Middlebury Will Become Tuition-Free for Students with Family Income Up to $175,000

Middlebury College President Ian Baucom has announced that starting with the Class of 2031, admitted students from families with incomes of up to $175,000 and typical assets will attend Middlebury tuition-free. The announcement signals completion of one of the first action items from the College’s recently adopted strategic plan, Excellence. Purpose. Joy.

“Our recently adopted strategic plan—Excellence. Purpose. Joy.—has made strengthening our core and investing in our people our first priority,” said Baucom. “That begins with investing in our students and making college more deeply affordable. Talent, drive, potential, who you are as a creative, curious, and world-asking individual—not financial means—should determine who receives a Middlebury education.”

The strategic plan set a goal of $150,000 family income as the initial threshold for students to attend tuition-free, but was able to adjust upward to $175,000 sooner than anticipated. 

“Thanks to the generous support of our many donors who share that vision, this new tuition program will allow more students to experience Middlebury as a place where they can thrive intellectually and personally, regardless of their economic circumstances,” said Baucom. “I am deeply grateful for the support that has made this vision real.”

The tuition-free program is the latest in Middlebury’s longstanding efforts to make college affordable. The College is one of a small group of schools that meet full demonstrated need for all admitted students. About 50 percent of Middlebury students receive need-based financial aid. This year the College awarded nearly $80 million in institutional aid with an average grant of $66,000. Additionally, Middlebury purchases all books and supplies for financial aid recipients, and for higher-need students it provides health insurance and laptops.

As part of its overall affordability strategy, Middlebury’s Student Financial Services Office (SFS) also works to ensure that students who enroll can participate fully in the College’s offerings, regardless of their financial means. “It’s about more than meeting the cost of attendance,” noted SFS Vice President Kim Downs Burns. “We try to ensure that financial circumstances and economic background of a family never limit a student’s ability to participate in transformative global experiential learning opportunities, including, for example, approximately 40 abroad locations where students’ institutional aid travels with them.”

Baucom believes that robust financial aid is foundational to meeting the College’s liberal arts mission. “We believe that liberal arts learning is more crucial than ever,” he said. “It transforms lives, equips our students to thrive in life and work, and prepares them to address the most urgent questions of history and our times. We want to open our doors wide to ensure that talented and dedicated students from all backgrounds have the opportunity for a Middlebury education and the futures it opens.”

Visit the Middlebury website for more information about financial aid.