A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, using a century of income and enrollment data from 65 of the most selective public and private universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, provides shocking information. The proportion of low-and middle-income students at highly selective colleges and universities, including Penn, was the same in 2023 as it was in 1913. Despite the GI Bill, affirmative action and an increase in the college-going rate from 10 percent to more than 60 percent, the most selective universities offering recognized pathways to power remained for the last 100 years pretty much a rich kid’s domain. Inside Higher Ed refers to this report as “a hundred years of affluence.”

This study provides some factual basis for the accusations of elitism that the Ivy League and its clones have been confronting. I’m pleased to see that Penn is immediately addressing this issue by guaranteeing free tuition to families earning up to $200,000, without consideration for home equity. For those making up to $75,000, in addition to tuition, the grant pays for room, board and books.

That means no families, including those making over $200,000, have to take out a second mortgage on their homes to send their kids to Penn. Another landmark change is to stop requiring noncustodial parents to include their income in the total family contribution. I know from first-hand experience, albeit at much less expensive regional public universities, that many children of divorced parents receive support from only one. It’s an unnecessary barrier to force prospective students to track down missing parents and demand support for their college education.

Dartmouth and Columbia were the first Ivy League universities in 2024 to initiate similar plans, along with Vanderbilt, Colby College, Duke, and a number of other selective private and public universities. (Last year, Princeton offered free tuition to students from families earning up to $100,000 per year. Today, one quarter of Princeton students pay no tuition.) Last week, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and the entire University of Texas system announced various approaches to making prestigious university attendance affordable for lower- and middle-income students. Penn is among the most generous overall, including the $200,000 income threshold for full tuition coverage and the other special benefits mentioned above.

The institutions announcing these plans have the financial means to be affordable to the general public. As of June 30, 2024, Penn’s endowment was $22.3 billion. Even though a sizable proportion of the funds are restricted by donors to particular uses, the university still has more than enough to implement its enlightened plan. In its statement about university investments, Penn says the following:

“Penn’s endowment provides critical support for the university’s goal of becoming the most inclusive, innovative, and impactful university in the world.” What better way to fulfill that goal than to bring down financial barriers for those who are talented but not super rich?

No one benefits from the crisis in confidence in higher education. Blame the angst on increasing cost and debt. The nation as a whole loses when brilliant students see no place for themselves in the best-resourced U.S. universities.

But money is only the first step. Elaine Vargas, Penn’s senior director of financial aid, told Inside Higher Ed, “One of our goals here is not only trying to help families afford an education, but also to help them simplify the process.” Penn is determined to cut red tape.

Sticker shock has no doubt dissuaded families from even looking at Penn. In 2024-25, the total budget for an undergraduate living on campus, including tuition, fees, housing, food, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses is $89,028. Multiply that by four years, and many applicants would simply walk away without waiting for financial aid analyses. Now it’s simple.

If your family makes up to $200,000, tuition ($60,920) is completely covered. If your family makes up to $75,000, everything is free. I hope that many bright Philadelphia high school students will read this and apply before the January 5, 2025 deadline to Philadelphia’s only Ivy League university, without fear of impoverishing their families or of taking on life-long student loan burdens.

Why are Penn and several other highly selective universities doing this now? There are many reasons. No one benefits from the crisis in confidence in higher education. Blame the angst on increasing cost and debt. The nation as a whole loses when brilliant students see no place for themselves in the best-resourced U.S. universities. With affirmative action gone, it’s essential to find clear, effective ways to change the elite demographics of higher ed. Last year’s bungled rollout of what was supposed to be a simplified application for federal financial aid (FAFSA) has caused increased doubt about help for low-income and middle-class families. And, yes, Penn and other universities are facing an antitrust lawsuit alleging financial aid price-fixing.

So what if Penn’s new, clear, simple message about financial aid availability is not entirely altruistic but a response to the times? Who cares? What’s important is to get the word out now to as many Philadelphia high school seniors as possible that there is still time to apply to Philadelphia’s premier university.

With this move on the part of Penn and other highly selective universities, perhaps the next hundred years will bring greater economic diversity and equity to higher education.

What you can do

• Spread the word about Penn’s new financial aid policies.
• Help families understand that Penn is within their financial reach. It’s not too good to be true.
• Support Penn philanthropically as it takes this major step to remove economic barriers from undergraduate attendance.
• Encourage Penn to increase outreach to Philadelphia middle and high school students with free mentoring and college pathway programs. Now that Penn has removed financial barriers, it’s time to invest in bringing down social, cultural, and educational obstacles preventing neighborhood students from being ready for Penn admission.

Elaine Maimon, Ph.D., is an Advisor at the American Council on Education. She is the author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation. Her long career in higher education has encompassed top executive positions at public universities as well as distinction as a scholar in rhetoric/composition. Her co-authored book, Writing In The Arts and Sciences, has been designated as a landmark text. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.

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