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New York to offer free tuition at public colleges

Apr 10, 2017
New York has become the first state to approve a “free college” plan for middle-class families. A $153 billion budget deal reached Sunday night includes a new Excelsior Scholarship. It will cover tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities for families earning up to $125,000 a year. But as any family paying for college […]

My Economy: Free college "changed my life"

Nov 23, 2016
Mike Essl is fighting to bring back free tuition at New York's Cooper Union.
Mike Essl, a graduate and acting dean of the Cooper Union School of Art, bears a tattoo of the college's iconic Foundation Building.
Leo Sorel/Courtesy of The Cooper Union

How 'free' changes college

Sep 28, 2016
For more than a century, New York's Cooper Union charged no tuition.
Elad Firnberg graduated without debt from Cooper Union in 2008, and went on to co-found Revolve Biotechnologies, a startup in Baltimore.
Amy Scott/Marketplace