A great deal of high school students come from low income families, which makes those students, especially seniors, question what their post high school plans will be. Unfortunately, with college being so expensive, these students of low income families are usually not able to attend college. However, many colleges are looking to give these students the same opportunities as students who are able to afford college.
Rice University, a private college in Houston Texas, has come out with The Rice Initiative. The Rice Initiative offers students with family incomes that are less than 130,000 dollars per year scholarships that will cover half of their tuition. Students who have family incomes of less than 65,000 dollars will receive 100 percent free tuition, including the cost of a room, board, and fees. This plan will start in the fall of 2019, and these grants will only be provided to families in need.
Rice University’s normal tuition 61,350 dollars, which is lower than other highly ranked private colleges in The United States. The University of Chicago charges 75,800 dollars, and The University of Southern California charges 72,200 dollars. Rice University has always been generous when it comes to their college tuition. “Talent deserves opportunity,” stated Rice University President, David Leebron.
Lilly Meyers, senior, stated, “I think it’s going to benefit the country a lot if colleges start to offer free or a lower income for the students in need. It gives everyone a fair opportunity to achieve their dream job”.
Rice University is not the only University looking into lowering/free income for some students. Over 10 universities around the country already offer free tuition for students, including Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky, Barclay College in Kansas, Deep Springs College in California, and several others. While the tuition is covered, at many of these colleges students still need to pay for some things such as living expenses.
Counselor Kerry Anderson said, “There is no question that free tuition for low income families will help transform our present system where many students feel that it’s impossible to attend simply based on income. Colleges absolutely have to try some new approaches to male college affordable for all students. If low income students know that college can be a possibility, we could see more students take an interest in a “college going” culture earlier in their education”.
