Education

Johns Hopkins University Eliminates Tuition For Some Undergraduates

Starting in spring 2026, Johns Hopkins University will offer free undergraduate tuition to students from families earning up to $200,000 annually — and full financial support including living expenses for those from families under $100,000 — dramatically opening doors for tens of thousands of students nationwide.
#CollegeAffordability #TuitionFree #JohnsHopkins #HigherEdAccess #EducationEquity #BlackStudents #Opportunity #Scholarships #BloombergGift #College2026

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Thanks to Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion donation in 2018 and continued donations of up to $240 million since then, Johns Hopkins University will eliminate tuition for undergraduate students whose families earn up to $200,000 a year, starting next year.

The university will now be tuition-free for qualifying undergraduate students. Students from families that earn up to $100,000 a year will “receive additional aid to cover tuition, fees, and living expenses,” meaning they can attend the school with zero parental contribution, according to a recent news release.

The tuition change will go into effect in the spring of 2026 and for new students in the fall of 2026. The school’s application deadline is Jan. 2.

Bloomberg earned an electrical engineering degree in 1964 at the Baltimore university. He earned his MBA in 1966 at Harvard and served as mayor of New York City from 2002-2013. Bloomberg’s net worth in 2022 was $76.8 billion, according to multiple sources, including Forbes.

Since the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in 2023, Black first-year enrollment at many selective colleges and universities has dropped significantly, according to a recent report led by Collin Binkley of the Associated Press.

Some Ivy League institutions have experienced particularly steep declines in Black first-year enrollment. At Columbia University, Black students represented 20 percent of the 2023 first-year class. By 2025, their share dropped to 13 percent. Over the same time period, Black first-year enrollment dropped from 18 percent to 11.5 percent at Harvard and from 9 percent to 5 percent at Princeton – the smallest share of Black first-year students at the New Jersey-based university in nearly 60 years.

At the country’s two highest-rated liberal arts colleges, Williams College and Amherst College in Massachusetts, Black first-year enrollment has also declined significantly over the past two years. At Amherst, Black first-year enrollment dropped from 11 percent in 2023 to 6 percent in 2025, while Williams’ Black first-year enrollment dropped from 6.84 percent to 4.79 percent.