Increases, cut-backs, subsidies and Loan Cap Program
Vassar College returns to “need blind” admissions for school year 2008-2009 for all first year applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Johns Hopkins will pay $1M to educate students about financial aid in this latest episode in the college loan scandal. Shame on you for getting caught!
Emory University has two new programs for entering and continuing students beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. The Loan Replacement Grant (LRG) replaces loans for dependent undergraduate students whose families’ annual assessed incomes are $50,000 or less. Grants replace need-based loans to cover expenses including tuition, room, and board.
The Loan Cap Program (LCP) caps cumulative need-based debt at $15,000 for dependent undergraduate students whose families’ annual assessed incomes are between $50,000 and $100,000. With the Loan Cap Program, students receive a standard financial aid award for freshman and sophomore years. This estimated award could include federal or state aid, institutional loans or grants, or Work-Study. After a student has accrued a total of $15,000 in need-based loans, Emory will provide grants to cover any remaining need-based funding incurred through degree completion. Students enrolled at Emory prior to the 2007-2008 academic year are not eligible for the Loan Cap Program. They also joined QuestBridge. Way to go Emory!
QuestBridge is a national non-profit that links highly qualified, low-income students with full four-year scholarship opportunities at some of the nation’s best colleges, including Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Rice, Bowdoin, Oberlin and Wellesley.
QuestBridge begins working with talented, low-income students early in their high school careers. Through the College Match Program, high school seniors chosen as finalists have their names and applications submitted by QuestBridge to college partners during the early admissions cycle in lieu of submitting their applications directly to schools.
The colleges then rank the students they are interested in, and the students rank their top-choice colleges. If there is a match, the student may attend the school and receive a scholarship package that includes full cost of tuition, books and room and board. Students who do not find a match during the early admissions cycle may apply to their choices regular decision.
More than 100 full scholarships were awarded last year. QuestBridge estimates that an additional 500 were admitted to partner schools through the regular decision process with extremely generous financial aid packages. For more information, visit www.questbridge.org.
Berea College is in southeastern Kentucky . Drawing from Appalachia, all students qualify for financial aid and pay no tuition as the school subsidizes every entrant, including study-abroad funding and a laptop. They all work at college jobs 10-15 hours a week while carrying a full load to fully participate in “paying” for their education. Check it out!
UC Boulder is decreasing tuition raises to no more than 5% and increasing financial aid for all resident students.
New College in Sarasota, FL recently changed its financial aid formula to guarantee scholarships for all first-year students. The college was recently ranked by The Princeton Review as its “best value” public institution for both in-state and out-of-state students.
Clemson reported that $5 million in additional financial aid will be available next fall for students eligible for LIFE (up to $7,500) and Palmetto Fellows scholarships (up to $10,000).
Regis College in Weston, MA, a previously all-women’s Catholic college, will admit 60 young men this fall to join the Class of 2011.