On Sept. 17, Wake Forest announced that the university will become tuition-free for admitted students from North Carolina whose families earn less than $200,000. “The North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest” program will launch for admitted undergraduates in 2026.
Additionally, for North Carolina students with an annual family income less than $100,000, financial aid will cover the cost of standard living expenses in addition to the full cost of tuition. Students from North Carolina with an annual family income between $200,000 and $300,000 will be eligible for financial aid covering 50% of tuition.
In an email from the Wake Forest Office of Communications and External Relations, Vice President for Enrollment Eric Maguire expressed the reason behind this decision.
“We want to demonstrate our affordability to North Carolina families,” Maguire said. “More of our undergraduate students come from North Carolina than from any other state. The program will allow families to see and understand their likely out-of-pocket costs from the beginning.”
According to Maguire, the program aims to make Wake Forest a possibility for more in-state students.
“The initiative directly addresses the most pressing barrier to access for students in North Carolina – the perception that Wake Forest is too expensive to consider,” Maguire said in an email to the Old Gold & Black.
This initiative makes Wake Forest more accessible for high-achieving students from North Carolina.
“As a Pell grant recipient, private colleges in my home state felt entirely out of reach,” President Susan R. Wente said. “I want talented North Carolinians from across the income spectrum to know they can come to Wake Forest and receive a transformational education.”
Much of the cost will be covered by the university’s established financial aid resources.
“For the past several years, the university has met 100% of students’ demonstrated financial need,” Maguire said. “The additional cost to Wake Forest will be offset by philanthropy and moderate, incremental enrollment growth.”
This initiative helps to continue Wake Forest’s longstanding commitment to minimize student loans by increasing financial aid and scholarships.
“We are grateful for the generous support of donors,” Wente said. “Their investments in undergraduate scholarships and financial aid at Wake Forest are crucial to our ongoing efforts to increase access and affordability for low and middle-income families.”
The university expects the Gateway program to fuel even greater student interest, while maintaining its selectiveness.
“Undergraduate applications have grown in each of the last five years and I assume that the Gateway program will only enhance student interest and applications,” Maguire said. “Wake Forest was a highly selective university prior to this program and will continue to be so, but the Gateway program will help us better compete for the hundreds of North Carolinians we admit every year.”
This is a developing story.
