College & Workforce Readiness

Princeton Switches Student Aid From Loans to Grants

By John Gehring — February 07, 2001 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Princeton University, in an aggressive effort to help students avoid the crushing debt load they often face after graduating from college, has revamped its financial-aid programs to eliminate loans and replace them entirely with grants.

The decision, approved by Princeton’s board of trustees late last month, takes effect next fall. About 40 percent of students in the class of 2004 at the prestigious 6,300-student university in New Jersey receive some financial aid, and nearly one-quarter take out loans to cover college costs.

“We want to ensure that no student admitted to Princeton feels that he or she cannot attend because it would present a financial hardship,” university President Harold T. Shapiro said in a statement announcing the decision.

Higher education experts said the move could put intense pressure on other Ivy League schools, such as Harvard and Yale universities, to follow suit in order to compete for students. But they said it seemed unlikely that colleges and universities elsewhere would do the same.

“This is a very important development, and it could set a precedent for many other selective institutions,” said Terry W. Hartle, a senior vice president of the Washington-based American Council on Education. “Princeton University has once again pushed the envelope with financial aid. It is clearly a breakthrough pro-position.”

But only a few colleges and universities, he said, will have the monetary muscle to adopt and sustain similar plans.

“This is a very expensive proposition,” said Mr. Hartle, who monitors financial-aid issues, “and only a small number of colleges will have the financial resources to match it.”

Debt-Free Graduates

Princeton’s new approach to financial aid greatly expands a program that the university launched in 1998 to reduce low- and middle-income students’ dependence on loans by replacing them with grants for students from families earning less than $46,500 a year and reducing loan reliance for students from families earning from $46,500 to $66,500.

Princeton officials estimate that the no-loan provision and other improvements to the university’s financial-aid programs will cost more than $5 million next year. The university will cover those expenses with money from its growing endowment, now estimated at about $8 billion, and with annual donations. Princeton officials say they spend an estimated $29 million a year on financial-aid programs.

College officials say the change should allow students who stay within a reasonable budget and meet part-time work requirements to graduate without any debt instead of owing $15,000 to $20,000 or more at the end of four years as is currently the case.

Princeton students will pay $33,613 for one year of tuition, room, and board next fall, a 3 percent increase over this year.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the February 07, 2001 edition of Education Week as Princeton Switches Student Aid From Loans to Grants

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

College & Workforce Readiness Spotlight Spotlight on Career Readiness & Technology
This Spotlight will help you learn about workforce readiness after-school programs, the benefits of virtual work-based learning, and more.
College & Workforce Readiness What's Next for AP? 4 Takeaways From a College Board Official
In a recent interview with Education Week, the head of the Advanced Placement program discussed a variety of priorities and principles.
3 min read
Trevor Packer, head of the College Board’s AP Program speaks at the AP Annual Conference in Seattle, Wash. on July 20, 2023.
Trevor Packer, the head of the College Board’s AP program, speaks at the organization's annual conference in Seattle in July.
Ileana Najarro/Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion What We Lose With the End of Affirmative Action
My own path to higher education demonstrates the importance of reaching out to students of all backgrounds, writes a Harvard medical student.
David Velasquez
5 min read
Illustration of hands and puzzle pieces.
DigitalVision Vectors / Getty
College & Workforce Readiness What the Research Says Pandemic High School Grads Are Sticking With College. States Want to Make Sure They Finish
Students' college persistence rates are back to what they were before COVID hit.
7 min read
Harvard University freshman Daniela Andrade on campus October 12, 2021 in Cambridge, Mass.
Harvard University freshman Daniela Andrade on campus Oct. 12, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass.
Angela Rowlings for Education Week