Case Western Reserve to Cover Cleveland High School Students’ Full Attendance Costs

• Case Western Reserve University's Cleveland Scholars program will now cover the cost of housing, fees, books, and other expenses in addition to tuition.
• School officials hope the move will incentivize more students to continue their education.
• The tuition-free Cleveland Scholars program debuted in 2017.

Many Cleveland high school students will soon have access to free college at Case Western Reserve University — as well as a paid research or internship experience on campus.

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) will cover the full cost of attendance for many Cleveland-area high school students starting in fall 2024, school officials announced Sept. 13.

"Cost will not keep these terrific students from attending Case Western Reserve," CWRU President Eric W. Kaler said in a press release. "We are committed to our community, and committed to these promising students. We want them to have every opportunity to thrive on our campus."

The announcement marks an expansion of the university's Cleveland Scholars program, a 7-year-old program that previously covered the full cost of tuition but will now cover all costs of attendance, including supplies, personal expenses, books, fees, and on-campus housing.

You're eligible for the program if you attended your final two years of high school at any of the following:

• A Cleveland Metropolitan School District school
• A district-partner charter school
• An East Cleveland public school

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan said the move will incentivize graduating students to head to Case Western Reserve to continue their education.

"The fact that some of our most talented graduates will now have extra incentive to continue their education at one of America's leading universities will pay immediate dividends to CWRU and all of Northeast Ohio," Morgan said in the press release.

Case Western Reserve isn't the only northeast Ohio college partnering with local high schools: Kent State University recently announced it would become a "sister university" to two Akron public high schools to help students prepare for both college and careers.

Kent State will develop "integrated, career-themed content" for students at the Firestone Community Learning Center (CLC) and Buchtel CLC as part of that expanded partnership, school officials said in August.