The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration plans to increase the amount of loans international students can borrow, its financial aid office announced earlier this week.
The Tuck International Loan program will now allow students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, whereas their earlier program covered only tuition and fees.
Tuck plans to award 10 to 12 scholarships to qualified European students in the class of 2008 and will double the number of scholarships offered to students from Latin America, in addition to allocating more general funds to international students. These financial aid increases are part of larger efforts to reach out the international community in recruiting and admissions.
"We've expanded our global reach significantly over the last several years. This is part of a globalization plan," Tuck dean Paul Danos said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "We've been expanding financial aid to get it on par with domestic students and this is the last rung of this expansion. Whatever we have to give, we're trying to make it proportional to the number of international students we have."
Since its creation in 2000, the International Loan program has seen a steady increase in participation and 59 percent of international students currently take loans from the school. Twenty-five percent of financial aid resources this year went to international students, up from 20 percent and 10 percent in the previous two years.
As part of its effort recruit international students, Tuck also established initiatives in India, Europe and Mexico this to increase its visibility in these areas and to network with prospective applicants.
"We want to have a very diverse international student body, and keep about a third of students international. You can make a more diverse class and increase its quality if you have more applicants," Danos said.
International students account for 30 percent of Tuck's student body and 40 percent of its applicant pool.
"A lot more students that don't have family or corporate support will be able to apply now," Danos said.
The dean described the importance of making international students aware that they can borrow money, as the practice is uncommon in many foreign cultures.
"When they see the rate of return on this investment, they'll know its a good deal," he said.
As part of their new initiatives, Tuck hired three full-time agents to represent the school in India, Europe and Mexico. These agents will help recruit candidates and provide information about Tuck, as well as link Tuck students to international jobs and internships.
"Top MBA programs, truly global programs like Tuck need to touch points all over the world," Danos said.
The changes to financial aid, which apply to all international matriculants to Tuck, are effective for applications signed and received on or after July 1, 2006.
