Top colleges expand financial aid awards to eliminate student loans

With this being arguably the worst year to apply for financial aid, some colleges are implementing new strategies to make students wary of the high cost.

Vanderbilt University announced it is expanding Opportunity Vanderbilt to include full-tuition scholarships for students from families with annual incomes of $150,000 or less. At the same time, Dartmouth also said it would nearly double its current income threshold for a “zero parental contribution” for parents with an annual income of $125,000, up from $65,000.

“As costs continue to rise, we think it’s very important to have access,” said Doug Christiansen, Vanderbilt’s dean of admissions and financial aid.

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In a year marked by problems with the new free application for federal student aid, students who were already struggling under the weight of grades now face additional obstacles, Christiansen said, which could ultimately hurting college enrollment.

“I fear that nationally we have a portion that thinks they can’t afford it,” he said. “Students who are in a low-income situation are raising their hands and saying, ‘I just can’t go.'”

“College affordability is a serious issue for these families,” Lee Coffin, Dartmouth’s vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a statement.

“Raising the threshold for expected parental contributions for more families is a strong and important commitment to address college affordability issues for middle-income families,” Coffin said.

The expansion of financial aid scholarships for undergraduate students at Dartmouth, which will take effect during the next academic year, was funded by a $150 million gift from the late Glenn Britt, which is the largest gift dedicated entirely to scholarships in the school’s history.

According to data from The Princeton Review, about two dozen schools have already adopted a “loan-free” policy, meaning they are completely eliminating student loans from their financial aid programs.

Among the schools on the Princeton Review’s “Best 389 Colleges” list On the list, 23 promise to meet 100% of their undergraduate students’ financial needs with scholarships rather than student debt.

Of course, even without a loan, students may still have to pay the expected family contribution, as well as other costs, including books and tuition. There might also be a work-study requirement, depending on the school.

Even if a school has a no-loan policy, that also doesn’t stop a student or family from borrowing money to cover their contribution, according to Jerry Inglet, family legacy advisor at the Wilmington Trust in Buffalo. New York.

“No loan is, at best, a misnomer,” he said.

When selecting colleges, Inglet advises students and families to also consider a “financial security school” in the application process, which could offer more merit-based aid and lower the overall cost.

“I would have a wide range of possibilities including a number of schools that are both academic schools and financial security schools,” he said.

To determine which schools may be the most affordable options, the U.S. Department of Education’s College Dashboard and each school’s net price calculator can help.

Also discuss your family’s financial ability up front so students have realistic expectations about the schools within their reach, Inglet said.

“Install guardrails early,” he added.

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