Make $100K Or Less? Rutgers-Newark Caps Tuition For Many Students
NEWARK, NJ — Rutgers University-Newark announced a major expansion of its scholarship program on Wednesday.
According to university spokespeople, the new program will cover the full cost of annual tuition and mandatory fees for more New Jersey students. It will also cap the cost at $5,000 a year for household incomes of $100,000 or below based on a sliding scale.
Tuition and fees were frozen at Rutgers in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The freeze ended in 2021, when the university raised tuition and fees by a combined 2.6 percent. Read More: Coronavirus Freeze Ends; Rutgers Hikes Tuition, Fees
Rutgers spokespeople offered more details about the new scholarship rules:
“Starting fall semester 2022, the new plan, an extension of Rutgers University – Newark Talent & Opportunity Pathways (RU-N to the TOP), will cover students statewide and allow free tuition and mandatory fees for first-year students and transfers whose household income is $65,000 or less. Families with incomes between $65,001 and $80,000 will pay $3,000 and families earning between $80,001 and $100,000 will pay $5,000.”
For residents of Newark, Irvington, Orange and East Orange, RU-N to the TOP will also cover part-time enrollment and provide support for summer courses, Rutgers noted.
According to the university, RU-N to the TOP was one of the first programs of its kind in New Jersey when it was created in 2016. Since then, it has increased enrollment of Newark students by 1,500 and made scholarships available to a total of nearly 5,000 students, covering the difference between other aid they received and the full cost of in-state tuition and mandatory fees.
It will now be augmented by Garden State Guarantee, a state program announced last spring by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges. The program, which increases affordability throughout the state, was created by a committee co-chaired by Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor.
“Rutgers-Newark has been a place of educational opportunity for generations, and by broadening our eligibility in this way, we want to send a strong signal to families across the state – especially in Newark and Greater Newark,” Cantor said.
While Garden State Guarantee lowers the net cost of tuition and fees to $7,500 for students whose household income is no higher than $80,000, RUN-to TOP has reduced the maximum cost to $5,000, the university stated.
Combined with the state program, RU-N to the TOP will now allow students to attend tuition-free or at the capped rate for four years.
Deadlines for the program are Sept. 15 for newly admitted students, and April 15 for continuing students. Find more information by contacting the Rutgers-Newark Office of Admissions.
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This article originally appeared on the Newark Patch
