The College announced major changes to its financial aid program today. Free tuition for students from families with an annual income of $75,000 or less, substitution of all student loans with scholarships, need-blind admission for international students, and a leave term without earnings expectations are the key elements of the new financial aid initiative. Dartmouth's financial aid reform followed the recent changes made by other Ivy League institutions, and makes the College's financial aid offer for low-income families the "strongest in the nation," James Wright, president of the College, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
"For the last couple of years, I have been looking to strengthen our financial aid policy," Wright said. "I have started talking to the [Board of Trustees] about this last September."
The Board of Trustees have approved the new financial aid program at a special board meeting held on Jan. 16.
"The [Board of Trustees] have over the last month encouraged me to make changes , since many other institutions recently changed their financial aid packages." Wright added.
Yale University, Harvard University, and University of Pennsylvania in their reforms concentrated on expanding financial aid to middle-class families. Families of Yale's students with annual income of less than $120,000 now pay less than half of the university's tuition, while families with annual income between $120,000 and $200,000 see their tuitions cut by a third or more, following the reform introduced on Jan. 14. Harvard cut the tuition for families earning less than $180,000 to 10 percent of their incomes in early December. UPenn followed a week later, replacing loans with grants for families earning less than $100,000.
Dartmouth's financial aid reform is the first since 2004, when the College replaced loans with grants for families with incomes of $30,000 or less, and partially for families with incomes between $30,000 and $45,000. Maria Laskaris, dean of admissions and financial aid, told The Dartmouth earlier this month.
