Penn Expands Financial Aid Program

The University of Pennsylvania announced that, beginning this coming fall, all students from families with incomes below $60,000 who are receiving financial aid will receive all their assistance in the form of scholarship grants. Students from these families will not have to incur any debt to finance their college education.

Penn has increased its financial aid budget by $7 million for the next academic year. Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, said in announcing the program, “We want to send a clear message to families that may have felt that Penn was out of their reach that we are committed to supporting them as they seek to provide the best possible educational opportunities for their children. Promoting equality of opportunity for talented students from all backgrounds is a key mission for Penn.”

The new expansion of the financial aid program for lower-income students will help Penn continue its strong record in increasing black enrollments. The percentage of blacks in the first-year class at Penn has increased each year since 2002. This current year blacks make up 8.8 percent of the freshman class.

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