Updated 6:15 p.m., June 20, 2022 with additional information from communications officer Amy Olson.
Starting June 23 — the first day of the summer term — the College will transition to a no-loan financial aid policy for undergraduates, College President Phil Hanlon announced in a reunion address. Hanlon said that the shift was prompted by over $120 million in scholarship donations to the endowment through The Call to Lead campaign since September 1, including an anonymous $25 million gift.
“Our gratitude for these extraordinary acts of generosity knows no bounds,” Hanlon said in his announcement.
The new policy of eliminating federal and institutional loans pertains to current and future students, but does not apply retroactively — it will not impact any loans students may have taken out prior to the start of the summer term, according to senior media relations officer Amy Olson.
The change in policy seeks to benefit students from middle-income families. According to the announcement of the new policy by The Call to Lead Campaign, the shift will decrease the debt burden for these students, of which there are currently about 450 at Dartmouth, by an average of $22,000 over four years.
The College’s current financial aid policy, announced last year, eliminated student loans for families earning under $125,000 starting with members of the Class of 2026. Other recent financial aid announcements include extending need-blind admissions to international students and eliminating the expected parent contribution when calculating financial aid awards for students whose families earn less than $65,000 per year.
With this shift, the College joins Ivy League peers Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University in adopting no-loan policies.
