No-Loan Colleges

[BelknapPoint]

It doesn’t mean necessarily losing the full $51K in aid. In my earlier post, I was referring to a difference between earning $85K and $95K meant dropping from $55K in grants, to $42,900 in grants. Still a great deal, and we would have been very grateful for it, but the optics of $10K additional earnings resulting in a reduction of $12,100 in aid, was very puzzling. Again, this was a few years ago, and it would not surprise me if they have since modified their formulae, but I can assure you this was very much the case when we ran the calculators.

I would hazard to guess that this was the result of a poorly written program/formula, and that a $12,100 reduction in need-based aid due to an income increase of $10,000 is certainly not the result that the financial aid office at a reputable college intends or would want an applicant to experience. At a reputable college, pointing out such a result would in all likelihood lead to some quickly exercised professional judgment.