Susquehanna Covers Tuition for 10 Counties

Eligible students from families earning up to $100,000 who enroll in fall 2027 can attend with tuition fully covered.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Financial Aid

Wide photograph of a wooded central Pennsylvania river valley in early autumn light, with a stone academic building small in the midground. — Susquehanna University will cover full tuition for eligible students from families earning up to $100,000 who enroll in fall 2027 from ten Pennsylvania counties. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Susquehanna University announced a tuition-free program for eligible students from 10 Pennsylvania counties. Students entering in fall 2027 from families with adjusted gross income of up to $100,000 can attend with tuition fully covered.

Why it matters

For students in the eligible counties, the pledge could remove tuition as a barrier to a private university education, provided they meet the on-campus and grant requirements. The university says the pledge builds on its regional ties and its founding purpose of educating meritorious students regardless of family finances.

Eligible students must be admitted for fall 2027, live on campus, qualify for both the Pennsylvania State Grant and a Federal Pell Grant, and come from a family with income of $100,000 or less in one of the 10 listed counties. No additional forms are required, but students remain responsible for housing, meals and other fees.

The players

Susquehanna University

A private university in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, founded about 170 years ago to educate students regardless of their families' financial means.

The details

Students must first be admitted to Susquehanna with plans to enroll starting in fall 2027. They must also meet the family income test of $100,000 or less and reside in one of the eligible counties: Centre, Columbia, Dauphin, Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder or Union. Tuition is covered only when students also qualify for the Pennsylvania State Grant and a Federal Pell Grant and live on campus, while housing, meals and other fees are not included.

Susquehanna announced the tuition pledge on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
The program first applies to the entering class of fall 2027.

Education Landscape

The pledge is a university-funded tuition program that depends on students already qualifying for the Pennsylvania State Grant and the federal Pell Grant. It places a private institution's own aid alongside existing state and federal need-based programs in the region.

Families with income of $100,000 or less in the 10 eligible counties should check whether their student would qualify for both the Pennsylvania State Grant and a Federal Pell Grant before applying for fall 2027. Questions about how the pledge interacts with a student's specific aid package are best directed to Susquehanna's financial-aid office.

The takeaway

The pledge makes tuition coverage conditional on residence, admission for fall 2027, and receipt of two existing grants, so the grant status is the key item to confirm early. Families can ask Susquehanna's financial-aid office how these requirements apply to a given student.