(Source: Stanford University)

The rich may get richer, but the poor go free. That's the goal at Stanford, which has introduced a policy of waiving tuition for families making less than $45,000 annually. The move follows similar actions at Harvard and Princeton.

Consider:

Stanford University, worried about losing talented students to sticker shock, is eliminating tuition for undergraduates from the some of the lowest-income families.

Under a new program announced Wednesday, students from families with annual incomes of less than $45,000 won't pay tuition. Those with incomes up to $60,000 will pay about $3,800, the school estimates.

"Students from low-income backgrounds are underrepresented at our nation's most selective institutions," said Richard Shaw, Stanford's dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid.

"Many families...may be discouraged by the stated tuition, so we want to be more forceful with this new program in encouraging talented low-income students to consider Stanford," he said.

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