<p>I think it’s what deb, mom2ck and ucb said: This has been W&L’s policy since whenever they jumped on the needsblind/meets full need/ no loans under XXK etc bandwagon. But the new weird 
wording “free” is intended to really get across to families who could take advantage of their generous FA what it means. Last June I sat in an auditorium at Yale with hundreds of low income parents for a FA seminar. Almost no one in the room understood how FA works and most were confused about what grants and loans were and how each works. I think substituting the word ‘free’ for ‘grants’ may help reach the intended the audience. Why they needed to package it as a new offer is not clear. </p>
<p>In fact I just took time to read the article (!) and here it is: “It’s not like this represents a dramatic change as to how we approach tuition and financial aid,” Ruscio said. “What it does represent is a new message for students who think they can’t afford to go here.”</p>