Former New York Mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg announced he will donate $1.8 billion to his alma mater Johns Hopkins University so the school can offer more robust financial aid packages to low- and middle-income students.
The gift is the largest sum ever donated to an educational institution, the university says.
Bloomberg says all of the money will fund financial aid for undergraduate programs and allow Johns Hopkins to permanently adopt a need-blind admissions policy, meaning the school will not consider a student's financial situation when reviewing their application.
"Denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity," Bloomberg said in a statement. He said the donation will "help open up the American dream to more young people."
Bolstered scholarship and grant funding would displace some student loans from Johns Hopkins students' financial aid packages.
Tuition for the Baltimore-based university's undergraduate schools of engineering or arts of sciences is listed at over $53,000 annually.
In 1965, one year after graduating, Bloomberg donated $5 to Johns Hopkins, the school's website says. Before Sunday's announcement, he had already donated $1.5 billion to initiatives at the school.
