The Amherst Chirp

In a move that is certain to make other colleges rethink their own practices, the trustees of Amherst College voted to eliminate loans from student financial aid packages.

The policy, which will be implemented during the 2008-2009 school year, will replace student loans like the Perkins and Stafford loans, with scholarship money. It will affect new as well as returning students.

A third of Amherst students receiving financial aid are forced to take out loans to attend Amherst. This policy change is believed to be a godsend to the middle-class students whose families earn too much for the students eligible for full Amherst scholarships but earn too little for them to be able to afford to go to Amherst without the aid of loans.