- April 14, 2026
- By Sala Levin ’10
As Ashley Ramirez and her parents sifted through scholarship and loan applications and financial aid forms, she worried that the cost of a college education might keep her from stepping onto campus, let alone walking across the stage at commencement.
Thanks to the Terrapin Commitment, Ramirez is on the path to graduate in May. The University of Maryland’s need-based funding program was launched in 2023 to close the gap between scholarship awards, work-study and other grants and the full cost of tuition and fees for all Pell Grant-eligible, in-state students. It has provided a total of $53.5 million to more than 8,000 Terps.
The funding “made me feel more secure and helped me keep my mind focused on academics,” said Ramirez.
Now the Terrapin Commitment is expanding; starting in Fall 2026, UMD will guarantee that tuition and fees are fully funded for full-time, first-degree-seeking undergraduate students from Maryland families with unmet financial need whose income is $75,000 or less.
Here, three students share how the Terrapin Commitment eased their financial burden and made a UMD education possible.
Josephine Epps ’29
Josephine Epps ’29 is on track to do something no one else in her family has done: graduate from college.
Epps’ mom, a Dominican immigrant, “went deep, deep, deep into research” to learn about scholarships and financial aid, said Epps. “She made sure I had resources to go to school for the least amount of money for a quality education.” Scholarships from a variety of programs made a solid foundation, and the Terrapin Commitment bridged the remaining gap in Epps’ tuition and fees.
Inspired by a “Shark Tank”-like competition in her high school, Epps is studying marketing and management. She hopes that internships during her years in College Park will land her a secure job after college.
“Not having debt will make it so much easier for me as I become an adult to navigate the world,” she said. “I can focus on my future: getting a house, starting a business. I won’t have to worry about paying thousands of dollars just to get an education.”
Jabari Gomez ’28
Growing up in Baltimore County, Jabari Gomez ’28 had long considered the University of Maryland one of his top options for college.
Still, Gomez had some out-of-state and private universities on his list for consideration, including several of the colleges that some of his relatives had attended.
Knowing that his tuition and fees would be paid for—and that he could commute from home to campus—was the final tally mark in favor of attending Maryland over any other university.
Gomez is now studying applied physics, and planning to eventually earn a master’s degree in engineering before working for the government, maybe at one of the U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories or in robotics at NASA.
The Terrapin Commitment “just made Maryland a more practical option,” said Gomez. “It’s perfect for a future in STEM.”
Ashley Ramirez ’26
After Ramirez was born in New York, her parents moved the family back to their native Dominican Republic, where she grew up connected with her heritage, culture and family.
As Ramirez moved toward the end of high school, she started considering returning to the U.S. for college. “I wanted my own experience—to kind of come out of my box.”
The University of Maryland was her target, even though she wasn’t exactly sure how she’d finance her degree, despite her mother’s work at American Airlines and her father’s job as a paralegal. “I was searching for scholarships, anything that could help me,” she said.
Ramirez eventually started her education at a community college. During the process of transferring to UMD, she learned that the Terrapin Commitment would cover the costs that her financial aid package didn’t.
“It did feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Ramirez said.
Now, Ramirez is about to complete a degree in finance and information systems. She hopes that the education she’s received at UMD will help her and her family in the future.
“My parents didn’t have much idea about how to manage money,” she said. “I could become the person they go to who has the resources or the knowledge—that’s why I became interested in finance.”