With students at the 5Cs beginning to submit their financial aid applications and federal funding for higher education growing increasingly uncertain under the Trump administration, many students have begun to question how their aid packages might be affected.
The Claremont Colleges frequently rank among the most expensive colleges in the U.S. All 5Cs boast a tuition fee of at least $60,000 annually and a total cost of attendance averaging around $90,000.
As such, aid programs remain vital to the 5C community, with the colleges offering between 42 percent and 70 percent of their student bodies some form of financial assistance. For many of these students, it is crucial to their ability to attend.
“Financial aid was pretty much the whole reason I came to Pomona,” Ben Surosky PO ’26 said. “Without the level of aid Pomona gives, I would not be here.”
However, the Trump administration has threatened federal funding for dozens of higher education institutions across the country — including Pomona and Scripps Colleges — who they claim have failed to adequately respond to instances of antisemitism.
But according to a Feb. 6 email that Acting President of Pomona Robert Gaines sent to Pomona students, financial aid commitments for both incoming and returning students will remain the same.
Paul Dieken, director of financial aid at Pomona, shared a similar reassurance, saying that students should remain calm and that commitments for the coming year will be unaffected.
“The way we determine students’ eligibility for aid is going to stay the same,” Dieken said. “We are not going to be making any changes.”
Dieken also underscored the college’s commitment to programs such as QuestBridge and the American Talent Initiative, which act as a bridge to overcome financial barriers for high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds.
“Those are points of pride for the college,” he said.
In an email to TSL, Scripps made similar commitments to protecting aid for students while continuing to monitor the situation in Washington, D.C.
They also said that the Department of Education has confirmed that they will continue to fund programs such as Federal Pell Grants and Federal Direct Loans for the 2025-26 academic year, and that Federal Work-Study and other grants will remain unaffected.
Beyond the threats to higher education funding, recent staff cuts at the Department of Education could impact the speed at which loan and aid applications can be processed. Dieken said he expects delays from the federal government and believes students should look to submit FAFSA and all other documents related to federal funding as soon as possible.
“We’ve been trying to encourage students to be really proactive,” Dieken said. “Anything involving the federal government — do it now, get it done, don’t wait and don’t assume.”
Amidst all these changing variables, there is an air of uncertainty for both students and members of administration, but Dieken said that we know far too little about what is to come to stress about hypotheticals.
Nick Owchar, editorial director and interim marketing and communications lead at Pitzer College, reiterated much of the same messaging in an email to TSL.
Owchar said that college leadership is “actively discussing and collaborating on potential outcomes.” However, they are currently unable to give concrete answers, as such answers may not appropriately address a quickly evolving situation.
Dieken said important updates will continue to be shared with the student body and college community as they are known. That clarity can provide some sense of calm amidst the storm of updates that students receive.
“I have appreciated the consistent, frequent, detailed updates [from Pomona],” Surosky said.
Harvey Mudd College and Claremont McKenna College did not respond for comment in time for publication.
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