Davidson College Goes Tuition-Free for Families Earning up to $175K
July 6, 2026
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- Mark Johnson
New students at Davidson College whose total family income is $85,000 or less will receive a full scholarship for tuition, fees, housing and meals starting in the fall of 2027.
New students whose total family income is between $85,000 and $175,000 will attend tuition-free.
And new students with a family income of more than $175,000 will receive aid packages that follow the college’s longstanding commitment to covering all calculated need without loans.
Davidson College this week launched this simplified pricing structure, for citizens who live in the U.S. or people with full residency in the U.S., so that prospective students looking at colleges this fall will have a clearer understanding of the finances.
Our financial aid is extraordinary and rare. It is a foundational commitment of the college to make the Davidson experience achievable, accessible and affordable. Davidson is more affordable for students with need than most other colleges and universities, and this step makes that simpler and clearer.
The cost levels are based on a family’s adjusted gross income and require that a family’s assets, such as real estate or stocks, are typical for that income level. Students whose total family income falls between $85,000 and $175,000 will receive free tuition plus potential additional aid for which they qualify based on their family’s calculated contribution. Those whose income exceeds $175,000 will receive financial aid packages that meet full need and include no loans—the college’s policy for nearly 20 years.
The simplified costs will apply to new students in the fall of 2027 through their four years at Davidson, provided that their income and assets continue to qualify. Those guidelines will apply to the classes that follow. Already-enrolled students will continue to benefit from the college's distinct financial aid policies, creating aid decisions very similar to the simplified plan for future classes.
Davidson’s simplified cost structure emerges from the college’s efforts to recruit students from all backgrounds, as highlighted by the 20.5 percent of students who are eligible for Pell Grants among the class that just finished their first year. The simplification also helps emphasize how accessible the Davidson experience is, even amid rising and, sometimes, intimidating sticker prices in higher education.
We want to make the process of joining the Davidson community easier to understand. Doing so strengthens our continuing efforts toward affordability.
Davidson is among a select number of schools that have established simplified pricing for students with need.
That adjustment adds to Davidson’s distinction, established nearly two decades ago, as a leader in providing access to students with need. The college is among fewer than two dozen colleges and universities in the nation that take all three of these steps:
- Admit domestic students without regard for their ability to pay,
- Meet 100 percent of calculated need, and
- Provide financial aid packages with no loans.
Students who get financial aid receive grants and work student jobs on campus instead of loans.
These three critical steps will continue to apply to already-enrolled students. That trifecta of policies is a large part of why three-quarters of Davidson’s alumni graduate without debt.
“Our commitment makes it possible for talented students from all backgrounds to experience Davidson,” Hicks said, “and for graduates to plan for their futures based on their interests and capabilities, rather than their finances.”
Students and prospective students will continue to apply for financial aid at Davidson the same way—filling out a FAFSA form and providing other required financial information, such as the College Scholarship Service Profile, which helps them apply for non-federal financial aid. That will help the college determine whether the simplified cost applies to that student. Gathering that data likely will give the student a sense of whether they qualify.
Figuring out how to afford college can be confusing, and choosing a college is a big decision, Gruber said: “We hope to make both steps easier and easier to understand.”
Prospective students and their families can find more information at this webpage.
