Stanford giving tuition discounts for low income families
This news certainly does not fit in with the normal theme of this site. While I enjoy pointing out the stupidity abound in the world, occassionally something good comes up that I want to share, and since more people read this blog than my others I figured I should put this here.
Standford University announced a plan Wednesday that will base tuition costs on the student’s family income rather than a flat rate. For students coming from a household income under $45,000 tuition will be waived. Those with household incomes between $45,000 and $60,000 will pay an estimated $3,800 a year for tuition. This in comparision to the estimated $33,000 that most students will pay in tuition at Stanford next year.
Says Richard Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, “Many families … may be discouraged by the stated tuition, so we want to be more forceful with this new program in encouraging talented low-income students to consider Stanford.”
Harvard and Princeton have similar programs.
This is a great thing. While Stanford has offered financial aid packages before that almost negated tuition to low income students, they are starting to push it more. The gap between rich and poor often mirrors the gap between those with college degrees and those without. Programs such as this will give opportunity to those who did not have it before.