UTEP To Offer Free Tuition – Here’s What You Need To Know

Higher education is expensive. Even our local university is out of reach financially for a lot of high school graduates who want to pursue a degree. If you or your kid is planning on going to UTEP and need help with tuition, keep reading.

UTEP had a program called UTEP Promise in the past. It was a financial aid program that covered fees for students whose families earn $30,000 or less annually. Now, UTEP has upped the help for students who are having trouble paying for school.

UTEP officials announced the PayDirt Promise program that will cover tuition and mandatory fees for students whose families earn $40,000 or less per year. Outgoing UTEP President Diana Natalicio said that UTEP is now in a position to offer more students from the Paso del Norte region “affordable access to a top-tier education, comparable to that offered by prestigious colleges and universities across the U.S.” Natalicio, who has spent her 30 years at UTEP championing higher education for local high school graduates, said university officials know the financial challenges so many potential UTEP students face and that’s why the school is always on the lookout for ways to minimize student debt and get kids on the track to higher education and a better job future.

From the UTEP website:

"To be eligible for the PayDirt Promise, students must be pursuing their first Bachelor’s degree and have financial need. Students must be Texas residents and plan to attend UTEP full time (at least 12 credit hours per semester). As part of a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for this award, students are required to maintain a 2.0 or higher cumulative grade point average (GPA) and must complete 24 credit hours within an academic school year. An academic school year includes Fall, Spring and Summer. Summer enrollment may be necessary to meet the required credit hours per academic year; however, PayDirt Promise funds are not available during summer sessions."