Emory University sees boom in applications with free tuition program

Fewer than 5,000 students are admitted to Emory University each year, making it one of the hardest colleges to be accepted in Georgia and in the South.

The institution was named the 22nd best in the world, according to TIME, and its setting in a STEM-friendly city and in the trees of the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta makes it a desirable campus to spend the first few years out of the nest.

Now, with a new financial program that will offer free tuition to new and current students with family incomes under $200,000 a year, more students are vying for the same number of slots. Emory officials are sifting through the thousands of applications, a number that had a significant boost this year.

John Leach, Vice Provost for Enrollment, Student Financial Services and Registration, said the school received 14% more applications this year compared to to the 2025-2026 school year.

What does the new financial aid program look like, and will it make the freshmen classes more competitive?

What is the Emory Advantage Plus program?

Starting Fall 2026, new Emory students and current students will have access to an updated Emory Advantage Plus program.

The need-based program provides free tuition to any student whose family earns less than $200,000 a year, as well as meeting 100% of demonstrated need for domestic students (financial assistance for things like housing and meal plans).

Over the next four years, the school estimates more than a $1 billion in financial aid will be distributed through the program.

Leach said "the heart of this program really is to promote affordability for our middle income families," including those who may have gotten partial financial assistance in the past or needed outside aid.

"We have a longstanding commitment to reducing debt and to making Emory a more affordable place for families," he said.

The program complements both the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships, commonly used by in-state students in Georgia. Of the current Emory undergraduates who are residents of the state, 95% of them were using HOPE or Zell Miller to help pay for school.

Students can apply for the program by using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile) like they typically would complete for need-based financial aid.

Why can't tuition just be cheaper?

Emory University currently has the highest tuition of any university in the state of Georgia, passing more than $64,000 a year. Agnes Scott College and Oglethorpe University are the other top-cost colleges in Atlanta.

"There are two components that go to supporting our students in terms of their financial aid. One is our endowment. We utilize as much of our endowment as we possibly can. One of the things that helped us to drive our student debt levels down in our endowment. Our federal student debt has dropped 67% over the past four years," Leach said. "The other source is tuition revenue, and the families who are paying 'full freight' at Emory, these are families that come from considerable financial advantage."

Leach said the high tuition not only provides for the intensive scholastic endeavors of students, but also helps supports the students who could not afford to attend the university without financial aid.

He said to "put it bluntly," the families that can afford Emory directly support the ones that can't through tuition.

More prospective students applied for 2026-2027 school year

While school officials expected there to be some increase in applications once the free tuition plan was announced in September, Leach said they "did not expect" such a high volume of applications.

"The applications are all in and we have seen a 14% increase in applications. We did not expect that kind of a response. So that is news for us," Leach said. "This is part of a trend, we've seen this with Ivy League schools."

While the financial support means that students from a higher variety of backgrounds, both social and financial, may soon be part of the class of 2030, it also means that some students who may have been accepted in previous years are competing against more students nationwide for the same size class.

"The reality is that in some ways, we are victims of our own success," explained Leach. He said as the school promotes affordability more students will apply, and some of them won't make the cut.

He said admissions officers look at the strength of a student's high school academics, and optionally at test scores.

The school also prioritizes students with leadership skills, compassion, specific interests, a diversity of skills and those who have a "desire to pursue their own passions and do well."

"We are incredibly fortunate to have the number of applications that we have, and unfortunately for the students, it is far, far higher than the number of slots that we've got in the incoming class," Leach said.

Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].