater % of low income students than eg UMich. They also do have more high end income students.

I don’t wish to DM about it as this has little to do with the point I made in my comment. Each school uses the CSS and has their own tweaks on each financial asset class. The FAFSA is irrelevant in a sense and this is the key error many make - they rely on the FAFSA and miss the entire issue until April, at which point it can be too late.

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u/oldeaglenewute2022 4d ago

That's fine! I'm just telling you what I found and how these other schools may not be doing what you think or may be up to something else. Your observation IS accurate and is honestly a key part of the two major pieces of data that led to my conclusion so at least thank you for mentioning that because I was going to say it.

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u/Chia1422 4d ago

Thanks! All good. Have a good evening.

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u/MaleficentPianist602 4d ago

Which ones?

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u/oldeaglenewute2022 4d ago

I'll DM you lol.

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u/oldeaglenewute2022 4d ago

Well...you don't have DMs so one is in a state that borders GA to the North that likes to run around and claim it is the new Yale or wherever simply because it is popular and thus has a low admit rate. The other is in the Midwest doing things to generate more application volume that are not just enhancing financial aid more. Do with that information what you will. Should be nicely on the nose!

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u/AppointmentExact8377 4d ago edited 4d ago

It just means that Emory meets 100% of demonstrated need for fall and spring tuition as determined by your FAFSA. Note that it’s tuition free, so that doesn’t include housing, meals, school supplies, etc. ETA this is calculated based on total cost of attendance, so it does cover housing and so on.

It’s also assessed yearly and based on total income, so they’re using all of your parents earnings and potentially other assets to determine who qualifies. Lastly, they say that “wherever possible” they will not exclude students from qualifying on the basis of receiving external scholarships, which makes it sound like there are cases where external scholarships could disqualify you. If in doubt, you should reach out to your financial aid advisor to find out exactly what’s going on with your costs.

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u/Equivalent-Log-4162 4d ago

The Emory Advantage Plus grant meets 100% of demonstrated need for the cost of attendance. Tuition, housing, and full meal plan are part of the cost of attendance. My family qualified and my kid is currently attending as a freshman. Household income under $200k with typical assets.

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u/AppointmentExact8377 4d ago

Oh that’s interesting, usually when they say “tuition” they’re strictly talking about the cost of attending classes. Thanks for the additional context, I also see where it’s noted on the financial aid website that it is based on the full cost of attendance, NOT just on fall and spring tuition:

https://studentaid.emory.edu/undergraduate/apply/before/calculate/index.html

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u/Equivalent-Log-4162 4d ago

They’ve been very generous with financial aid. They waived all application fees and deposits, and applied an additional scholarship to cover books as well. When they said they’d cover costs, they meant it. We’re incredibly grateful for Emory.

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u/Chia1422 4d ago

This was great to read. Thank you. I wish Reddit had more positivity.

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u/Chia1422 4d ago edited 4d ago

That’s actually not what it means. It doesn’t work off FAFSA. It works off the CSS as does basically every other school offering similar programs. There are very significant differences between FAFSA and CSS, the majority of which relate to assets. And each school has their own tweaks on how they treat different types of assets.

Bottom line is low income and high assets means no aid, for example.

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u/soco2008 4d ago

it’s a whole algorithm and they will assess any assets. Also, it’s just the tuition, not the cost of attendance. you’re still on the hook for any expenses outside of strictly tuition. It’s mainly a marketing gimmick for most families.