The PennZone

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 21, 2024 ~ Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian has recently announced the launch of a new student affordability initiative, the CMU Pathway Program. This program will begin at the start of the 2025-26 academic year and aims to make higher education more accessible for students from low-income families.

Under this program, all new and returning undergraduate students at CMU's Pittsburgh campus whose families earn less than $75,000 annually will be able to attend the university tuition-free. Additionally, undergraduates from families earning less than $100,000 annually will not have to take out any federal student loans to attend CMU.

To be eligible for the CMU Pathway Program, students must meet certain criteria. They must come from families with typical assets and an annual income below the income thresholds for a tuition-free and federal loan-free education at CMU. They must also be enrolled as new or returning undergraduates at the Pittsburgh campus and be either U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

President Jahanian believes that this program is a significant investment in students and a crucial step towards expanding access and affordability within the university community. He stated, "We believe that family finances should never prevent the brightest students from chasing their dreams and pursuing a world-class education at Carnegie Mellon University." With the launch of this program, CMU is one step closer to achieving this goal.

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In addition to the CMU Pathway Program, the university has already made significant strides in making higher education more affordable for its students. It currently meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all undergraduate U.S. citizens and permanent residents, regardless of their family income. In the last 10 years, CMU has also increased its institutional investment in undergraduate financial aid by over 86%, from $76 million in fiscal year 2015 to $141 million in fiscal year 2024.

Furthermore, CMU has reduced the number of students borrowing federal loans from 52% in 2019 to 28% in 2024. This has also resulted in a decrease in the total debt burden at graduation by almost 30%, from $25,936 per student to $18,200 per student, over the past five years. The university has also launched other targeted access and affordability initiatives, such as the Tartan Scholars program for undergraduate students and the CMU Rales Fellows program for graduate-level STEM students.

For more information about CMU's efforts towards access and affordability, including the CMU Pathway Program, interested individuals can visit the university's Student Financial Services site. With this new program and other initiatives in place, CMU is committed to making higher education more accessible for all students.

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