Brown Joins the Group Lowering Loans for ALL on Aid

[momofthree]

I had been hoping something like this would happen!

Have any of you heard whether schools will look at gross or at adjusted gross income in considering income level?

07-105 (Financial Aid Changes)

[momofthree]

Think I got my answer to my own question: the graph refers to "Total Income."

[soozievt]

Sounds great! Too bad my daughter is graduating!! However, even before this, we were pleased with Brown's financial aid. This new plan is better though!

[danas]

Good for Brown.
I can't wait for the day every college feels ashamed to say with a straight face to families of modest means to borrow from someone to pay them, and that thereby the school is "meeting need".

[momofthree]

Soozie,

I thought of you when I saw this, remembering that you have one graduating! Best wishes to her!

S1 is a junior, so we should benefit for one year.

Mof3

[suemag]

Yes they also raised tuition again for next year!!!

[franglish]

So my question now is, what happens to the financial aid packages for families whose income is a bit higher than $60,000, but nowhere near $100? Is fin aid pro-rated? Should we expect it to be the same as it is for this year, with the exception that the current loans will be turned into more grant money? It was not in the press release, but maybe some folks have experience with other schools who have made similar changes.

[bonanza]

I wonder where the money is coming from. Brown does not have an endowment like HYPS and never has been a school with a lot of excess cash lying around. Something is going to have to give to make this possible.

While making college more affordable is certainly laudatory--I'm concerned that Brown and other goods schools with modest endowments feel competitive pressure to match HYPS' newfound generosity. This may well lead to unintended consequences, such as increasing class sizes (adding enough rich kids to offset the lower costs to middle class kids), downward pressure on faculty salaries and graduate stipends, etc.

[franglish]

I have an answer to my question in post #7. I emailed to Brown Fin Aid and asked them if tuition is pro-rated. They said no. Above $60,000 need will be calculated as always, just no loans until $100,000. So, basically if you make $60,100, your financial aid will be calculated as follows: Cost less Family Contribution (parents + student) = Need. The family contribution is the part that is derived from the FAFSA, and the institutional calculations, etc.

[sly_vt]

The Brown Daily Herald had an interesting tidbit in a story on this in its Monday edition. According to the article, a family with income under $60,000 but assets over $100,000 will be expected to make a contribution, and the contribution would come from their assets and not income.

Other colleges have been vague about the role assets play in their financial aid calculations, saying stuff like "assets typical of that income level." I've wondered how that is calculated.

To answer bonanza's question, the money is coming from the endowment; Brown has increased its draw on endowment to 5.89 percent to cover the increased financial aid budget.

Also, freshmen will now be required to have a work/study job starting next year.

More from the BDH:

"The plan also reflects students' concerns over limits on outside scholarships, Tilton said. Currently, outside scholarships can only reduce the "student-effort expectation," according to the financial aid Web site. Starting next year, those scholarships can reduce loans, work and the summer savings, Tilton said.

The changes do not include aid for students not currently receiving it, Tilton said.

"We may experience some growth of financial aid on the margins" as more people see the announcement and apply, he said, but the number of students on aid won't increase significantly.

(And I wonder -- how do they know that the number of students on aid won't increase significantly if the school is need blind?)