When Wake Forest announced last week that admitted undergraduates from North Carolina families making under $200,000 will attend tuition-free, the news spread fast — and for good reason.
At a time when higher education feels increasingly out of reach, this is a bold and hopeful step. For many families, it is life-changing. However, as with all transformational policies, it is worth asking: who does this really transform, and how far does it actually go?
For students from families earning under $100,000, Wake Forest will now cover tuition and standard living expenses. That is rare in private higher education and signals a real commitment to tackling affordability head-on. For households earning between $100,000 and $200,000, tuition is paid for, leaving only room and board to cover. Even families earning up to $300,000 will see half their tuition subsidized. In a state where private college sticker prices can scare off even high-achieving students, that level of transparency and assurance is nothing short of revolutionary.
But let’s also be honest. “Tuition-free” is a loaded phrase. Tuition is only part of the price tag. Fees, housing, food, books and travel can run tens of thousands a year. For low-income students, those costs still loom large. Calling it “free” risks glossing over the reality that affordability is more than subtracting tuition from the bill.
There is also the geographical catch: this program is only for North Carolinians. Yes, Wake Forest is a North Carolina institution, and yes, the state deserves investment in its own talent. But as an increasingly national and even global university, limiting this promise to one state invites the question: why is access to what President Susan Wente has called a “transformational education” determined by zip code?
Still, this is a move worth celebrating. Too often, elite universities roll out glossy initiatives that read more like branding than substance. This one has teeth. It draws from donor generosity to put Wake Forest within reach for families who might never have believed it possible. And symbolically, it reframes affordability not as charity but as a right of belonging, a statement that cost should never be the barrier between ability and opportunity.
The hope is that the “North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University” truly opens wider doors, not just for North Carolinians, but eventually for students worldwide. If Wake Forest truly believes in Pro Humanitate, this is the kind of initiative that deserves to be scaled, deepened and built upon.
Because real educational equity will not come from tuition promises alone. It will come when every talented student, no matter where they live or how much their parents make, can picture themselves at Wake Forest and actually afford to stay.
Correction, DATE OF CORRECTION: A previous version of this article online and in print *Staff Writer: Abdullah Abdullah.* The Old Gold and Black *Staff Writer: Syed Abdullah.*
Anonymous Wake Alum • Oct 6, 2025 at 5:35 pm
Very great move by the university and good summary in this article.
“Why is access to what President Susan Wente has called a “transformational education” determined by zip code?”
Answer: Because it is a private university, and that money has to come from somewhere. It is obviously impossible on a national or global scale (unless they want to be inundated with apps and reject 999/1000 applicants due to lack of funds), so if something is to be done, the logical choice is North Carolina. As noted in this editorial, this already huge advancement is supported largely by donors. “Free” tuition for all low income applicants from across the world is unrealistic.
“Real educational equity” and small private university are inherently incongruent. In an ideal world they wouldn’t be.