Emory expands aid to help students pay tuition without loans

Emory University has announced that it will increase its financial aid for students from low-income households and eliminate its need-based loan program.

The push to help more students graduate debt-free will begin next school year, the university said in a news release Monday. It said it plans to give out $8 million more in grants and scholarships as part of the Emory Advantage program, bringing its total need-based aid program to $151 million annually.

"For Emory to fulfill our mission of serving humanity in all that we do, we are continuing to invest in making an Emory education affordable to talented students of all financial backgrounds," Gregory L. Fenves, the university's president, said in the release. "By eliminating need-based loans for undergraduates, our students have the opportunity to earn their Emory degrees with less debt as they embark on their extraordinary journeys after graduation."

Emory is Georgia's largest private university with over 13,000 full-time students at campuses in Atlanta and Newton County. The university estimates this increased aid will double the amount of students whose need-based loans are replaced by grants, bringing the total to about 3,300 students.

The estimated average income for families who will be eligible for the loan replacement program in fall 2022 is $107,000, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

For students to be considered for the expanded aid, they need to submit a College Scholarship Service Profile and Free Application for Federal Student Aid application. These will be used to determine whether the student requires need-based aid, considering how much a family is able to contribute to educational costs, the university said.

According to Emory's website, tuition along with housing and other expenses for undergraduate students is about $75,000 a year. The AJC reported that more than a quarter of Emory's undergraduate students take out federal or private loans and the median total federal loan debt among borrowers who completed their undergraduate degree is $16,500.

The Washington Post has reported that more than 70 schools in the country have some kind of no-loan plan.