Free-tuition programs work best as clear marketing: Brookings analysis finds the message matters more than new dollars

The useful part

"For many students, it's just communicated to them the assistance of financial aid that already existed. They already would have gotten free tuition—they just didn't know it." Levine said that these policies are more important than ever given the increasingly restrictive landscape of college admissions. "I think part of the impetus for greater reliance on these sorts of policies was the Supreme Court decision in the affirmative action case," said Levine, who is also an economics professor at Wellesley College.

How it works

• Even if a program covers the full cost of tuition, families could still be left owing thousands of dollars for room and board, travel, books, and other expenses.
• "This clearly is not the end of the story for what colleges need to do in terms of messaging, but it's certainly a first step." Some colleges, such as Rice University in Texas, go beyond free tuition for...
• Colby College in Maine also offers financial aid through a sort of tiered system it calls the Colby Commitment.
• Colby's program relies on a family's income bracket to determine the maximum they can be expected to contribute, which is at most $20,000 per year for families making between $150,000 and $200,000.
• The initiative opened the door for many students who may have previously thought of Colby as unaffordable, and it's changed the way others approach the process, Maloney said.

What to take from it

Now, Levine said, the "fast and furious" movement of colleges offering free tuition to families whose household income is below a certain threshold has begun to alleviate that problem, and it's not necessarily because institutions are handing out more financial aid. "When they feel more empowered and they feel like cost is something that is not going to be a significant barrier, we get different questions," Maloney said. Students Financial Aid The Students Crowdfunding for Tuition Students facing acute challenges affording their tuition are increasingly turning to crowdfunding.

Details worth keeping

"One thing that, at the moment, still is legal is the consideration of socioeconomic status." Advertisement Despite all the benefits they offer, Levine said, free tuition policies are still "very crude." He said colleges need to be super clear about what exactly their free tuition policies cover. Free tuition means free tuition," Levine said. Advertisement Yvonne Romero, vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid at Rice, said by using annual income—a number families typically know or can easily find out—Rice can communicate with prospective students and their families before they even apply.

Related coverage

• Thecollegeinvestor: Why elite colleges are racing to offer free tuition: 33 schools now waive it for families earning up to $250,000. The endowment tax is part of the story.
• Highereddive: Promise program — the first of its kind in the country — successfully boosted college enrollment and attainment, analysis showed.
• Adweek: This post was created in partnership with Texas A&M University There's plenty of competition in higher education, and not just among frenzied applicants.
• Thecollegeinvestor: New NBER research finds Tennessee's free community college program raised enrollment, degrees, and earnings â€" and paid for itself through tax revenue.
• Wealthmanagement: The number of families willing to pay $80,000 to $90,000 or more for a private university is dwindling.