Well were they when I was in college?
CNBC headlines: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/
Some of the nation’s top colleges are eliminating student loans
CNBC reports:
“Without broad-based student loan forgiveness, some colleges have a new strategy to keep students from drowning in debt.
Roughly two dozen schools have introduced “no-loan” policies, which means they are eliminating student loans altogether from their financial aid packages.
‘College is expensive — we have to make sure we keep it accessible,’ said Nicole Hurd, president of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
At Lafayette, families with household incomes of up to $200,000 have their financial need met through grants and work study, without any loans.
‘We have a moral obligation to make sure our low- and moderate-income families know that college is the best investment you’ll make in yourself,’ Hurd said.”
CNBC runs a list of 23 colleges running this program. Then says:
“…’These schools have addressed the biggest concern for students and parents, which is assuming too much debt,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor in chief and author of ‘The Best 389 Colleges.’
‘They are saying to students and parents, ‘I see you and I hear you.’
Further, such programs will likely result in more students applying, which can also boost a college’s yield — orthe percent of students who choose to enroll after being admitted — which is an important statistic for schools, Franek added.”
Well good for them.
When I attended my alma mater Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania back there in the stone age, the tuition was $4,000 a year.
Which in turn not only were my parents each busy working in, respectively, the hotel management business (Dad) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (Mom.) For me it was turning in hours as a hotel bell boy, switch board operator at the front desk and life guard, plus, finally, my first post-college job as a staffer in the Pennsylvania State Senate. With regular trips to the local bank to pay off the latest installment of my student loan with my latest pay check.
The student debt situation has slowly exploded over the years, with the price of tuition out of sight and out of control. That the colleges themselves – many with considerable endowments – are now stepping up to deal with this problem (instead of the government) is a good thing.
