Yale has announced another set of enhancements to its need-based financial aid policies for low-income students in Yale College. University Director of Financial Aid Caesar Storlazzi announced today that Yale will further expand the initiatives announced earlier this year to benefit an even larger group of students, including the newly admitted students to the Yale Class of 2021.
For several years Yale has not required parents earning less than $65,000 annually — with typical assets — to make any contribution toward the cost of a child’s education. With the new policies announced Dec. 15, all incoming freshmen who qualify for one of these generous financial aid awards will also receive:
• a $2,000 Yale College Start-Up Fund for freshman year to assist with purchasing a computer, winter clothing, and other expenses;
• a $600 annual allowance in sophomore, junior, and senior years;
• a $1,700 summer income contribution in the three continuing years — 35% lower than for most students on financial aid
Last December Yale announced reductions in Student Effort — the amount students receiving financial aid contribute toward their Yale education — that benefit all financial aid recipients. Yale also increased funding for other supplemental grant programs, which now include a $1,000 first-year allowance for freshman international students with high financial need, and a $1,500 annual vacation allowance for all international students on financial aid to support travel, housing, and meals during holiday breaks.
Storlazzi also announced that Student Effort will not increase for the 2017-2018 academic year. This will be the second consecutive year with no increase in Student Effort, even as Yale’s financial aid budget has expanded.
The new financial aid initiatives will benefit all undergraduates receiving financial aid next academic year, including the largest group of freshmen in Yale’s history. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan announced on Dec. 15 that 871 students who applied through the Early Action program have been offered admission to the Yale Class of 2021. Quinlan noted that the new financial aid initiatives “help to solidify Yale’s commitment to ensuring that costs are never a barrier to students who are offered admission. We stand by this commitment even as the college expands and includes more students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.”
The newly admitted students were selected from an Early Action applicant pool of more than 5,000 students. An additional 53% of applicants were deferred for reconsideration in the spring, 28% were denied admission, and 2% were withdrawn or incomplete.
With the opening of Benjamin Franklin College and Pauli Murray College next fall, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions plans to offer admission to approximately 15% more students than in previous years. “Given the strength of our applicant pool, and the significant progress we’ve made in increasing the diversity of the student body along all dimensions, we are well-positioned to assemble a truly excellent class with more students with strengths in every area and from every background,” Quinlan said.
Quinlan explained that the Admissions Committee is very deliberate in the Early Action round — only voting to admit those Early Action applicants they were confident would be admitted through the Regular Decision process.
“The Admissions Committee was very impressed with this year’s early applicant pool across every dimension. We are very pleased to offer admission to this first group of students in the Class of 2021, but we also look forward to admitting a much larger group of students through our Regular Decision process this spring.”
Yale also recently offered admission to 48 students through the QuestBridge National College Match Program. All 48 students qualify for a financial aid award with no parental contribution and all of the newly-announced initiatives as well. QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that helps identify high-achieving, low-income students and connects them with universities such as Yale that provide generous need-based financial aid.
In 2015-2016 Yale spent more than $122 million on undergraduate financial aid. The average Yale scholarship last academic year was $43,989, and the median net price for undergraduate students receiving financial aid was $12,050. More than 83% of students who graduated in the Class of 2015 left Yale with zero loan debt. Yale recently surpassed its fundraising goal for Access Yale, adding $285 million in resources for financial aid across the university. Earlier this week Yale announced a partnership with the American Talent Initiative, a new collaboration which seeks to increase the number of low-income students at top schools by 2025.
