Yale University will eliminate the family contribution for families with incomes of less than $45,000 as part of a new undergraduate financial aid policy to take effect in the 2005-06 academic year.
The policy, which was unveiled last week by Yale President Richard Levin, will also reduce the tuition payments for families making between $45,000 and $60,000 by about 50 percent. This will be applicable to both incoming and returning students. Yale also intends to provide greater support for summer programs and internships, and international students will now receive four paid round trips home during their time at Yale, instead of one.
"The motivation of the changes is to ensure that Yale remains accessible and affordable to students of limited or modest means," said Tom Conroy, deputy director of public affairs at Yale. According to Conroy, Yale hopes these changes will encourage students in lower income categories to apply, but cannot predict how many will be accepted and choose to attend.
Prior to these changes, Yale had a longstanding need-blind admission policy and was committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of admitted students, Conroy said.
The announcement of the financial aid policy changes came after actions taken by several student organizations. Josh Eidelson, a junior and a member of the University Organizing Committee was one of 15 students involved in a Feb. 24 sit-in protest at the admissions office demanding financial aid reform. Eidelson told The Herald he was pleased by the financial aid changes but said that the fight is not over. The UOC, a student organization committed to working for social and economic justice at Yale and in New Haven, has focused on reforming the financial aid policy at Yale since September, Eidelson said.
"We believe Yale needs both to attract a more diverse group of students and to give them a more equal and integrated experience while they are here," Eidelson said. "Last week, Yale made a great step forward in addressing some of our concerns." However, Eidelson said that Yale has yet to tackle other issues, like creating separate per-parent contributions in divorced families and reducing the required student contribution.
According to Andrew Cedar, a junior and president of the Yale College Council, YCC members have chosen to advocate financial aid reform by working with administrators. In addition, the YCC made a number of recommendations in a resolution passed a few months ago.
"I can't speak for the whole YCC, but I think this is an excellent step in the right direction," Cedar said. Yale will continue to examine other aspects of financial aid, including lessening the student contribution, he said. Cedar also hopes that the administration will look at financial aid reform for often-overlooked middle-income students. He said he hopes these changes will make the school more diverse and cause high school students nationwide to realize that an Ivy League education can now be financially possible.
According to Cedar, students had mixed feelings about the sit-in, which came two days after President Levin announced that financial aid changes were forthcoming. "I think overall the entire package of student advocacy between YCC and other students was a successful blend," Cedar said.
According to Conroy, the Yale spokesman, the sit-in had no effect on the financial aid changes and student opinions had already been transmitted through President Levin's student forum and communications from the student government.
As for students hoping for further financial aid improvements, Yale will make changes of some kind in the future, Conroy said. "Obviously, all students on financial aid would welcome more aid, whether they are going to Yale or Brown or any other school," he said.
While the approximately 40 percent of Brown students who receive University scholarships would surely welcome further aid, Michael Bartini, director of financial aid at Brown, stressed that Yale and Brown are very different institutions.
The University has financial aid policies that allow students of all backgrounds to come and take advantage of the Brown experience, he said.
Bartini said that although there is room for improvement, it is more important to meet the specific needs of the University's student body than conform to other institutions' policies. "In other words, not everybody has to be like Mike," Bartini said.
Although the University has been a need-based institution for quite some time, its need-blind policy was only instituted recently and does not extend to all students, Bartini said. The University's need-blind policy is similar to those of other Ivy League schools, but unlike Brown, Harvard is need-blind for all students, he said.
For those admitted need-blind to Brown, the University meets 100 percent of demonstrated need, he said. International students are admitted on a need-aware basis, meaning that Brown has a limited amount of money and can only admit a certain number, Bartini said. Under Brown's current policy, international students are eligible for one University-funded round trip home during the course of their four years and are excused from making a summer contribution, he said.
"I think that whenever an institution can do something to help students financially, it's great," Bartini said of the changes at Yale. "It's important because the students on financial aid should have the same opportunities as students not on financial aid." Yale's aid increases are similar to the changes Harvard made a couple of years ago, he said.
Bartini said that Brown will still be able to compete with most other institutions for students in the lowest income group. The upcoming school year will mark the beginning of the Sidney E. Frank Scholars Program, which will allow the University to replace the loan portion of financial aid with scholarship funds for Brown students most in need. Even low-income students who are not Frank Scholars will still be eligible to receive generous financial aid, he said.
Bartini said financial aid is one of President Ruth Simmons' highest priorities. Among future goals, Bartini cited the need to improve financial aid for foreign and RUE students, and provide additional resources for transfer students.
He said the ultimate goal is a need-blind policy applied to all prospective students. "But it's hard to look at the future without underscoring the tremendous advances we've made in the last half a dozen years. It's just phenomenal," Bartini said.
