Ripon College in Wisconsin has recently announced a new financial aid program called the Ripon Commitment, which will offer free tuition to in-state undergraduate students whose families earn $75,000 or less per year. This initiative is set to begin in the fall of 2025. Additionally, for students from households that make more than $75,000 a year, Ripon College will match its tuition to the rates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
To qualify for this program, incoming first-year or transfer students must live on campus and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The Ripon Commitment will cover eight consecutive semesters for first-year students and four semesters for transfer students.
The college’s decision to implement this financial aid program comes at a time when private regional colleges like Ripon are facing increased competition from public institutions due to a shrinking pool of prospective students. Over the past decade, Ripon’s enrollment has declined by 17.7%, with just 766 students enrolled in the fall of 2022.
With the Ripon Commitment, the college aims to make higher education more accessible to students in Wisconsin. By matching its tuition to UW-Madison’s rates, Ripon College ensures that Wisconsin students will not pay more than what the public flagship institution charges its undergraduates, which is currently $11,606 for in-state students.
In the 2024-25 academic year, Ripon’s annual tuition sticker price is $51,600. However, with the implementation of the Ripon Commitment, Wisconsin students will have a more affordable option for pursuing a private liberal arts education. This move is expected to benefit the majority of Ripon’s student body, as almost two-thirds of students in fall 2022 were from Wisconsin.
Private colleges like Ripon typically do not charge all students their full tuition sticker price. In the 2022-23 academic year, Ripon’s tuition sticker price was $49,300, but students from families earning $75,000 and under paid significantly less due to financial aid packages. On average, these students paid between $16,721 and $18,323 per year after scholarships and grants.
Furthermore, the state of Wisconsin also offers financial aid programs for students attending public institutions like UW-Madison. Students from families earning less than the state’s average income can receive four years of free tuition at the flagship university. Considering that the median Wisconsin household income was just under $71,000 annually in 2022, these aid programs play a crucial role in making higher education more affordable for students across the state.
