As part of its sustained commitment to removing financial barriers for admitted undergraduate students, Washington University in St. Louis will adopt a “no-loan” financial aid policy beginning in fall 2024. Federal loans for undergraduate students will be removed from all financial aid packages and replaced with scholarships and university grants, ensuring that all admitted students can obtain a world-class WashU education without going in to debt.
“We are deeply committed to making a WashU education accessible for all talented students who earn admission,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “We have worked hard to make good on our promise to remove financial barriers for all admitted undergraduate students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds. We want to get them here, support them during their time here, and prepare them to do great things. Now, when they graduate from WashU, they will do so debt-free.”
Going no-loan is the latest step in a long, comprehensive strategy to expand financial aid at the university. Other components include the WashU Pledge, which provides a full undergraduate education, including tuition, fees, housing and meals, to students in Missouri and southern Illinois with annual family incomes of $75,000 or less; and the university’s 2021 shift to need-blind admissions, a move made possible by the university’s $1 billion investment in its Gateway to Success initiative. The university has received national recognition for its efforts, including recently being named #1 in the nation for financial aid by the Princeton Review.
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