As college tuition continues to climb, students and parents got a bit of good news recently.
Beginning in the Fall semester of 2026, Tufts University will waive undergraduate tuition for middle-income families earning less than $150,000 a year. Families earning under $60,000 “will typically receive aid packages with no student loans.”
Bryn Mawr also just announced free undergraduate tuition to eligible families of students applying for Fall 2026 (or later) with an annual income of $175,000 or less. Last year, it eliminated all federal student loans for students with family incomes below $110,000 and assets under $500,000.
Both universities are among the small percentage that are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial aid need for all undergraduate students.
“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,” said the Tufts press release.
How much of a benefit is free tuition? For the 2025-2026 school year, the cost of undergraduate tuition at Tufts is $71,982 and $67,730 at Bryn Mawr, so the savings are pretty significant. With costs so high, how can students put themselves in the best financial position and avoid steep student loans once they graduate? Here’s our guide on paying off your loans in a timely way and avoiding defaulting or delinquency.
It’s important to realize that the sticker price is not what you will usually end up paying at many colleges.
“You may see the sticker price and write it off. Please don’t,” said JT Duck, dean of admissions and enrollment management for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. “Do a deeper dive on Tufts, because it might be more affordable than you realize.”
Tufts and Bryn Mawr join a growing set of selective schools expanding aid for middle-income families. MIT has made tuition free for families with income under $200,000 starting this year, and Harvard announced a similar threshold for tuition with health insurance, food and housing costs also covered for families that earn below $100,000. The university estimates about 86% of U.S. families will qualify for financial aid under this program. Some private universities also reduce borrowing by eliminating loans in aid packages or by meeting full demonstrated need.
Public universities are also expanding affordability programs that blunt rising costs. New York’s Excelsior Scholarship offers tuition-free study at SUNY and CUNY for eligible families up to $125,000, and the University of California’s Blue and Gold plan typically covers systemwide tuition for most families near $100,000. This year, the University of Texas System began a program to waive tuition for families earning up to $100,000, and the University of Michigan’s Go Blue Guarantee will cover tuition for in-state families with an income up to $125,000, also effective for Fall 2025.
Americans owe about $1.81 trillion in student loans, and the typical federal borrower carries roughly $39,075 while 42.5 million people hold federal debt, per Education Data Initiative [1].
Most first-time, full-time undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, and just over a quarter of all undergraduates take federal loans in a given year, so borrowing remains a big part of how many students finance college. Collections on defaulted federal loans resumed on May 5, 2025. Borrowers in default can face wage garnishment of up to 15% of disposable pay. The government can also take money from tax refunds and some federal benefits to service your loan. The New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report from Q2 2025 show that 10.2% of student loan balances were delinquent for 90 or more days in the second quarter of 2025.
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Though the average age of a delinquent student loan borrower was around 40 as of Q1 2025, recent graduates are more likely to suffer from a hit to their credit scores. That means they are less likely to get approved for home or auto loans, which can significantly impair their ability to build wealth for the rest of their lives.
Moreover, student loans are notoriously hard to discharge. According to the government website, your loan can be discharged only under specific circumstances, such as school closure, a school’s false certification of your eligibility to receive a loan, a school’s failure to pay a required loan refund, or because of total and permanent disability, bankruptcy, identity theft, or death. Needless to say, many borrowers spend decades paying off their loans.
For most people, the solution to student loan debt is to only take on as much as you know you can repay. These steps can help keep you from getting in over your head on student loans:
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Use each college’s Net Price Calculator to compare what you would actually pay after grants, not just sticker price. Keep in mind these calculators are not standardized.
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File the FAFSA and any required CSS Profile early and accurately. Aid cannot be awarded without them.
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Prioritize schools that meet full need and offer no-loan or tuition-free commitments at your income level.
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Borrow conservatively. A common guardrail is to keep total undergraduate borrowing near or below your expected first-year salary.
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If you must borrow, favor federal loans first and enroll in an income-driven plan promptly to keep payments affordable and protect against delinquency.
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If you slip into default, explore loan rehabilitation or consolidation to stop collections and rebuild status.
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Know your rights. You can contest garnishment, and resolving default can halt wage withholding and Treasury offsets.
Tuition-free pledges bring real relief to admitted students and their families. They won’t necessarily make college free, but they will lower the need to borrow for many. Given the scale of national student debt and the return of collections, the smartest move is to apply widely, compare net prices, and choose a school that lets you graduate with manageable or no loans.
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Education Data Initiative (1)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
