Higher education is a promise: a promise of knowledge, a promise of broader career prospects, a promise of a chance at a better life. But with rising costs, that promise was out of reach for many Wisconsin families — until Bucky’s Tuition Promise opened the door. Annual giving ensures that students like Emily Kollmann x’24 can attend their dream college. “Bucky’s Tuition Promise is not only assisting me financially but it’s also helping me give back to countless others, including my future patients,” says Kollmann, who is majoring in chemistry and hopes to become a doctor.
Now in its third year, Bucky’s Tuition Promise is a pledge that covers four years of UW–Madison tuition for students from families whose annual household adjusted income is $60,000 or less. Fall 2020 saw the largest class of new students enter UW–Madison through Bucky’s Tuition Promise, up 9 percent from the previous year. In all, 923 students, hailing from 63 of the state’s 72 counties, are benefitting from this life-changing initiative. More than half — 54 percent — are first-generation college students, 755 are freshman, and 168 are transfer students.
This generous pledge now helps one in five of the university’s new undergraduates and is made possible mainly through funding by private gifts. Moo Ko Wah x’24, a first-generation college student who was born in a Thai refugee camp and came to the United States at the age of six, knew early on that she would need to fund her own education. “I wouldn’t be here without Bucky’s Tuition Promise.”