GW to Offer Free Tuition to Families With Incomes Under $100,000

The George Washington University has launched the Revolutionary Promise, an undergraduate affordability initiative providing an income-based tuition guarantee. New, first-time domestic undergraduate students entering in fall 2026 from families making less than $100,000 will receive full tuition. Combined with a multiyear scholarship commitment, the Revolutionary Promise aids in ensuring predictability and stability throughout a student's undergraduate experience.

An important step forward in GW's strategic framework and its commitment to affordability, access and student success, the Revolutionary Promise reflects a core university belief that it should be a student's talent and potential that determines their opportunity to enroll and thrive, not financial circumstances.

The Revolutionary Promise introduces several key enhancements to GW's current undergraduate financial aid efforts:

• Multiyear undergraduate merit scholarships for full-time students will be expanded from five to six years, providing students with additional time and stability to complete their degrees. Current undergraduate students who have merit scholarships are eligible for this expansion now.
• New, first-time domestic undergraduate students entering in fall 2026 from families with documented household incomes of $100,000 or less will receive grant and scholarship aid sufficient to fully cover tuition, provided they are enrolled full time in their first-degree program and remain in good standing.
• Similarly, new, first-time domestic undergraduate students from families with household incomes up to $150,000 will receive a financial aid package to cover at least 50% of the full cost of tuition through grants and scholarships.

"At a defining moment in our third century, the Revolutionary Promise reflects our dual commitment to excellence and access," said President Ellen M. Granberg. "As we advance our strategic framework, Raising Higher: OneGW's Path to Preeminence, we are taking meaningful steps to ensure that student success is a priority and a GW education is within reach for talented students from across the country."

GW's Revolutionary Promise represents a significant step toward a central goal of the university's strategic framework that seeks to develop a multiyear pathway for meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for domestic residential undergraduate students. Currently, about 20% of GW's residential undergraduates come from families earning under $100,000.

"Through GW's Revolutionary Promise, we are aligning our financial aid resources with our strategic framework and broader student success goals," said Jay Goff, vice president and dean for enrollment and student success. "This initiative better ensures that GW remains accessible to our nation's most talented students, regardless of financial background."

A combination of generous philanthropic support and strategic institutional resources, including the successful Open Doors initiative and proceeds from the recent Virginia Science and Technology Campus sale, made this investment possible and establishes a scalable approach for continued expansion.

"The Revolutionary Promise reflects the powerful role philanthropy plays in expanding opportunity and changing lives," said David Unruh, vice president for University Advancement. "By investing in students today, our supporters are helping build a stronger, more resilient future for GW and the communities our graduates will serve. We are immensely grateful to the donors who have helped to make this possible and who will continue to support these efforts."