Bowdoin College today announced it will eliminate loans for all students, following a string of similar efforts at colleges nationwide.
The college’s Board of Trustees today approved the plan to replace loans with grants for all current and future students, according a statement from President Barry Mills. Approximately 40% of Bowdoin students receive financial aid, Mills said, and current first years would have graduated with an average debt of $21,000.
The funds to pay for the new aid program will be included in the college’s approximately $22 million financial aid budget, or 16% of its total operating budget, for the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.
Bowdoin’s announcement comes several weeks after Colby College in Waterville said it would eliminate loans for students from Maine.