Tufts Nixes Loans for Low Income Students
Class of 2011 1st Loan-free Class
Tufts University’s class of 2011 is the first one to benefit from a program eliminating loans for low income students. Above, the class of 2011 last August.
– Allison Goldsberry
Tufts University is one of the country’s most elite universities and has a price tag to match, like much of the prestigious company it shares throughout New England.
Tuition, fees, and room and board top out at nearly $50,000 per year, and to help more students cover the costs, Tufts has started a new program that eliminates loans for students from families that earn less than $40,000 per year.
These students will instead receive scholarship grants, a move that pushes Tufts closer to its goal of offering need-blind admissions.
According to Public Relations Director Kim Thurler, more than 7% of the Class of 2011 will benefit from the new program.
“The new policy will enable some of the neediest families in America to send their children to Tufts. It reflects Tufts’ enduring mission to provide access to students from diverse economic backgrounds,” said Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Lee Coffin in a statement.
Coffin said Tufts will award $42 million in need-based aid this year to its students.
The Class of 2011 is Tufts’ most socioeconomically diverse class in its history. Forty-two percent will receive some form of financial aid, the highest number in a decade and up from last year’s 36%. One hundred and sixty-two students will receive a Federal Pell Grant- federal grants that are provided to low income students- a 60% increase over last year.
Tufts is in the middle of a massive fund-raising campaign to raise $1.2 billion, with pumping up need-based aid a primary goal.
More…