On Thursday, Nov. 13, the University sent out a school-wide email and published a Hub article announcing that Hopkins will be tuition-free for all Homewood undergraduates whose families earn up to $200,000, offering free tuition to 85% of American households. For students whose families earn up to $100,000, they will receive additional aid to cover living expenses and other fees, attending Hopkins free of any University-based cost.
This will go into effect in Spring 2026 and apply to incoming students for the 2026-2027 academic year. With this announcement, Hopkins joins other institutions who offer free tuition to families under designated income limits, such as MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Cornell and Yale.
In the email, President Ronald J. Daniels announced that alumnus Michael R. Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion donation allowed the University to admit students without considering financial aid; the University is expanding the donation to begin covering tuition costs for the majority of students.
“With that investment, we were able to eliminate student loans from our financial aid offers and to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students. This in turn fueled a remarkable strengthening of the academic quality and socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate class,” the email stated.
In an email to The News-Letter, a representative from the University further discussed Bloomberg’s contributions to financial aid, and how it inspired more donors to monetarily support financial aid packages.
“The Bloomberg gift has allowed Hopkins to provide some of the most generous financial aid packages in the country. It also inspired other gifts,” the representative wrote. “Since 2018, nearly 1,200 other donors have contributed upwards of $240 million for financial aid at Hopkins. The university is able to make this change thanks to these individual contributions, the transformational 2018 gift from Bloomberg, and the strategic management of the university’s endowment.”
The spokesperson added that the funds will be drawn from endowment sources that are already dedicated to financial aid. They remarked that although the University faces budget challenges in other areas, for instance federal research grants, such expansion on financial aid has been possible.
“The vast majority of our endowment is legally restricted, meaning that the funds are earmarked for specific uses stipulated by donors and cannot be used for other purposes,” the spokesperson explained.
According to Census.gov, the median household income for an American household was $83,730 in 2024. Thus, with this decision, the majority of American students will be able to attend Hopkins at no expense. According to the University representative, currently 52% of students receive Hopkins need-based financial aid. Following this announcement, about 23% of current students will qualify for free tuition and living expenses and 38% will qualify to pay no tuition. General financial aid awards for the spring semester may increase as well.
The University also established that they will continue to meet 100% of need for families earning more than $200,000. Families earning upwards of $250,000 may also qualify for financial aid, one factor being the number of children attending college.
While this announcement does not include students at the Peabody Conservatory, the email highlights the 2024 announcement committing to meeting the financial needs without loans of all Peabody students.
