ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta university is seeing a spike in applications after recently announcing a free tuition program for students from families making under $200,000 per year.

Emory University Vice Provost for Enrollment, Student Financial Services and Registration John Leach says affordability is important.

“Middle income families should not be chased off by what the sticker price is. For us, the story really is what the net price for families,” he said.

Leach says they were surprised by the 14% increase in applications for the 2026-27 school year. Most of the increase is coming from students across Georgia and the southeast.