Bucky’s Tuition Promise welcomed its largest class yet this year, awarding hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison students with free undergraduate tuition.
Founded in 2018, Bucky’s Tuition Promise allocates scholarships and grants for both tuition and segregated fees for Wisconsin students whose adjusted gross income totals $60,000 or less. Incoming freshmen receive eight consecutive semesters of free tuition, while transfer students receive four.
“It’s amazing to go to this school and know that I have [Bucky’s Tuition Promise] helping me along the way,” said UW-Madison junior and scholarship recipient, Haley Wolff.
Growing in size every year, this year, UW-Madison welcomed 961 students in the four-year-old program, according to a university release — an increase from last year’s 923 students. In 2019, the university had 848 students join the program and the year before that — Bucky’s Tuition Promise’s inaugural year — 796 in-state students received free undergraduate tuition as a part of the financial aid program. The first class of Bucky’s Tuition Promise recipients will be graduating this upcoming spring.
“We’re thrilled to welcome these talented students to campus and are excited to see what they will go on to achieve,” said university spokesperson Meredith McGlone, highlighting that one in five new undergraduate students from Wisconsin is a part of Bucky’s Tuition Promise this year. “Bucky’s Tuition Promise is one of the most powerful ways UW-Madison helps Wisconsin students from lower-to-moderate-income families make their educational dreams a reality.”
For students like Wolff, Bucky’s Tuition Promise is what attracted them to UW-Madison.
“I found out about Bucky’s Tuition Promise immediately when I started looking into the school,” said Wolff. “It definitely steered me towards applying to Madison because I had never seen another school offer something like that.”
Bucky’s Tuition Promise is funded through university resources and private gifts, and has nearly 3,500 students involved in the program. Students are considered for the financial aid program on the basis of their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications.
“It has honestly been the best thing for my family and I,” Wolff said, underscoring that university workshops and information sessions included in the program also help with the cost of attending UW-Madison. “It’s amazing to go to this school and know that I have this helping me out along the way.”
Sophia Vento is a former editor-in-chief of The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the college news editor. She has covered breaking, campus, city, state and sports, and written in-depth stories about health, culture and education. She previously interned with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Any newsroom would be lucky to have Sophia on staff. Follow her on Twitter at @sophiasvento.
