President Bottomly Announces Increased Financial Aid;
Wellesley to
Boost Grants, Reduce or Eliminate Loans
| For
immediate release: Feb. 7, 2008 |
Contact:
Arlie Corday, acorday@wellesley.edu |
WELLESLEY, Mass. — President H. Kim Bottomly today announced an expansion of Wellesley College's financial aid plan. Beginning with the 2008-09 academic year, Wellesley will eliminate loans and increase grants for students from families who have calculated annual incomes below $60,000 and reduce loans by one-third for those with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000.
Details of Wellesley's New Plan |
"I am pleased to announce that Wellesley will enhance its financial aid policy to eliminate loans for students from families with calculated annual incomes below $60,000 and reduce loans by one-third for students from families with calculated annual incomes between $60,000 and $100,000. These loans will be replaced with grants. The change applies to all financial aid awards, including those for current students, beginning with the next academic year.
This policy change, which was approved by the board of trustees last week, will bolster aid to students and families who need it the most, those who are least able to repay loans. It is the most recent step we have taken in our ongoing effort to make a Wellesley education affordable to qualified students regardless of their families’ financial circumstances.
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. That move has enabled our students to graduate with lower debt levels than students at nearly all other selective colleges and universities. This new policy reinforces Wellesley’s leadership in this area.
Wellesley has long been considered one of the most socio-economically diverse colleges in the country. We are among a handful of colleges and universities that provide financial aid to more than half of our students; indeed, 55 percent of Wellesley students receive financial aid. Twenty-nine percent of these are from families with annual incomes less than $60,000, and an additional 31 percent are from families with calculated incomes below $100,000.
Wellesley’s commitment to affordability and access extends beyond financial aid and includes extensive outreach to and selection of talented students who have the potential to flourish here. For many years, our admission recruitment efforts have identified exceptional young women from a range of experiences and opportunities who might not otherwise have considered Wellesley a possibility. Our partnerships, with community-based organizations and programs such as QuestBridge, have contributed to Wellesley’s success in recruiting and enrolling bright, motivated, low-income students.
Under this new plan, students from families with annual incomes calculated below $60,000 will have their loans eliminated and grants increased, effectively covering the cost of tuition. Loan levels will be reduced by one-third for students from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000, capping their four-year debt total at $8,600. 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.
International students who receive financial aid also will have their loans eliminated and replaced with grant aid, as will Wellesley’s Davis Scholars, non-traditionally aged students who are independent of their parents.
This new initiative will increase Wellesley’s spending on financial aid to about $40 million per year, 80 percent of which comes directly from our endowment.
This new policy is a sound investment of our resources and consistent with our institutional commitment of making a Wellesley education accessible and affordable for students regardless of their financial situations."
Wellesley Has a Long History of Making Education Affordable to All |
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