Dartmouth will enable students to get full-tuition scholarships without loans if they come from a household with a yearly average salary of $125,000 or less starting with the Class of 2026. Basically, this is a rise of $25,000 when compared to the previous preceding threshold, said Julie McKenna, co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Financial Aid.
This eligibility is actually a part of the Call to Lead Campaign (with $3 billion worth). The no-loan increase threshold is part of the institution’s “natural progression” toward that way.
As McKenna said, back in 2005, the threshold was $45,000, then it got raised in 2012 to $100,000. After this increase, the next step will be a jump to $150,000.
According to Lee Coffin, vice provost for enrollment, this will mean that the students who fit the criteria will have no loans in the financial aid packages they get.
Dino Koff, financial aid director, said that Dartmouth is looking forward to eliminating student loans altogether one day, as many other schools do. Koff also added that even with such policies implemented, there will be students and families who will ask for loans (either from the schools or the banks offering student loans) as a means to finance education.
On the count of that, Koff also mentioned that even many “no-loans” schools have high student loan debt rates because families often end up taking out additional loans.
According to David McKenna, the other co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Financial Aid, Darthmouth seeks to improve access to students with these moves mapped out above.
For him, increasing the threshold coupled with financial aids enable the school to gather the most talented kids.
He sees that aids are the “key to the community” as they ensure that all students can be more or less “equal” in the sense of economic footing.
