Beginning with the 2026 fall semester, Wake Forest University students from North Carolina whose families earn less than $200,000 annually will pay no tuition, the school announced Wednesday.
For in-state students with family incomes less than $100,000, financial aid also will cover the costs of living on campus, the university said.
Tuition, housing, food, books and other fees total $94,600 for the current academic year.
Beginning next school year, North Carolina students whose families make between $200,000 and $300,000 also can have half their Wake Forest tuition covered, the university announced.
With the North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University program, the Winston-Salem-based private school joins several higher-education institutions, including Duke University, that already offer income-based tuition-free enrollment to in-state students.
The program aims to remove Wake Forest’s costs as a barrier for high-achieving North Carolina students.
“It says clearly to students and families who may not have considered Wake Forest because of cost: ‘Wake Forest is within your reach,’” said the university’s president, Susan Wente.
She added that the tuition initiative is personal to her.
“As a Pell grant recipient, private colleges in my home state felt entirely out of reach,” noted Wente, who grew up in Iowa and attended the public University of Iowa for her undergraduate years. “I want talented North Carolinians from across the income spectrum to know they can come to Wake Forest and receive a transformational education.”
Wake snapshot
According to the university, “almost half of all undergraduate students at Wake Forest receive financial assistance in the form of loans, grants or both.”
For the 2024-2025 school year, Wake Forest had an undergraduate enrollment of 5,490, with an additional 3,832 in graduate and professional programs.
About 22% of first-year applicants were accepted, according to the university.
In addition to the current $70,332 tuition, other on-campus annual costs include housing ($12,054); food ($7,000); and books, supplies and other fees ($5,214).
Among other North Carolina private schools, Duke University provides full tuition grants for undergraduate in-state residents (and those from South Carolina) whose families have a total income of $150,000 or less.
John Deem covers the Triad for the Winston-Salem Journal and Greensboro News & Record. Contact him at john.deem@lee.net
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