Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, has announced that it will eliminate loans for current and future undergraduate students.

Beginning with the 2022 summer term, the college will transition to a no-loan financial aid policy for undergraduates and replace loans with expanded scholarship grants. The policy does not apply retroactively and will not impact student loans acquired before the start of the term.

The commitment, which aims to benefit students from middle-income families, was prompted by more than $120 million in scholarship donations to the endowment through the college’s The Call to Lead campaign. Recent gifts to the campaign include $10 million from Anne Kubik (’87), a member of the Presidential Commission on Financial Aid, and $25 million from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Previously, Dartmouth undergraduates from families with annual incomes of $125,000 or less who possessed typical assets were offered need-based aid without a required loan component. Dartmouth is now removing the loan requirement for undergraduates from families with annual income of more than $125,000 who receive need-based financial aid. This will reduce the debt burden for hundreds of middle-income Dartmouth students and their families by an average of $22,000 over four years.

“Thanks to this extraordinary investment by our community, students can prepare for lives of impact with fewer constraints,” said Dartmouth president Philip J. Hanlon (’77). “Eliminating loans from financial aid packages will allow Dartmouth undergraduates to seek their purpose and passion in the broadest possible range of career possibilities.” 

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