The University of Chicago moved to make tuition free for families with income under $250,000, expanding one of the most prominent affordability promises among major research universities. The change is designed to reduce out-of-pocket cost uncertainty for middle- and upper-middle-income households that can be caught between financial-aid eligibility thresholds and high net price. The development positions UChicago among a small set of large institutions offering broad-based tuition-free models at that income level. For students and families, the key impact is potentially more predictable costs tied to annual eligibility rather than tuition-setting mechanisms. For other institutions, the announcement adds pressure to sharpen affordability strategies in response to persistent concerns about access and the cost of degree completion.