Some schools don’t charge tuition
Attending college doesn’t have to be a large financial burden. Some schools offer free tuition to admitted students, but read the fine print. You may have to hail from a certain state or region, or come from a low-income background. Some schools require on-campus work or service after graduation. Here are 18 of these tuition-free colleges, listed in alphabetical order. This noncomprehensive list excludes community colleges and colleges experimenting with tuition-free models for a small cohort of students. Note that many tuition-free colleges still charge for food and housing, among other fees.
Alice Lloyd College (KY)
This small rural school in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, guarantees free tuition to students who live in the Central Appalachian service area. Residents of 108 counties in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia may qualify for Alice Lloyd College‘s Appalachian Leaders College Scholarship, which covers the cost of tuition for up to 10 semesters. All full-time students at the privately funded work college take jobs through the student work program and work at least 10 hours a week in areas such as maintenance, food preparation and office administrative work. Alice Lloyd also offers scholarships to assist alumni with graduate and professional studies.
The Apprentice School (VA)
With a 100-plus-year history, The Apprentice School provides students with classes and full-time employment in nearly 20 shipbuilding trades such as coatings specialist, machinist, insulator, welder, pipefitter and molder. There’s no tuition. Instead, students earn an hourly wage plus benefits like medical coverage, life insurance, paid annual leave and savings, legal and retirement contribution plans. With no residence halls on campus, students are responsible for finding and paying for their own housing. A typical apprenticeship lasts four to five years. Students who started their apprenticeship on or after July 27, 2020 graduate with a certificate and an associate of applied science degree in their trade.
Barclay College (KS)
Students at this private Christian college attend tuition-free if they live on campus. All full-time students at Barclay College who live in the school’s residential facilities qualify for the college’s full-tuition scholarship but are responsible for technology, food and housing, and general fees. However, on-campus students with a 3.5 GPA or higher can qualify for the President’s Scholar Award, which provides $1,000 annually to help cover the cost of food and housing. “The Board of Trustees at Barclay College continues to commit itself and the institution to creating a pathway for students to graduate with little or no debt,” the school’s website says.
Berea College (KY)
At Berea College, which describes itself as “the first interracial and coeducational college in the South,” no student pays tuition. The Tuition Promise Scholarship pays off any remaining tuition costs for all admitted students after the use of state, federal and institutional aid. Eighty-one percent of the Class of 2025 attended Berea completely free of charge, according to the school’s website. Students must work at least 10 hours per week on campus in one of more than 130 departments and typically earn between $6 and $8 hourly, though higher wages are available for certain job classifications and school breaks. Earnings can be used to pay for food, housing and other educational expenses.
Cal Poly Humboldt
The costs of tuition and mandatory campus fees are covered at Cal Poly Humboldt for eligible full-time students as part of the “Green & Gold Guarantee” — a program launched in 2025. First-year and new transfer students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA; be California residents and meet a certain student aid index to qualify. Students matriculating in spring 2026, for instance, must have an SAI below 9000. The program automatically covers any remaining funding gaps after federal and state aid are applied, and cannot be used toward summer classes. The benefit can be four years for first-year new students or two years for transfers.
College of the Ozarks (MO)
Full-time students at College of the Ozarks in Missouri pay no tuition, but part-time students shell out $325 per credit hour. For those attending full time, the tuition waiver requires 15 hours a week of on-campus work plus two 40-hour weeks during the academic year. Each semester, all students pay a $260 health/technology/service fee, which covers the cost of an ID card, cultural events, admission to regular season athletic games, student activities and accident insurance. The college uses the FAFSA to determine financial need, and filing the form is an admissions requirement for all students.
Curtis Institute of Music (PA)
Prospective students must audition for enrollment in Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, which has offered full-tuition scholarships to every undergraduate and graduate student since 1928. The annual value of the scholarship is $54,364 for undergraduates and $67,502 for graduate students in 2025-2026. While the Pennsylvania music school doesn’t charge tuition, it has annual fees. New and returning students pay a $3,500 comprehensive fee — which covers the cost of textbooks, internet, recording fees, wellness services and facility use — along with other charges for health care insurance and instruments. A $100 late fee is charged if the comprehensive fee remains unpaid by registration.
Deep Springs College (CA)
Students enrolled at California’s Deep Springs College — founded in 1917 — aren’t charged tuition, though they are expected to provide a damage deposit and pay for books, travel, health insurance and incidental expenses. In instances of demonstrated financial need, these additional costs can be subsidized. Unlike many tuition-free schools, food and housing are covered. Deep Springs aims to enroll 14 students each year to receive a two-year liberal arts education with work incorporated in the curriculum. Students work on the school’s cattle ranch and alfalfa farm or in the garden or kitchen about 20 hours a week in an assigned position that changes every two months.
Haskell Indian Nations University (KS)
The Kansas-based tribal university — which has origins dating back to 1884 — offers free tuition to American Indian and Alaska Native students from federally recognized tribes. Additional fees, such as those related to technology, housing, athletics and activities, are not included and range from $240 per semester for off-campus students to $715 for those living on campus. On average, each tribe saves at least $20,000 per year in tuition and fees for every member sent to Haskell Indian Nations University, according to the school’s website. Students at Haskell can graduate with an associate or bachelor’s degree.
United States Air Force Academy (CO)
No tuition or housing and food fees are charged at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Cadets also receive free medical and dental benefits. While applicants are expected to have a strong academic profile, physical fitness is also taken into consideration. After graduation, cadets are required to serve in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force for at least eight years — five of which must be active duty — with some exceptions. Graduates with flight training, for example, are committed to a minimum of 10 years. Authorized international students are allowed to apply for admission through their government.
United States Coast Guard Academy (CT)
Students are also known as cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy, where tuition and food and housing are free, and postgraduate service for five years is required. However, 85% of graduates decide to serve longer and 80% go on to graduate school sponsored by the Coast Guard, according to the school’s website. While saving money on college-related costs, enrolled cadets also earn a salary and medical, educational, dental and retirement benefits post-graduation. The academy overlooks the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. The education is valued at more than $280,000 and only about 300 cadets are admitted each academic year.
United States Merchant Marine Academy (NY)
Students at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, who are referred to as midshipmen, don’t pay tuition in exchange for service after graduation. The costs of textbooks, food and housing, and uniforms are also covered. There are other costs related to attendance, such as midshipman fees for laundry, tailor and seamstress services; educational kits; general supplies and approved health insurance. Midshipmen spend a “Sea Year” during college, visiting an average of 18 foreign countries aboard commercial vessels while receiving hands-on training related to ship repair and maintenance, cargo loading and navigation.
United States Military Academy (NY)
Tuition, food and housing, and medical and dental benefits are covered for students, also known as cadets, at the United States Military Academy in New York. Cadets also receive a salary each month to cover all other fees and allow them between $225 and $625 to use at their discretion. In addition to five years of required active duty military service after graduation and an additional three years in a reserve role, cadets at West Point, as it’s known, must play on a sports team each semester. With the motto of “every cadet is an athlete,” West Point offers intramural, club and NCAA Division I and II teams.
United States Naval Academy (MD)
By pledging to serve in the U.S. Navy for five years after graduation, enrollees at the United States Naval Academy receive free tuition, food and housing, and dental and medical care. To be considered for admission, candidates must complete a fitness assessment. Students at the Annapolis institution, who are known as midshipmen, receive an average $1,273 per month as a stipend budget to use toward additional costs like laundry, haircuts, and activity and other service fees. Midshipmen also get a monthly cash payment that increases each year, and access to active duty benefits such as lodging discounts, commercial transportation and military commissaries.
University of New Hampshire
Launched in 2017, the Granite Guarantee program at the University of New Hampshire covers tuition after federal and state aid are applied for the fall and spring semesters to qualified state residents for up to four years. This is limited to full-time, first-time, first-year students who are eligible for the Pell Grant and does not include nontuition costs such as housing, food, textbooks or any additional fees. It also does not apply to any January term or summer courses. Pell-eligible graduates from the Community College System of New Hampshire who immediately transfer to UNH also qualify.
Warren Wilson College (NC)
This North Carolina work college provides a tuition waiver in the form of a scholarship to all in-state residents who qualify for need-based aid and attend as first-time, full-time undergraduates. This covers the cost of tuition after any aid is applied. All students at Warren Wilson College are required to work 10 hours per week the first two years and 10 to 16 hours per week the second two years, developing a craft. The college also offers Milepost One, a full-tuition scholarship for up to 25 students with a family income of or below $150,000 per year, including international and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program students.
Webb Institute (NY)
Webb Institute, a small engineering school on Long Island, gives full-tuition scholarships — valued at more than $250,000 over four years — to all incoming students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The 26-acre school, which dates back to 1889 and has a total enrollment of about 100 students, offers one course of study: a dual bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Every year during winter work term in January and February, all Webb students are required to complete an internship. Students can apply for federal loans and grants to cover their housing, food and other expenses.
Williamson College of the Trades (PA)
This faith-based, all-male career college grants associate degrees and offers six trade programs, including masonry, carpentry, landscaping, power plant technology, machinery and construction technology with an electrical emphasis. All students at Williamson College of the Trades receive the Williamson Scholarship — valued at nearly $39,000 — which covers the cost of tuition, food and housing. Students are responsible for additional fees, books and supplies, estimated at about $140. All students are required to attend a nondenominational religious service every weekday on the 220-acre campus. Optional faith-based programs are also offered, such as bible studies, collaboration with Christian ministries and mentored discipleship.
Other ways to pay less for college.
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These institutions provide free college tuition
— Alice Lloyd College
— The Apprentice School
— Barclay College
— Berea College
— Cal Poly Humboldt
— College of the Ozarks
— Curtis Institute of Music
— Deep Springs College
— Haskell Indian Nations University
— United States Air Force Academy
— United States Coast Guard Academy
— United States Merchant Marine Academy
— United States Military Academy
— United States Naval Academy
— University of New Hampshire
— Warren Wilson College
— Webb Institute
— Williamson College of the Trades
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18 Tuition-Free Colleges originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/03/25: This slideshow was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
