The Providence, RI uni is trying to raise $120m in order to rid all student loans from financial aid packages received by their undergrads.
This will make Brown the 16th US college (and 6th Ivy League school) to give their undergrads the gift of living free from the impending post-college kick in the nuts so many of us are currently enduring.
Fer realzies
Student loan balances have jumped more than 150% over the past decade — that’s $833m since 2007 — and with the average outstanding individual student loan balance at $34k, the national student loan deficit is now at a record high of $1.4 trillion.
According to CNBC, that makes a college education the second-biggest expenditure an individual makes in a lifetime, just under homeownership.
Let’s not hoist the Ivy Leaguers on our shoulders just yet
First off, Brown is able to do this because there are so few low-income students. According to recent studies, Brown has more students in the top 1% than the bottom 60%.
And second, it’s not like this money is coming from Brown’s coffers: they’re raising the money, and since tuition at Brown is just south of $60k a year, it makes you wonder why they aren’t just, you know, lowering tuition.