How America’s College Promise Would Reshape the Free College Landscape (2023)

Rising college costs and attainment gaps have motivated states to pass “promise” programs for free community college tuition and motivated President Biden to champion a proposal for nationwide free community college called America’s College Promise (ACP). An underrated aspect of ACP is that it eliminates tuition before other grants are applied, freeing the Pell Grant to cover non-tuition costs. Many state programs only cover students’ tuition balances after other grants, including Pell. Most community college students would qualify for ACP. However, only 31 percent of community college students in states with promise programs receive grants. Most programs appear to reach less than 10 percent. TCF’s analysis finds that total grants received by the average promise program recipient would be 56 percent greater under ACP (an average of $8,900), and 51 percent among Pell Grant recipients (an average of $10,600). Even if every U.S. state adopted a last-dollar promise program in the vein of existing programs, community college students nationwide would receive only 19 cents for every dollar that America’s College Promise would make available. If states continue their promise programs as living stipends, low-income community college students could see a massive increase in their total financial assistance through the combined power of ACP, the Pell Grant, and state aid.