Nearly Free Tuition For NJ Families Who Make Under $100K At This College

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Rutgers University recently announced an unprecedented new program that brings New Jersey's state university the closest it's ever gotten to offering free college tuition.

Rutgers would allow students whose families make $100,000 a year or less to pay no more than $5,000 per year towards tuition and fees. Students whose parents have an adjusted gross income of $65,001 to $80,000 will pay no more than $3,000 per year toward tuition and mandatory fees.

Rutgers is calling this brand-new program the "Scarlet Guarantee."

However, the free — or nearly free — tuition is only available to first- and second-year students. It is not available to juniors or seniors.

Students would still have to pay room and board if they choose to live on campus.

But Rutgers says this new offering will make the first two years of college nearly free for 7,600 current undergrads on main campus.

The offering begins this fall in the Sept. 2022 academic school year and is tied through federal financial aid. So students have to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to see if they and their families qualify. Also, New Jersey residents who are not legal American citizens, but qualify as "Dreamers" would be able to take advantage of this, by filling out the NJ Alternative Financial Aid Application.

For several years now, Rutgers has had a policy in place that allows students whose parents make $65,000 or less to pay no annual tuition. Monday's announcement expands on that.

The $100,000 income threshold is the closest Rutgers has ever come to offering free tuition, without scholarships or requiring college kids take out student loans.

“These new programs are transformational for our state’s students,” said Rutgers University–New Brunswick Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway. “I couldn’t be more thrilled."

Across America, state colleges and universities are taking dramatic, unprecedented steps to make an undergraduate bachelor's degree free: New Mexico recently expanded a program that allows all state residents to go to four years of college for free.

New York state has long had the Excelsior Scholarship, which offers four years of free tuition to students and families making up to $125,000 per year. Indiana has a program that offers four years of undergraduate tuition at any public college in the state, and partial tuition at a private college, as long as students take certain required courses and can keep a certain GPA.

Rutgand is linked to the Garden State Guarantee, a new statewide program launched last month by Gov. Phil Murphy for third- and fourth-year students.

When re-elected last fall, Murphy promised to make New Jersey more affordable for working-class and middle class families.

“We are deeply appreciative of Gov. Murphy’s commitment to making college more affordable and are happy to join his efforts," said Courtney McAnuff, vice chancellor for enrollment management at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

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