For middle-class students like Guevara, campus jobs and student loans are necessary in order to subsidize a high-priced college education. But in the wake of recent announcements from peer institutions that will drastically improve financial aid for middle-income students, some are questioning whether their financial burden is undue.
At Harvard University, tuition for students from families earning $120,000 to $180,000 per year will decrease to 10 percent of a family's annual income, and all loans will be replaced by grants. At Yale University, students receiving financial aid will soon be charged just 50 percent of their current tuition. The University of Pennsylvania plans to replace loans with grants for families earning less than $100,000, and a handful of institutions already offer loan-free tuition to low-income students. Swarthmore College will soon begin replace loans with scholarships in order to give their students the "freedom to explore" academics, according to The Boston Globe.
Dartmouth has yet to release news of any financial aid reforms.
Liana Chase '11, who holds a part-time job at the Davidson Pottery Studio, felt that the recent financial aid increases at other schools are a step towards fairness and will lessen students' worries about paying off excessive loans after graduation.
"People should be accountable for their education, but not be suffocated to the point where it limits their experience after college," Chase said.
Like Guevara, Chase said that she often misses out on activities she would like to participate because they often conflict with her job schedule.
While most students agree that contributing to their own education is fair, many see the financial burden of loans and work-study as detrimental to the educational experience. Recent media coverage of financial aid changes at other institutions has highlighted the disparity in opportunities between students who must work long hours and allocate their earnings to tuition and those who will now be able to devote more time to their studies and extracurricular pursuits.
"Don't get me wrong, everyone should know how to work," Chase said. "It's just the inequality of work hours. Some people have an advantage. That's a bit upsetting."
Guevara explained that her work schedule often prevents her from going on hikes and attending outdoor retreats, adding that she wishes she could work fewer hours a week to meet her needed financial contribution.
Some students who can afford full tuition said that they would not be able to maintain the same level of academic or extracurricular performance if they had to work as well.
"I wouldn't get the grades I wanted or be able to do crew," Steve Sul '11 said, adding that he is grateful that he does not need to work a campus job or take on loans.
Some students believe that middle-class students at Dartmouth face the largest financial burden as they face a great financial burden but often do not qualify for large grants.
"The middle class does get screwed," Katherine Gandy '11 said. "They're not low enough to receive [substantial grants], but they also don't have adequate spending money."
Gandy's family does not qualify for financial aid.
Some students hope that Dartmouth will follow its peer institutions and revamp its financial aid system.
"With all the money Dartmouth has, they can certainly improve the financial aid program," said Whitney Bailey '10, who works at the Hopkins Center to subsidize her tuition and is dissatisfied with the aid the College provides her.
Some students said that given the choice between Dartmouth with its current financial aid policy and a lower-cost peer institution, they would not choose Dartmouth. Others, like Laura DeSouza '08, believe that Dartmouth is worth taking out high loans. She said that the price tag did not deter her from choosing Dartmouth over other equally strong institutions that offered more aid.
"It meant more to me to come to Dartmouth," she said.
Dartmouth students seem to agree unanimously that peer institutions' new measures on financial aid are positive changes, regardless of the motive.
"It's not a negative thing for schools to be competing, because eventually it'll work in the students favor," Chase said.
