HOUSTON – Rice University will soon offer free or reduced tuition to some students.
The school’s new financial aid initiative, called The Rice Investment, was unveiled in a news release published Tuesday.
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Under the plan, students from families with an income below $65,000 will receive aid that covers their full tuition, mandatory fees and room and board. Students who come from families with an income between $65,000 and $130,000 will be awarded a full-tuition scholarship. Students from families with an income between $130,000 and $200,000 will be awarded a scholarship to cover at least half of their tuition.
The annual tuition at Rice University is $46,600.
Students seeking assistance under the new program must be eligible to receive need-based financial aid.
“Talent deserves opportunity,” said Rice University President David Leebron. “We’ve built on our already generous financial aid to provide more support to lower-income and middle-class families and ensure that these students have access to the best in private higher education.”
The program aims to reduce student debt next academic year by dropping the loan requirement for degree-seeking undergraduate students from families with incomes of up to $200,000.
Students who receive aid under the program will still be expected to contribute toward the cost of attendance through moderate earnings from summer and academic year jobs.
“The Rice Investment will give more students from middle-income families an extraordinary opportunity at an extraordinary university,” said Bobby Tudor, the chairman of the school’s board.
Many people applauded the university's bold move.
"I think it will help more kids go to school who are in the middle income and lots of times those kids are left out," said Jean Sokol of The Woodlands.
Sokol was on campus picking up her niece, Sarah Clifford, from an overnight visit to Rice. Clifford is a senior at a high school in Arlington.
"I actually texted my mom first thing and I asked her 'how much money do you make per year?' With the new financial aid thing in place it can definitely help my family save a lot of money and help me come to Rice," Clifford said.
For more information about the program, go to FinancialAid.Rice.edu.