Colgate Replaces Student Loans with Grants

Syracuse.com: “Colgate University is launching a new ‘no student loan’ approach to tuition for qualifying families on its Hamilton campus … Starting this fall, the college is eliminating loans from its financial aid offers to all current and incoming students with a family income of up to $125,000, officials said. Colgate will offer grants to students who qualify to replace the loans, officials aid. Students and families who want to take out loans to cover the cost of books or other expenses can still do so if they choose … About two dozen other colleges offer similar programs, although they all have different family income limits. Some, such as Stanford and Yale, don’t have family income limits.”

“Colgate officials estimate half of the students receiving financial aid at Colgate will benefit. About 46 percent of Colgate students receive financial aid from the college. Funding for this new effort will initially come from the university’s operating budget, but plans are in place for this program to be funded by the college’s endowment and Colgate Fund through fundraising.”

“The average annual federal loan for students receiving financial aid at Colgate is about $2,200, and the average Colgate aid package for current students is about $53,000 a year. The average debt for Colgate students who graduated in the Class of 2019 was $15,305. The national average is about $30,000.”

College Boys Gain More Weight Than Girls

UPI: “As healthy, home-cooked meals give way to a campus diet of beer and pizza, student waistlines tend to expand. But new research shows it is the waistlines of boys that expand the most. Poll results revealed that girls gained an average of about 4 pounds during their first year at university … But among the male first-year students, weight gains roughly doubled that, hitting an average of about 8 pounds … The investigators found that total caloric intake did not change much over the course of the students’ first year at school. However, food quality did decline, while alcohol consumption increased, particularly among boys.”

“For example, freshman girls saw their body mass index (BMI) — a standard measurement of body fat — rise on average from 22.6 to 23.3. That still kept most girls ‘within the normal weight category’ … In contrast, freshman males saw their BMI rise from 23.9 to 25.1. That change ended up ‘putting them into the overweight category,’ particularly given that the students did not experience height changes over the course of the year.”

“The findings were published online July 3 in the journal PLOS ONE.”

Students Need Schooling on Financial Aid

Bloomberg: “An overwhelming majority of 11th and 12th graders (from 73% to 81%, depending on income group) were unaware that the government will pay their interest on existing loans while they are still in college, according to a new analysis of data by the ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning. From 67% to 70% didn’t know about a program that allows students to repay loans slower, based on how much money they make after college, the study found … The center outlines steps for improvement, including tailoring information for different student groups and improved outreach by college representatives.”

Equity in Learning: “The Center proposes the following ideas in its report … Where possible, a more nuanced view of high school students and their financial needs should be adopted … Colleges need to improve their outreach to the students who could use their assistance and advice the most; without it, students may not have the most up-to-date, personalized or accurate information to make college enrollment and student financial aid decisions.”

“Despite efforts to increase financial aid literacy, there remains an urgent need for more financial literacy–specific interventions. Further, debt-averse students may need additional information about the value of undertaking some (but not too much) debt, and the difference in types of debt.”