Free and Discounted College Opportunities for Seniors: A Comprehensive State-by-State Guide

Alabama: Seniors meeting admission requirements can attend any two-year institution tuition-free.
Alaska: The University of Alaska waives tuition for residents aged 65 and older receiving full Social Security benefits.
Arizona: Maricopa Community Colleges offer a 50% tuition reduction for students aged 65 and older.
Arkansas: State institutions waive tuition for individuals aged 60 and above.
California: California State University waives tuition for residents aged 60 or older.
Colorado: Colorado State University allows individuals aged 55 and older to attend classes without tuition fees, though no credit is awarded.
Connecticut: Residents aged 62 and up may attend state colleges tuition-free on a space-available basis.
Delaware: Permanent residents aged 60 or older can audit or take classes for credit for free at the University of Delaware and other state institutions.
Florida: State colleges waive tuition and fees for individuals aged 60 and above, though no credit is awarded.
Georgia: Residents aged 62 and above may take classes on a space-available basis for little or no cost at public colleges.
Hawaii: The Senior Citizen Visitor Program allows residents aged 60 and up to attend up to two courses per semester free of charge.
Idaho: Programs vary; for example, the College of Southern Idaho offers free tuition for lower-division courses to students aged 60 and older.
Illinois: Senior citizens aged 65 and up who meet income requirements can attend regular credit courses at public institutions for free.
Indiana: Indiana University offers programs allowing residents aged 60 and older to take up to nine credit hours per semester at 50% of in-state tuition fees.
Iowa: Simpson College allows senior citizens (65 and older) to take one noncredit course for free per semester.
Kansas: Residents aged 60 and older may audit courses at public colleges tuition-free, subject to availability.
Kentucky: Residents aged 65 and older can enroll in classes at public colleges and universities tuition-free for credit or audit.
Louisiana: Public colleges and universities waive tuition for residents aged 55 and older on a space-available basis.
Maine: Residents aged 65 and older may audit courses at the University of Maine System tuition-free, depending on available space.
Maryland: State universities offer tuition waivers to residents aged 60 and above for credit or audit classes, depending on space availability.
Massachusetts: Public colleges allow residents aged 60 and older to enroll in courses tuition-free, though some fees may apply.
Michigan: Institutions like the University of Michigan offer discounted or free tuition programs for seniors, depending on specific policies.
Minnesota: Residents aged 62 and older can audit courses at state colleges for a nominal fee or earn credit at a reduced rate.
Mississippi: Residents aged 60 and older may attend courses tuition-free at public colleges, depending on availability.
Missouri: Seniors aged 65 and above can audit courses at state institutions for free, although credit programs may still incur fees.
Montana: The Montana University System waives tuition for residents aged 65 and older for up to six credits per semester.
Nebraska: The University of Nebraska allows residents aged 65 and older to audit classes without tuition charges.
Nevada: Nevada residents aged 62 and older can audit courses at state colleges tuition-free on a space-available basis.
New Hampshire: Public colleges offer tuition waivers for residents aged 65 and above for certain programs.
New Jersey: State colleges waive tuition for residents aged 62 and older who meet specific income requirements.
New Mexico: Residents aged 65 and older can take up to six credit hours per semester at public colleges for a nominal fee.
New York: The City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) systems offer tuition waivers for residents aged 60 and above, primarily for auditing courses.
North Carolina: Residents aged 65 and older can audit classes at public colleges without paying tuition.
North Dakota: The North Dakota University System offers tuition waivers for residents aged 65 and older for credit or audit courses, depending on availability.
Ohio: Public colleges waive tuition for residents aged 60 and older for credit or audit classes on a space-available basis.
Oklahoma: State colleges waive tuition for seniors aged 65 and above, typically for auditing courses.
Oregon: Public universities allow residents aged 65 and older to audit courses tuition-free on a space-available basis.
Pennsylvania: State institutions like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education offer reduced or free tuition programs for residents aged 60 and older.
Rhode Island: Public colleges waive tuition for residents aged 60 and above for credit or audit classes, depending on availability.
South Carolina: Residents aged 60 and older may attend public colleges tuition-free on a space-available basis.
South Dakota: Residents aged 65 and older can take classes at reduced tuition rates at public colleges.
Tennessee: Public colleges waive tuition and fees for residents aged 60 and older for credit or audit classes.
Texas: State colleges offer tuition waivers for residents aged 65 and older who meet specific academic requirements.
Utah: Residents aged 62 and older can audit courses at public colleges for a nominal fee.
Vermont: State colleges allow residents aged 65 and older to take courses tuition-free on a space-available basis.
Virginia: Residents aged 60 and above may attend classes tuition-free at public colleges, with some institutions offering credits.
Washington: Public colleges offer reduced tuition or tuition waivers for residents aged 60 and older, primarily for audit programs.
West Virginia: Residents aged 65 and older can audit courses tuition-free at public colleges.
Wisconsin: State colleges waive tuition for residents aged 60 and older for credit or audit courses on a space-available basis.
Wyoming: Residents aged 65 and above may audit courses at public colleges tuition-free, depending on space availability.

 

Nice and comprehensive list. It will be fun to attend campus class, kids would think I'm a professor who came to observe.
Jokes aside, very good list.

 

Do we know how to go about applying for waivers (in states like Maryland) and whether the waiver applies to online/distance learning?

 

With the cost of college spiraling out of control for young people, it's frustrating that older residents get discounted education - when the price of attendance in the early 80s when these residents was already very low - and now they get to attend for virtually free.

 

Perhaps it is borne from gratitude.

 

I understand the frustration and perspective, but investing in, or rewarding, our senior population is a good thing. Obviously it should not come at the expense of our youth, but offering low cost or free education to seniors is definitely a worthwhile, admirable, completely defensible endeavor.

 

I don't think this is coming at the expense of younger people. We are the wealthiest country in the world, yet we have the highest college education costs in the world.

 

Agreed. Your example of SUU is but one of a myriad of low cost options. It should also be noted that US universities are generally considered the most elite in the world. Americans are paid significantly more than most others around the world. Things cost A LOT here due to wages, permitting, construction, insurance, litigation, etc. I'm not justifying the high cost of education in America, but there are many factors involved.

 

Is not charging someone for something the same thing as spending money on it? Are the instructors paid by how many people are in their classes? For example, if there are 38 students in the class one semester and 43 students in that class the next semester, are the instructors paid more for the second semester? From what I understand, having older adults with real world experience in the classrooms actually enhances learning, so in a way the state is investing in the education of younger people by putting them in an environment with those older people - they are an invaluable resource with specialized expertise and a wealth of insight.

 

I dont agree. Far few seniors are going to college than young people and likely take fewer classes than ambitious youngsters. Additionally, it is state by state. Everyone in a state like California have opportunities for free community college, so clearly one state has made it work.

Most other developed nations have figured out how to made education affordable, but not the US.

 

It's ok to disagree. That's ine of the reasons these boards exist.

 

I hear you. Still, California figured public college better than another state or the federal government decades ago. As of today, you can get a bachelors through the many CSUs for under $15k and the UCs for under $30k. This in addition to access to full-ride scholarships including those for seniors.

 

Sometimes, adjuncts are paid per student.

 

As Steve has indicated, there are very low cost options out there if a student wants to dig and look around a bit, even lower than the numbers you reference for California tuition. Residents of Georgia pay nothing through the HOPE fund for bachelor degrees in in-demand professions. I think I paid just a few thousand for my AAS (years ago) because I was willing to work, study, dig, and take individual courses from all over the place, along with CLEP exams, and then transfer them to TESC. Later, I think I paid $16k for the BA which was expensive to me at the time, but it was a choice. I could have have spent less than $6k and graduated elsewhere if low cost had been a primary driver.

Let's not blame an entire system, or start believing that free tuition for seniors is not a good thing, just because many/most young students choose ease and convenience over due diligence and effort. That would be entitlement. "I want to go to school for very low cost or for free, but I am not willing to move, dig, research options, or make other compromises as to school location or selection."

 

I don't think it's a stretch. When I was accepted to American University I was in my 30's and the acceptance letter literally stated, "We feel older and non-traditional students enhance our classroom environments."

Also, from my own lived experience at Anderson University one of my cohort was a woman in her late 60's who was a retired teacher, she was still involved in being a substitute and was pursuing the degree because she always wanted a Master's. She had the best insights in the live ZOOM chats as well as the discussion board posts - I interacted with her quite a bit, and when I drove down to South Carolina from Ohio for the graduation, I happened to run into her in the same hotel on the way to breakfast - my wife and I ended up having a lovely breakfast with her and her husband - completely unplanned and spontaneous - totally enhanced my experience in that program.

At Ohio State there were two instances I can think of - in a class called "The Quest in World Literature" which explored the "quest" motif in a variety of stories from different cultures and time periods, we had an older African American woman in the class that provided insights about being a black woman during times that had since passed, when we read Zora Neal Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" that just wouldn't have come from a younger person, and were outside of my 30 -something white male experience. That's something that you can't get from the course materials. And finally at Ohio State I had a "Principles of Organizational Communication" class taught by a 27 year old PhD who told us up front he had never had a job outside of school work or academia. He encouraged anyone with real-world corporate experience to contribute to the discussion, especially if the book was not quite up to date or was too theoretical. We had at least two middle aged folks with middle management corporate experience that were very active in the class discussions and that provided a lot of real-world grounding to what was in the course materials. IMO, my personal experiences were much richer for the contributions of these older folks and proved that American University was right in their initial acceptance letter to me.

 

What would the alternative be for using that excess capacity?