Princeton Ups the AnteHello Reader, I hope your month is going well so far. One of the big news items coming out of the higher education landscape this week is that Princeton University increased its commitment to meet 100% of admitted undergraduate students' financial need. Princeton was already on the list of schools to do this, but what is new is that the threshold for receiving a full ride increased from an annual household income of below $65,000 to $100,000 and below. So it used to be that for families making less than $65,000, if their child got admitted to Princeton, they would get a full ride as the expected family contribution is $0. Now families making $100,000 or less should expect a full ride if their child gets accepted. Of course Princeton is able to do this because it is one of the wealthiest higher education institutions with an endowment of about $37 billion. Princeton is also one of the hardest schools to get accepted at because supply far outstrips demand, hence an acceptance rate of about 6% or less. The interesting takeaway here is that there are scores of colleges/universities just like Princeton that are committed to providing full funding to students -- that means meeting the full demonstrated financial need of the student if accepted. These schools are not necessarily as well known and hence demand for them is not as high, which means they have higher acceptance rates. But they are just as great at providing a transformative education for students. In the College Fully Funded program we help students find and apply to colleges that provide full funding and put them in the best position to get admitted. Students in the current cohort have already built their college lists using our proprietery method. The Fall II session is coming up soon. Fall II Session of College Fully Funded ProgramThe Fall II session of the College Fully Funded Program will begin October 17 and registration will begin soon. You are invited to a free webinar and information session to learn more about the program. Please feel free to share this invitation with your networks. You can RSVP here.
More News on Student Loan ForgivenessAs you may know Congress passed a law that instituted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program in 2007 that promised forgiveness of federal loans following 10 years of work in public service -- either for a government agency or a non-profit. The program was riddled with problems and many borrowers did not get the forgiveness they expected after 10 years of work. Now with Covid emergency powers, the Biden administration instituted a PSLF waiver that allows for many who missed out on forgiveness to be reconsidered. The deadline to apply is October 31, 2022. Here is a trusted non-profit to work with and get guidance if this is applicable to you. You can also check your eligibility on the help tool on U.S. Department of Education student aid page. I hope you have a good week and I will see you in your inbox in two weeks. Thanks for reading.
P.P.S. Do not forget to forward this newsletter to at least one person (3 is better) who would benefit from the College Fully Funded program to help them get them started. I appreciate you. Sources |
I am a college professor and the creator CFF College Fully Funded® and GradSchool Fully Funded. We help ambitious students, find, apply, and get into U.S. colleges/universities and graduate programs with full funding in order to avoid debt. Please use the links in the Links tab to learn more about me, our programs, or to connect. You can also read a few samples of previous editions of my twice monthly newsletter via the Posts link. If you would like to receive the newsletter on all things college admissions and funding, please subscribe below. To email me: collegefullyfunded@gmail.com .
Happy February! I hope this message finds you well, even as we continue under extreme cold conditions in the northeastern United States. If you are in this region, I hope you are keeping warm. Yale made major headlines this past week with an announcement that’s worth unpacking carefully. The news: Students from households with incomes below $200,000 will now receive full tuition. Students from households with incomes below $100,000 will have their entire cost of attendance covered—tuition,...
Hello Reader, I hope this message finds you well amid the monster winter storm sweeping a significant portion of the United States and the political storm sweeping this country. Today I want to share with you my answer to a question I have received many times. Students often ask how they should build their college list. Should they rely on college rankings such as U.S. News and World Report? Are highly ranked colleges inherently better? Below is a video clip of my answer to this question...
The College Affordability-Democracy Nexus As college costs rise and alternatives are promoted, I examine why higher education still matters—for students, families, and democracy. January 11, 2026 In this first newsletter of 2026, we are picking up where we left off in our last issue: the question so many families are asking right now — is college still worth it? As I shared previously, for most people who would enjoy college and are prepared for its academic rigor, the answer remains yes. The...