Ripon College announced Wednesday that it will completely cover or substantially reduce tuition costs for incoming students from Wisconsin.
This new financial aid opportunity for Wisconsin residents, called “The Ripon Commitment,” will take effect in fall 2025 and aims to address the rising cost of attending college. Ripon College is a private liberal arts school in Ripon and enrolls about 700 undergraduate students.
Incoming, first-year or transfer students with a household adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less will receive free tuition and fees at Ripon College.
Incoming students whose household adjusted gross income is greater than $75,000 will have the cost of their tuition and fees reduced to match the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s tuition and fees.
For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, Ripon College’s tuition will cost students $51,600 — or $25,800 per semester — not including other fees. UW-Madison tuition is listed at an estimated $11,606 for the upcoming school year.
“We know that affordability is top of the mind for families as they’re looking for colleges, and we want to take down those barriers for families,” said Jenn Machacek, vice president of enrollment at Ripon College. “We are committed to finding ways to make an education affordable, and the Ripon Commitment is allowing us to do that for our Wisconsin student residents.”
Incoming first-year students are eligible for this opportunity for eight consecutive semesters, or four years, while incoming transfer students are eligible for four consecutive semesters, or two years.
To be eligible, students must be incoming Wisconsin residents, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and live on campus in residence halls.
The Ripon Commitment does not cover student housing costs.
The Ripon Commitment “aims to empower choice for prospective Wisconsin students by removing financial barriers; to grow the Ripon College community with a fully residential campus; and to continue to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of the Ripon College student population,” according to the Wednesday news release.
Ripon College is looking to devote “no less than” $1 million toward this effort “to remove those financial barriers for families,” Ripon College president Victoria Folse said.
About 70% of Ripon College students are from Wisconsin, Machacek said. About 20% of Ripon College students are from metro Milwaukee.
“We’re excited to expand the awareness of Ripon College beyond our immediate vicinity, so the Milwaukee families that we believe will benefit from hearing about the Ripon Commitment is a market of students that we hope to expand,” Folse said.
Machacek said there is a value to having a diverse student body at Ripon with residents from all parts of the state and the country. She said the Ripon Commitment can be “a great opportunity” for students in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin seeking affordability during their college search.
“This just takes down one of those barriers for these families that we know is a concern,” Machacek said. “So I think that the families in Milwaukee are going to gravitate to this as a wonderful option to have on their list of looking at colleges for the fall of 2025.”
