BMC Now No-Loan for Families Under $110K, Ups Aid for All Need-Eligible Students
Beginning with the fall 2024 semester, Bryn Mawr College will eliminate federal student loans for students with family incomes below $110,000 and replace these loans with institutional grants.
Those students and their families eligible for need-based financial aid with incomes above $110,000 will receive additional grants from the College to replace the majority of their federal loans. With this expansion of Bryn Mawr's commitment to loan reduction or elimination of loan obligation for families, Bryn Mawr students will be able to graduate with a total federal loan debt of no more than $11,000, which is less than a third of the national average.
The College previously instituted a policy in 2022 to replace loans with grants for families with incomes under $60,000. In addition, need-eligible students with family incomes over $60,000 received $2,000 to replace a portion of their loans. The new policy increases the income threshold for no-loan to $110,000 and adds an additional $2,000 in grant aid for students with family incomes above $110,000 for an annual total of $4,000.
“We saw a significant increase in the number of need-eligible students choosing to attend Bryn Mawr because of that change and so we decided to see if we could extend this policy to include students from families with higher incomes,” says Cheryl Lynn Horsey, Bryn Mawr’s chief enrollment officer.
“Equity and inclusion are an explicit part of Bryn Mawr’s mission and these additional investments in financial aid help put a Bryn Mawr education more within reach for students with financial need,” says Bryn Mawr President Kim Cassidy. “Prioritizing need-based financial aid in building the College’s budget and the generosity of our donors has allowed the College to take this critical step to live our mission of excellence and access.”
Bryn Mawr’s Office of Financial Aid will send an email to eligible returning students with more information regarding this new policy. For additional questions, contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@brynmawr.edu.
Bryn Mawr is one of a small number of Colleges and Universities to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all students. Over the last ten years, the College has increased its financial aid spending by more than 52%. In the 2022-23 academic year, the College provided $42.8 million in total institutional financial aid to undergraduate students. Increasing Bryn Mawr’s ability to provide financial aid was among the key goals of the College’s recent “Defy Expectation” fund-raising campaign. Currently, 78% of Bryn Mawr students receive financial aid, with an average award of $62,230.