the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, near the end of June , news broke from CNN that Dartmouth College is completely eliminating loans from their financial aid packages. They will be replacing all loans with “expanded scholarship grants”. This transition will prevent students from drowning in student debt after graduation.
Dr. Deb Geller, former UCLA Dean and expert at Intelligent.com , said this will not only be beneficial for students, but also for universities as this could be a huge deciding factor in where students choose to attend.
“For a school with the endowment and financial resources to do this, it is a brilliant move. Not only is it in the best interest of students, 70% of whom graduate with an average debt of more than $25K [according to published sources], but also it will help Dartmouth in its yield initiative, persuading applicants (who might require loans to enroll elsewhere) to say yes to Dartmouth’s offer of admission.
As a nation, we do need to find a solution for the high cost of higher education. Our youth deserve equitable access to a high quality, low cost higher education. In an ideal world, all students would be able to earn a 4-year degree without debt. This is not currently realistic, however. Public colleges and universities are receiving less funding from their state governments each year, and few private colleges have the resources to fund such an initiative for the long-term.”
What does all this mean?
it means Dartmouth recognizes that student loans are nothing but a scam