Eliza Shapiro of The New York Times, who has been covering Brearley for years, broke the story today that Brearley is the first NYC private school to offer free tuition to students whose parents earn less than $100,000 a year.
No stranger to giving financial aid to needy students, Brearley now adds more transparency to what had been a more mysterious process. In doing so, Brearley may entice more girls to apply who would not previously have considered the school.
For now, said Emily Glickman, who runs Abacus Guide Educational Consulting in New York, a diverse private school in the city remains an oxymoron.
“It’s still a private school, and it’s still only granting free tuition to a small selection of its students,” she said. “It’s not free school, and there are superb free schools in New York City if you are fortunate enough to be admitted.”
Brearley follows some Ivy colleges, Questbridge, and some elite boarding schools. In general, when Ivies debut something new, whether it’s a common essay, a focus on DEIB, better facilities, or extending aid to children of families with more modest means–the Baby Ivies will follow.