NEW YORK, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A handful of top U.S. colleges are taking steps to boost financial aid for low and middle-income families as the soaring cost of attendance fuels backlash from financially stretched students, according to Bloomberg News on Thursday.
The University of Pennsylvania recently announced it will stop including a family's home equity when determining financial aid eligibility. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undergraduates with families earning less than 100,000 U.S. dollars can expect to get a full ride starting next fall. In the University of Texas system students from families at that income level will attend college tuition-free.
"The moves to boost affordability come as the cost of attending Ivy League universities and other top colleges approaches 100,000 dollars a year," noted the report. "And while elite schools continue to be flooded with applications, an overall decline in student enrollment across the United States has put a spotlight on the growing number of families questioning whether pricey degrees are worth it."
"What colleges are trying to do is avoid their cost of attendance from stopping students from applying initially," said Brendan Williams, vice president of knowledge at uAspire, a nonprofit that helps students apply for financial aid. The number of 18-year-old college freshmen fell by 5 percent this fall compared to last year, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
