Latino Voices

Roosevelt University, UIC Launch Free Tuition Programs for Low-Income Students


Low-income Illinoisans feeling the weight of college tuition might soon get a bit of a relief.

Roosevelt University and the University of Illinois Chicago recently announced they’re easing costs for low-income Illinois families by providing free tuition for some students this fall.

Roosevelt University is starting its “Roosevelt Pledge” program for incoming students, providing free tuition to families making $50,000 per year or less.

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“We have found that we’re serving more students from that income,” said Thomas Ott, an executive admissions director at Roosevelt University. “So in order to make this more accessible for them, we’ve tried to structure this in a way that will serve them.”

The scholarship is renewable for up to four years. Students must also be Illinois residents younger than 24 to qualify.

The University of Illinois Chicago will also launch its “UIC Aspire” program in the fall. The initiative eliminates tuition costs for students living in Illinois and coming from families making $75,000 per year or less.

Both programs are open to U.S. citizens and some eligible undocumented students.

These initiatives come a year after the U.S. Department of Education overhauled the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. While the change was supposed to make the form easier to fill out, many students were confused about the new process and lack of guidance from the federal government.

Rich Hayes, executive director of student financial aid and scholarships at the University of Illinois Chicago, said UIC’s free tuition program was created to help with barriers low-income students encounter in applying for financial aid.

“When the FAFSA rollout happened, it killed a lot of dreams,” Hayes said. “There were a lot of issues with it. They (families) didn’t get a lot of information from the federal government. But the Aspire program is going to provide more hope and transparency in the process.”

Expanding college access to underserved students is another goal of the program. Roosevelt University has been working to recruit more low-income students of color, especially Latinos, who make up 28% of Roosevelt University’s undergraduate population. This effort involves having financial aid and admissions programming in languages other than English.

Abel Amezcua, a senior admission counselor for diversity recruitment at Roosevelt, said he sees the tangible impact of providing accessible guidance to Spanish-speaking families.

“For the mom who doesn’t speak any English and doesn’t feel like she can talk to anyone, it helps to have a public face that she can talk to that makes her feel comfortable,” Amezcua said.

Just the idea of college can be daunting for first-generation Latino students that are navigating the process with no support. Community organizations such as Chicago Scholars have also worked to inform students of their options and help them evaluate colleges.

Karla Bonilla-Herrera, senior associate of community engagement at Chicago Scholars, works directly with students applying to college. She said spreading awareness about free tuition programs can make an impact on students’ opportunities.

“By having programs like the ones at UIC and Roosevelt, they are affirming students and saying that they’re seeing them and understanding the barriers that they go through,” Bonilla-Herrera said.

Chicago Scholars is an organization helping first-generation students navigate college admissions. The application for high school juniors graduating in 2026 is currently open; the deadline is Feb. 5.


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