More impactful Financial Aid support for undergraduate students

Note: this post originally appeared as an email sent to the Hopkins community on November 13, 2025.

Dear Johns Hopkins University Community,

In 2018, alumnus Michael Bloomberg’s landmark $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University allowed us to establish one of the most competitive undergraduate financial aid programs in the country. With that investment, we were able to eliminate student loans from our financial aid offers and to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students. This in turn fueled a remarkable strengthening of the academic quality and socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate class. In the seven years since the gift, the percentage of our Pell Grant-eligible, or limited-income, students rose from 15.4% in 2018 to 24.1% in 2025—the highest level in the university’s history. At the same time, the academic scores of our entering students have consistently ranked among the best in the country.

Today, we are excited to share that Hopkins is implementing a set of changes to our Homewood undergraduate financial aid program that we believe will further strengthen our capacity to deploy this gift, and many others, in recruiting the best and brightest students to Johns Hopkins irrespective of their financial wherewithal.

Effective this spring semester for current undergraduates and next fall for new, incoming students, our undergraduate financial aid program will be structured far more simply, making it easier for students and their families to understand the level of financial assistance they will receive and the cost of attending our university.

This enhanced program will offer:

• Free tuition for families earning up to $200,000. As a result of the change, students from more than 85% of American households, according to U.S. Census data, will be able to attend Johns Hopkins without paying tuition. The remaining costs for families earning up to $200,000 will primarily include housing, dining, and personal expenses.
• Free tuition and living expenses for families earning up to $100,000, allowing students from these families to attend Hopkins with a $0 parent contribution. This means students from a majority of American families, including middle-class families earning above the national median household income of $87,730, can attend Hopkins at no expense if they are accepted into our program.

In many cases, families in these ranges qualify for additional support beyond tuition.

Additionally, most families with incomes up to $250,000 will continue to qualify for significant financial aid. Even those with annual incomes exceeding $250,000 may qualify, especially if they have multiple children in college at the same time. The Financial Aid website includes FAQs and detailed information on the new program.

Importantly, we are able to make this change by drawing solely on sources already dedicated to financial aid. Our financial aid investment has continued to grow, inspired by Mayor Bloomberg’s transformative gift, with generous contributions by more than 1,200 donors who have given $240 million for financial aid at Hopkins over the last several years. We are in their collective debt.
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Please join us in sharing this significant news with all outstanding students who are interested in pursuing a Johns Hopkins education, and with their families who want to see them reap the lifelong benefits of higher education.

Ron Daniels
President