Harvard no longer charges anything (no family contribution, no student contribution) if your family is below ~60th percentile in income (currently around $65k/y

Harvard no longer charges anything (no family contribution, no student contribution) if your family is below ~60th percentile in income (currently around $65k/yr). Not sure if that's the range you have in mind with "mid-middle class", but it covers everyone in the middle quintile or lower. Between $65k and $150k they have a sliding scale, with full tuition charged over $150k. Stanford has the most generous tuition exemption I think, charging $0 tuition if your family makes under $100k (~80th percentile). They throw in free room & board under $60k, too, so you effectively get paid to go to school in that case (paid only an amount sufficient to cover living expenses, but still something). However, two universities providing free education to people around the median income or lower is hardly a replacement for the once-free public university system.