Tufts University is announcing a $1.2-billion campaign today that seeks to devote nearly a third of that amount to student aid, in particular an effort to admit undergraduates entirely without regard to their financial need. The campaign, whose goal would be the 28th among American colleges currently seeking more than $1-billion, according to a list maintained by The Chronicle, has already raised $615-million during its quiet phase. The fund drive follows recent multibillion-dollar announcements by Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford Universities. The campaign would be the largest in the history of Tufts.

The university had intended to delay today’s announcement until an event this evening, but a planned news release was posted this morning, and Tufts lifted its request that journalists hold off reporting the news.