11 Colleges Where Tuition Is Free (Including Even Harvard Now)

Higher education is a wonderful thing, but the price can be very steep.

The College Board reports that tuition and fees for the 2025-2026 school year averaged $11,950 at public four-year, in-state institutions and averaged $45,000 at private, nonprofit four-year schools.

But here and there throughout the country are schools where you pay nothing for tuition if you meet certain requirements. There might be work-study involved, but you can save tens of thousands of dollars by attending these schools.

Following is a look at U.S. colleges and universities that don’t charge tuition.

Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

This Ivy League college is America’s oldest institution of higher education, having been founded in 1636.

Recently, Harvard expanded its financial aid program, beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, to make schooling free for students from families with annual incomes of $100,000 or less. Covered expenses include tuition, housing, food, travel costs and health insurance.

And for students from families with $200,000 or less in annual income, Harvard will offer free tuition.

Berea College

Location: Berea, Kentucky

Berea College, located in Kentucky’s Appalachian region, has been paying for students’ tuition since 1892. As the college’s website explains:

“We believe our students deserve access to life-changing educational opportunities, without the shackles of tuition-debt.”

Berea, like a few of the following institutions, is what’s known as a work college. All students in these schools “participate in a comprehensive-work-learning service program for all four years of enrollment.”

Alice Lloyd College

Location: Pippa Passes, Kentucky

Alice Lloyd College, another Appalachian work college, offers up to 10 semesters of free tuition to all students from the college’s service area, which comprises 108 counties in Central Appalachia.

“[F]inancial hardship should never be the reason a qualified student missed out on a quality education,” the college’s website states.

However, students must participate in Alice Lloyd’s Student Work Program.

Deep Springs College

Location: Deep Springs Valley, California

Deep Springs College, located in the Eastern Sierra region of California, isn’t nearly your typical college. There are only 24 to 30 students, it’s located on an isolated cattle ranch and alfalfa farm in the high desert, and the school takes pride in its “weird” application questions.

But, if admitted, you can’t beat the price. Deep Springs offers its students “a full scholarship valued at over $50,000, which includes tuition, room, and board.”

Barclay College

Location: Haviland, Kansas

This Christian educational institution provides a Full Tuition Scholarship. According to the school:

“The commitment of the college and our supporters is that students should not graduate from college and carry a large debt load into their future that might prevent them from following God’s call.”

One stipulation for the full scholarship, however, is that students must live on campus.

College of the Ozarks

Location: Point Lookout, Missouri

Also known as “Hard Work U,” this Christian college nestled in the Ozark Mountains region openly discourages debt and does not provide loans.

College of the Ozarks students pay for their education through a combination of federal and state grants, a scholarship and a work program — which entails 15 hours of work per week and two 40-hour workweeks per school year.

Curtis Institute of Music

Location: Philadelphia

Famous composers Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber are among the notable graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music, which only admits about 4% of applicants and maintains a student body of only about 160.

Curtis provides all students with full-tuition scholarships. For the 2026-2027 school year, these scholarships are worth $55,995 for undergraduates and $69,527 for graduate students, according to the institute.

Warren Wilson College

Location: Swannanoa, North Carolina

Warren Wilson College is a liberal arts institution that places a high value on working in the community.

Undergraduate students who are eligible for federal or state need-based financial aid have been able to attend the college tuition-free. Requirements for tuition-free attendance include being a North Carolina resident and participating in the college’s work program.

Webb Institute

Location: Glen Cove, New York

Webb Institute is an engineering college focused on naval architecture and marine engineering.

The college provides all students full-tuition scholarships — which are valued at over $250,000 per student over four years — and also need-based assistance to cover other costs of attendance.

Williamson College of the Trades

Location: Delaware County, Pennsylvania

This junior college for men based on Judeo-Christian principles offers associate degrees in six mechanical trades, such as carpentry, masonry, horticulture and power plant technology.

All students attend Williamson College of the Trades on full scholarships, which cover the cost of tuition and room and board.

Macaulay Honors College

Location: New York City

Macaulay Honors College is the honors college of the City University of New York (CUNY), which offers 475 majors across eight campuses.

Macaulay, located in Manhattan, provides in-state students with tuition scholarships, which cover the cost of eight semesters of full-time undergraduate study as well as summer and winter classes.