WA private colleges cover students who lost state tuition aid

Jilma Diaz-Demangue had envisioned herself attending a big public school like Washington State University right up until she toured Pacific Lutheran University.

It really stood out to me that a lot of professors and faculty and staff remember your face and ask about your day," said Diaz-Demangue, a rising junior studying social work.

The smaller campus felt right. PLU was close to home in Spanaway, so she would be able to help look after her sister, who has epilepsy. And the tuition wouldn't put her in debt: A combination of state aid and institutional scholarships would cover her costs.

That assurance was thrown into question when she heard about the cuts to the Washington College Grant, which funds the educations of thousands of low-income students. She started picking up extra jobs, and friends began looking at transferring. But then they got good news.

Private colleges across Washington are pledging millions in institutional aid to shield low-income students from reductions to the Washington College Grant, stepping in to cover the losses for currently enrolled students who were counting on the support. The University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University, Gonzaga University, Seattle University and Whitman College are among the schools that have announced plans to pull from endowments and donor funds to absorb the cuts, which kick in this fall.

In 2025, lawmakers approved a series of higher education budget reductions amid a multibillion-dollar state budget shortfall. Beginning in the 2026–27 academic year, the maximum Washington College Grant award available to students attending private nonprofit four-year colleges is scheduled to drop from more than $9,000 annually to just over $6,000 for students eligible for the highest tier of aid.

Around 12,000 students statewide will see their amounts decrease, according to legislative estimates. Students like Diaz-Demangue, who also qualify for College Bound, the most generous state aid program, will see the same reductions a year later, in fall 2027. The budget also reduced financial aid for roughly 3,000 students attending public universities.

College leaders said they felt obligated to act, especially since the cuts fall hardest on low-income and first-generation students with the fewest financial options.

"It's hard to walk away from those students," said Allan Belton, president of Pacific Lutheran University. "The state promised them those funds, and now they're not there. These are exactly the students the state asked us to serve, and they're turning their backs on them."

Washington's private colleges educate a relatively small share of the state's college students but play an outsize role in preparing workers for high-demand fields. Among Washington College Grant recipients at private four-year schools, two-thirds are pursuing degrees in healthcare, science, technology and other vital areas, according to the Independent Colleges of Washington. Students also choose private campuses for reasons beyond academics - proximity to home, smaller class sizes, specialized programs, or the kind of individual attention that made Diaz-Demangue choose PLU over a larger university.

At Pacific Lutheran, Belton said the school moved quickly to reassure students like Diaz-Demangue. The university committed to continuing full support for all currently enrolled College Bound scholars, though the long-term financial burden will be significant. PLU has already implemented a hiring freeze, and if all scheduled cuts take effect, the university estimates it would lose nearly $6 million annually between both programs.

At the University of Puget Sound, approximately 214 undergraduates relied on state aid this year, representing more than $1.76 million in Washington College Grant Funds. Gonzaga has projected a $4.3 million investment to support nearly 700 affected students. Seattle University has used donor-supported funding to provide short-term assistance, and Whitman College said any loss of state aid would be replaced with institutional aid.

"Once we saw where this was heading, we were immediately trying to find a way to support the students," said Veronica Craker, a spokesperson for the University of Puget Sound.

But college leaders warned the effort has limits. Bigger private colleges have endowments in the billions for these kinds of scenarios, but it's a misconception that all private colleges have those kinds of resources, said Terri Standish-Kuon, president of the Independent Colleges of Washington. Some schools only enroll a few thousand students.

"The magnitude of these cuts to students are going to exceed the current and future resources of our campuses," she said.

Lawmakers attempted to reverse the cuts during this year's legislative session. A bipartisan bill sponsored by Sen. T'wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, would have restored the reductions and tied aid levels for private-college students to the average award at public universities. Supporters argued students shouldn't lose aid simply because of where they chose to enroll. Opponents, including some representatives of public universities, argued lawmakers should first restore cuts affecting students statewide. The bill did not advance.

For Diaz-Demangue, relief came when PLU told her it would cover not just her aid gap, but those of her friends. But she hasn't given up on restoring the funding for the students who come after her. In the spring, she traveled to Olympia to testify before lawmakers. Now, as summer begins, she is working as a student advocacy fellow, trying to recruit other students to take up the fight with her next legislative session.

"A lot of my friends I went to high school with, they're coming to PLU," she said. "Imagine five years from now, 10 years from now.

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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 4:50 PM.