BELTON, Texas (KXXV) — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is offering free tuition to qualifying incoming students through a new initiative called the UMHB Promise program, beginning with the Fall 2026 class.
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The program is designed to make a private college education accessible to more families by covering tuition for students who meet specific financial and academic eligibility requirements.
Ashley Smith, UMHB's director of marketing and public relations, outlined what students need to qualify.
"Some eligibility requirements include family income of $65,000 or less, federal Pell Grant eligibility, on-campus residency, freshmen in the top 50% of graduating class. Transfers must maintain a 2.0 GPA," Smith said.
Smith said the program was not funded through increased costs passed on to students or families.
"This program was funded by all the wonderful donors we have here at UMHB," Smith said.
For many students, the cost of attending college is a defining factor in where they choose to enroll. Valeria Gloria, a junior Christian Ministry major at UMHB, said finances shaped her own college decision.
"When I was deciding where I was going to go to college, a huge thing was like financially, like can we do UMHB? Because UMHB is pretty expensive but I found scholarships that even though it was more expensive than other universities, it was like, but I'm paying less than I would, let's say, somewhere in Dallas. Because of these opportunities," Gloria said.
Gloria also works on campus to help manage everyday expenses.
"I'm a student worker at alumni, so that's really helpful because there's a flexible schedule for me to be able to like come in and do my homework, and then still like get some money... that's how I do my groceries and like my gas," Gloria said.
Gloria said she believes the UMHB Promise program could open doors for a wider range of prospective students.
"It allows for anyone to be able to come to UMHB no matter like what your financial background is or where you come from," Gloria said.
The UMHB Promise program is available only to students beginning with the fall 2026 class. The university says the program is designed to make a private college education an option for more families.
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