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Wellesley College Increases Financial Aid; Boosts Grants, Reduces or Eliminates Loans |
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From Ascribe Newsfeed: Wellesley College announced today a new initiative in its financial aid policies, replacing loans with grants for students from families who have calculated annual incomes below $60,000 and reducing loans by one-third for those with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000. The new policy applies to all financial aid awards, including those for current students, beginning with the next academic year. Nine years ago, Wellesley was the first liberal arts college to respond to concerns about high debt burdens by reducing loan levels to a four-year maximum of $12,825 and by increasing grants. Under the new plan, eligible students from families with higher incomes will continue to benefit from Wellesley's low loan packages, which will continue to cap the four-year maximum debt at $12,825. The new initiative will increase Wellesley's spending on financial aid to about $40 million per year, 80 percent of which comes directly from its endowment. "Wellesley has long been committed to affordability and access to talented students from all economic backgrounds," said Dean of Admission Jennifer Desjarlais. "For many years, we have successfully worked to identify and recruit exceptional young women from a range of experiences and opportunities. This year, Wellesley is providing a total of $38.4 million in financial aid, which is 18 percent of the college's total operating budget and an 8.4 percent increase over last year. NOTE: The above news release is available on the Web at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/releasestoc.html.
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