½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï is expanding the Colorado Pledge program.
In 2019, ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï launched the Colorado Pledge, a historic program to address affordability concerns in higher education. This financial aid initiative is designed to ensure ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï is as affordable for Colorado students from low- and middle-income families as the state’s flagship public university.
Now, under the leadership of new president L. Song Richardson, ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï is expanding the qualifications for the Colorado Pledge to include Colorado families with adjusted gross incomes up to $250,000. Previously, the program supported Colorado families with adjusted gross incomes below $200,000.
“When we remove financial barriers to an outstanding college education, we change lives,” says Richardson. “By increasing access to the excellent academic and co-curricular experiences offered at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï, we will attract the brightest and most talented students in Colorado — and our classrooms and campus will benefit as well.”
Vice President for Enrollment Mark Hatch said he is thrilled to engage with more Colorado families about the extraordinary opportunities at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï.
“We know that the cost of a private college education can seem very daunting and we hope the expansion of Colorado Pledge will provide additional access to outstanding students in our home state,” Hatch says.
½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï already meets the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student. The Colorado Pledge goes one step further, making a private education at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï as affordable, or more affordable for Colorado families, than many public universities.
Details of the Colorado Pledge:
- For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income of less than $60,000, there will be no parental contribution for tuition, room, and board at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï.
- For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income between $60,000 and $125,000, there will be no parental contribution for tuition at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï; they will only pay for room and board.
- For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income between $125,000 and $250,000, the parental contribution for a ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï education will be the same or less than the cost of attendance at the flagship state university in Colorado.
½ñÈճԹϒs strategic plan calls for an additional $20 million in fundraising, which will allow the college to endow the program for future students, thus opening the doors more widely to a ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï education for the best and brightest students in the state. The college already has received nearly $7.3 million in outright gifts, pledges, and estate commitments for the Colorado Pledge, fueled by a challenge completed last fall that matched gifts of $50,000 and higher to the Colorado Pledge. Another challenge currently underway is matching gifts of $50,000 and higher to all newly created and enhanced scholarship funds with $50,000.
Currently about 19 percent of ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï students are from Colorado. The pledge comes as ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï seeks to cultivate a more diverse student body across the socio-economic spectrum.
Read more about the specifics of the Colorado Pledge.
