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[quote]
Colby College President William D. Adams announced Saturday that, beginning next fall, Colby will eliminate loans from all financial aid packages, replacing the loans with grants that do not have to be repaid. The new policy, approved by Colbys board of trustees January 19 in Boston, represents a commitment of more than $1 million and signals a move among top-tier liberal arts colleges to address issues of access and affordability through new aid policies.</p>
<p>The decision will make it possible for students who earn admission and qualify for financial aid from the college to receive a Colby education and to graduate with no debt from student loans. The decision applies to currently enrolled and new students, and it takes effect beginning the fall semester of 2008.</p>
<p>Colby is taking a leadership role in the shift, joining fewer than a dozen private institutions in the United States committing institutional funds to make their programs affordable to the broadest range of qualified students regardless of ability to pay.
<p>No loans sound fantastic, but i think it might hurt the international students who are asking for aid. Without loan, the institution (without federal funds for international students) has to pay for all the financial aid, thus making low-income international Ntudents less desirable.</p>
<p>srvnvly90, is that a trend from other schools that have replaced loans with grants? I imagine Colby would only take such action if they could finance it without diminishing the number of people who receive aid and how much they receive, but I'm not the authority on the issue.</p>
<p>Yes I would think the same thing. If Colby is eliminating loans that means it can do so. I don't think they'll cut their financial aid awards, otherwise it would be crazy to eliminate loans.</p>
<p>Bowdoin recently made a similar announcement
This is great news and I am so happy for my son-he will only have one year of loans to pay off at graduation now!
The full article on the Colby website states that they are able to make this move based on growth in their endowment and donations to their capital campaign</p>
<p>This is nothing more than a publicity stunt. </p>
<p>I am a freshman at Colby, it's nice and all that, but their financial aid is not all it's cracked up to be. I am middle class by Maine standards, which equates to poor by Colby standards.</p>
<p>My financial aid "loan replacement grant" was a mere $3,000. Out of $50k, that is nothing. Even multiplied over four years. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they just decided to cut my grant by this amount, adding the "no loan" thing in. Guess what? I'm still going to need to take out loans. I'm still going to graduate with a significant amount of debt, providing I do graduate from Colby in the end... </p>
<p>Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but I feel you all deserve to hear a bit of reality, especially if you were banking on Colby's so called 'excellent' financial aid. The financial aid office actually told my parents that they "didn't use the term 'negotiate'" when they tried to appeal. If you are dirt poor or have divorced parents, you will be fine, if not... good luck.</p>
<p>Blackeyed Susan--Sorry you feel that way and it is hard for you</p>
<p>Our son is a sophmore and his first year he had a Perkins loan for about 3500, a small subsidized Stafford and he did take the full amount of Unsubsidized Stafford.
For the current academic year, he received the replacement grant at about 3550 which eliminated our son's Perkins loan. He is still taking out a Unsubidized Stafford, but we are all grateful that in our situation this will reduce his overall debt by about 10 grand over the next 3 years. That is not "nothing" to him</p>
<p>His first year, we did "appeal" his award and received about 8 grand more in grant aid
We found the FA office to be very willing to hear our side, face to face and make the adjustment based on some circumstances thar are diffcult to capture on paper</p>
<p>would our chance of admittance decrease if we apply for financial aide? how significantly if I have excellent grades and a just below Colby average SAT score?</p>