Graduating seniors at Cooper Union college will once again receive free tuition.

• Over the next four years, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science in New York City will resume offering full-tuition scholarships to all graduating seniors.
• The college is striving to fulfill its founding promise of offering free tuition to all students.

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science has announced a return to full-tuition scholarships for all graduating seniors, after years of planning.

Since its founding in 1859, the private college in New York City had always provided tuition-free education to all grade levels. However, in 2014, the college shifted its stance and started offering only half-tuition scholarships, marking a departure from its longstanding commitment to making education as accessible as air and water.

The school has presented a 10-year plan to restore full-tuition scholarships through saving, cost cutting, and fundraising. Currently, roughly half of the student body attends tuition-free, and on average, undergraduates pay less than 15% of the college's $44,550 tuition. There are currently 891 undergraduate students enrolled, including 228 seniors.

Over 50% of student loan borrowers anticipate debt cancellation. The cost of attendance at some universities has increased to almost $100,000 per year. An increasing number of top colleges in the country are introducing no-loan policies.

In 2018, we embarked on a mission to offer full-tuition scholarships to all undergraduate students, thanks to the generosity of three exceptional alumni donors. This initiative aims to alleviate a significant financial burden on our graduating classes and uphold the core values of this institution, which have been central since its inception in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an industrialist and philanthropist who also invented the first American steam train in 1829.

According to the school, first-, second- and third-year students will receive full-tuition scholarships in their senior years, while current seniors will receive refunds for any tuition payments made for the fall semester and will not have to pay for the spring semester.

"Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, stated that Cooper has been a leader in full-tuition scholarships for all students since its inception. This decision represents a significant step towards achieving that objective."

Colleges and universities are struggling

The number of applicants to Cooper Union decreased after the school started offering half-tuition scholarships. This led to an increase in the acceptance rate, which rose from 7.7% to 14.4% in one year. Currently, the college's acceptance rate is 12%.

The "enrollment cliff" is not only affecting our school but also other institutions, as fewer students are choosing to pursue higher education after high school.

College affordability is a crisis due to the rising cost and ballooning student loan balances, which have become a massive burden for undergraduates and their families.

Due to a decrease in students and tuition revenue, many colleges and universities are facing challenges, as stated by Colin Hatton, senior consultant of NEPC's endowments and foundations team.

Earlier this year, CNBC reported that Hatton stated that the higher educational system is under stress.

Making college affordable could help

In an effort to remain competitive, certain institutions are working to increase accessibility to college by eradicating student debt from the beginning.

Boosting the number of students applying to a college can increase its yield, which is a crucial metric for schools, as stated by Franek. This can ultimately benefit the college's bottom line.

The state of New York has been attempting to increase the number of high school seniors who attend its public colleges by implementing automatic acceptance letters and a free-tuition program.

The Excelsior Scholarship is available to all schools at City University of New York and State University of New York. Unlike other scholarships, it covers four years of tuition without requiring academic performance. However, research indicates that only a small percentage of eligible students receive the Excelsior Scholarship.