Harvard Now Offering Free Tuition to Some, But These Kentucky Colleges Offer It to All Students

College tuition has been rising for a long time. You certainly don’t need me reminding you of that and a quick Google search will give you plenty of data to corroborate this statement. And with those tuition costs comes a high amount of debt for graduating students that's enough to make you keel over. In Kentucky alone, the average student loan balance is close to $32,000. But thankfully, there are options for prospective students looking to further their education at a university without having to go through that. In Kentucky, there are two schools that offer free tuition for students. You read that right, free tuition for students. Let's discuss them below and figure out how this is possible.

Berea College

Located just south of Richmond, Kentucky, Berea College is Kentucky’s most selective institution with an acceptance rate of 33%, and is one of the most difficult colleges to gain admittance to in the nation. As such, it boasts that the amount every enrolled student pays in tuition is $0. Yes, zero.

But how? Beyond being a very challenging institution to gain acceptance into, there are two major reasons for this: an endowment fund and donations from donors. If you’re unsure of the difference between the two (like I was), here’s the gist: an endowment fund is a continual fund with a specific purpose while a donation is a one-time gift, and Berea’s endowment fund has grown to over $1 billion. During the 2020-21 year, Berea received gifts from over 14,000 alumni, friends, and organizations. Utilizing these assets towards the tuition costs for students has enabled them to claim that "no student has paid tuition cost since 1892."

There is also a reliance upon state and federal aid, and a need to raise nearly $5 million annually, which Berea has been able to raise every year. Another interesting way that Berea operates under a no-tuition system is that every Berea student works a campus job at a minimum of 10 hours per week, and some 60% participate in what's known as the Berea Patrons program, in which a portion of earnings is contributed back to Berea College.

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Alice Lloyd College

Another institution offering free tuition for students in Kentucky is Alice Lloyd College, located in Pippa Passes, which is in Knott County on the far eastern side of the state. The area of service for the college consists of five states and 108 counties located in the Central Appalachia region.

Each qualified student is given the Appalachian Leaders Scholarship, which allows for up to 10 college semesters at no cost to the student. Similar to Berea College, Alice Lloyd College is considered a “work college,” in which every student has a job and pays back into their education. With the help of other student aid programs, Alice Lloyd College is able to guarantee that the final balance of tuition that students pay is $0.