In fall 2024, the University launched the Pathways to Notre Dame program, which removed loans from financial aid packages and chartered a path to be need-blind while meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need. Today, the Office of Media Relations announced the program is expanding again.
According to a University press release, “Beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, Notre Dame will ensure that families with annual income below $150,000 will receive need-based financial aid that covers the cost of tuition. Families with income below $200,000 will receive need-based aid that covers half the cost of tuition. In addition, most students from families with annual income below $60,000 will receive need-based financial aid that covers tuition, fees, housing and food.”
Micki Kidder, vice president for undergraduate enrollment, said the changes are intended to make financial aid more transparent and accessible for families.
“With this announcement, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to ensuring that cost will never be a barrier between a promising student and a Notre Dame education,” Kidder said in the press release. “By implementing income-based scholarship thresholds, we are providing the clarity families need to see that a world-class education is within their reach.”
“Since Pathways was first introduced, the University has committed over $40 million in additional annual recurring funds to ensure a Notre Dame education remains affordable for our undergraduate students,” Kidder wrote in a statement to The Observer. “Every year, over 50% of first-year undergraduate students receive need-based financial aid.”
According to the Notre Dame admissions website, 70% of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. With this expansion, the University’s financial aid commitment will exceed $1 billion over the next four years, according to the press release.
