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Dartmouth recently announced a number of enhancements
to the College's financial aid packages for
undergraduates, beginning in academic year 2008-09, to
ensure that Dartmouth remains accessible to academically
talented students regardless of their financial
situation. The new initiatives also extend the College's
need-blind admissions program to all international
students, who typically represent about 7 percent of
each incoming class. The move is similar to those put
forward by Harvard,
Yale, Swarthmore and other colleges
in recent months.
Elements of the initiative include:
No Tuition for Families Who Earn less than $75,000
Students
from families with incomes of $75,000 or less will
receive free tuition. In addition, many will also
receive scholarships for associated costs of attendance,
i.e. room, board, books and miscellaneous expenses.
Need-blind admissions for International Students
Starting immediately with the Class of 2012, the College
will extend its need-blind admissions policy to all
international students. Previously the College was
need-blind for students from the U.S. as well as those
from Canada and Mexico and provided financial aid to
other international students up to a preset budget
maximum. This cap will now be lifted and Dartmouth will
join a very small group of schools that have a fully
need-blind admissions process for international
students.
Loans Replaced with Scholarships
The College will eliminate loans for incoming
scholarship recipients beginning with next year's Class
of 2012. Over the course of four years of enrollment,
students will see loans that totaled as much as $17,500
replaced with scholarships. Currently enrolled students
will see their loan expectation cut by 50 percent
beginning next fall for each of their remaining years; the elimination of loans will significantly
reduce the debt burden of Dartmouth graduates.
Leave Term Earnings Expectation
Starting immediately, Dartmouth will provide an
additional scholarship of $2,950 to allow financial aid
recipients to take advantage of research or internship
opportunities in their junior year. Currently, these
students are expected to contribute earnings from their
summer employment towards the cost of their education
and thus have less flexibility than non-financial aid
students in participating in important components of the
Dartmouth experience. Students will be able to
participate in community service, other forms of
volunteer activities, or spend the time on their own
research or studying for graduate school entrance exams.
This aspect of the new plan builds on Dartmouth's
year-round calendar and strong tradition of service and
experiential learning opportunities.
Dartmouth's new financial aid program will enable it to
continue to enroll one of the most economically diverse
group of students in the Ivy League. Currently, 13
percent of Dartmouth students are the first in their
families to attend college and 14 percent are recipients
of Pell Grants (a federal grant for students who come
from low-income families).
Dartmouth is presently need-blind in its undergraduate
admissions process for applicants who are citizens or
permanent residents of the U.S., Canada and Mexico,
which means that it reviews student admissions
applications without any knowledge of the prospective
student's ability to pay for a Dartmouth education. Once
Dartmouth admits an applicant, the College meets 100
percent of the student's demonstrated need for all four
years through a combination of grants and loans.
Dartmouth currently spends $61 million per year
providing financial aid compared to $24.5 million in
1998 - an increase of 250 percent. The new initiative
will cost an additional $10 million per year when fully
implemented. The additional expense will be paid for
through the reallocation of resources and the use of
funds generated by an increase in the distribution from
the endowment to 6 percent approved by the Trustees last
year.
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