Wisconsin Tuition Promise

2023 Wisconsin Tuition Promise 

Launched in fall 2023, the Wisconsin Tuition Promise is a new initiative to ensure underserved Wisconsin students can attend any UW System university without paying tuition or fees.

The goal of the program is to increase the number of state residents who graduate with a bachelor’s degree – especially first-generation students and those from low-to-moderate income families throughout Wisconsin – thereby improving individual lives and communities and helping meet the state’s workforce needs.

The Wisconsin Tuition Promise can provide up to four years of tuition and fee funding for students coming from families earning less than $62,000 annually and enrolling at the 12 public universities other than UW-Madison.

The program is structured to provide “last dollar” financial support after federal and state grant aid and tuition scholarships are accounted for. As a result, Tuition Promise awards will vary between terms and students.

Eligible students are Wisconsin residents that were first-time enrollees or transfers in fall 2023 or spring 2024, and attending full-time. See Eligibility Requirements below. 

Students will be automatically considered for the Wisconsin Tuition Promise when they apply for federal financial aid.

Eligibility Requirements

Currently, only those that enter in fall 2023 or spring 2024 are eligible.

• Wisconsin residents.
• First-time bachelor or associate degree seeking (includes first-time transfer).
• Must file a FAFSA each year and in the first year have $62,000 or lower adjusted gross income.
• Eight semesters of eligibility total for bachelor-degree-seeking students. Four semesters of eligibility for associate-degree-seeking and transfer students. 
• Fall and spring enrollment only.
• Must meet Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) and other Title IV eligibility requirements for continued eligibility.
• Must be continuously enrolled.
• Must have been employed at some point during the preceding year.

2025 Wisconsin Tuition Promise 

The Wisconsin Tuition Promise can provide up to four years of tuition and fee funding.

Undergraduate students (new first–year and transfer students) with family Adjusted Gross Incomes (AGI) ≤ $55,000 who first enroll at participating UW schools in fall 2025 or spring 2026 will be eligible. In order to participate in and remain eligible for the Wisconsin Tuition Promise students must:

• Be Wisconsin residents from start to finish;
• Be first–time associate degree–seeking or bachelor’s degree–seeking (first–year or transfer) students;
• Enroll full–time and/or complete 24 credit hours each academic year;
• Complete a FAFSA each year and in the first year have an AGI of ≤ $55,000;
• Be continuously enrolled (however, students will have the opportunity to appeal to place their Wisconsin Tuition Promise on hold on the basis of extenuating circumstances); and,
• Meet Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) and other Title IV eligibility requirements.

Unless authorized, the Wisconsin Tuition Promise is available for fall and spring term enrollment only.

The program is structured to provide “last dollar” financial support after federal and state grant aid and tuition scholarships are accounted for. As a result, Tuition Promise awards will vary between terms and students.

Currently, only students that enter in fall 2025 or spring 2026 are eligible.