[QUOTE id="8dbafdec-735b-4d9a-a469-e228f78e6f36"]I graduated from Penn in '05 and was fortunate to benefit from the (merit-based) Trustee's scholarship which essentially provided the same benefits that the new plan is providing to all future Penn students. I think it's a great thing. It was hard enough to get through Penn as it was; I worked 20 hour weeks during the school year and still borrowed money to meet my so-called "family" contribution (it's not a family contribution if your family isn't contributing) and living expenses. This is a major step to making Penn a more equitable institution, and it proves that you don't have to be Princeton to offer some decent financial aid to all qualified students who need it. It sucks for those who didn't get this largesse when they were in school, but that's reality. "Sophomore," you sound like a typical over-privileged Wharton student. Penn is not a business, it's a university and a pillar of society. Perhaps you'd be happier if they excluded Wharton from this program. I wouldn't mind.[/QUOTE] Fair enough jab at this "Sophomore," but I don't think it's fair to simply call him/her a Whartonite. While this type of thinking may very well characterize some Wharton students, I'd argue from my own personal experience that the content of Sophomore's post makes him/her sounds more like a College Econ major. Just my two cents.

I graduated in '06 with $60k in debt. I would have liked to benefit from this plan but still think that it's better late than never. Besides, you'll find that the opportunities to pay off your debt after graduating from Penn are probably more numerous than they may be otherwise. That said, you won't need to get into finance if you don't want to anymore.

I graduated from Penn in '05 and was fortunate to benefit from the (merit-based) Trustee's scholarship which essentially provided the same benefits that the new plan is providing to all future Penn students. I think it's a great thing. It was hard enough to get through Penn as it was; I worked 20 hour weeks during the school year and still borrowed money to meet my so-called "family" contribution (it's not a family contribution if your family isn't contributing) and living expenses. This is a major step to making Penn a more equitable institution, and it proves that you don't have to be Princeton to offer some decent financial aid to all qualified students who need it. It sucks for those who didn't get this largesse when they were in school, but that's reality. "Sophomore," you sound like a typical over-privileged Wharton student. Penn is not a business, it's a university and a pillar of society. Perhaps you'd be happier if they excluded Wharton from this program. I wouldn't mind.

fantastic, this is a great step for penn.

For the class of '08, this is a slap in the face. Why can't it be retroactive? Because Penn cares more about having fanfare for a Great New Altruistic Program that actually helping it's students. Stetson Prevails!

Graduating Senior- I am a junior, and I too am disappointed to not be receiving the full force of the new policy (though it is better to get some rather than none), but I am happy for the university and the ease with which future students may be able to attend. If you're displeased, wait longer to write your first donation check. Remember, however, that (we can infer from your ire about the policy not being retroactive) you have benefited from Penn's aid program in some way, and you should be grateful that you were not barred outright because you could not meet the burden of our steep tuition up front. Thank you, Penn! Hopefully this is the start of many more positive changes for the University community.

Graduating Senior, How retroactive should we make this; should penn just give check to everyone that's ever had to graduate with debt? Give me a break.

While it feels bad that I will only benefit from this for one year, this was a step that Penn needed to take in order to move from excellence to eminence. This is a great move. Congratulations.

This is an excellent policy--its the right thing to do and it makes sense. Its going to help Penn compete for talented middle class kids, who get screwed over by a lot of current financial aid programs. Its also nice to see The President focusing on the institution itself and new buildings. Hugely proud of Penn. Major.

[QUOTE id="99735d23-7fb4-4b85-a6de-a044763c6bc7"]Graduating Senior, How retroactive should we make this; should penn just give check to everyone that's ever had to graduate with debt? Give me a break.[/QUOTE] NoÃ? you give ME a break! Why did they announce this NOW, when there are still matriculated students who will reap no benefit of this Totally Awsone Altruistic Program! A program introduced now should include all current students. If they did not want to insult the class of '08, they should have waited until we graduated to announce this. Pres. Gutman just wanted to respond to the recent NY Times article about Harvard's Totally Munificent Financial Aid Program. Period. THIS IS ALL ABOUT PR. Of course I don't believe they should give checks to past alumni: but wouldn't you feel spurned if they announced this when YOU were about graduate? Stetson Prevails!

........ 1. It would be nice if it involved all current students, but if it doesn't, and takes effect in the fall we'll just have to deal with that and be thankful. 2. If it means no loans for 100K or less, does that mean that the percentage of loans vs. grants for those families in excess of 100K will have the percentage of loans vs. grants reduced? 3. 100K in Little Rock, Arkansas is worth ALOT more than 100K in Boston, Massachusetts..... is that taken into account?

What I'd like to know is if this has any bearing on financial aid (or lack thereof) that international students can get. Because if this policy doesn't apply to international students, just as the need-blind nature of admissions doesn't appear to benefit internationals (I'm not kidding, when I applied, there was a note that extremely discouraged applications for financial aid for international applicants), then Penn certainly isn't making great strides towards making good on its commitment to developing its supposedly global outlook. Dear Penn: if you are sincere about this, then make it happen for international kids too.

Why does this seem unfair to the kids who are not on any financial aid? Cross-subsidizing your unprofitable clients with your profitable clients is a terrible business strategy. Whole industries get screwed over because of cross-subsidizing. No one likes to pay for someone else's education because money doesn't grow on trees. Why would it be fair that some people are attending this school with free money while others are spending their parents' hard-earned cash? Wake up Penn.

This program flies in the face of pressing for Early Action programs to benefit the those who might be eligible for financial ad, but would be unable to "shop" around with a Early Decision process. Hopefully programs like this will eliminate barriers to applying to a single, first preference, College.

[QUOTE id="e0b320b6-ffff-42b0-93ec-e07014bce6f7"]Why does this seem unfair to the kids who are not on any financial aid? Cross-subsidizing your unprofitable clients with your profitable clients is a terrible business strategy. Whole industries get screwed over because of cross-subsidizing. No one likes to pay for someone else's education because money doesn't grow on trees. Why would it be fair that some people are attending this school with free money while others are spending their parents' hard-earned cash? Wake up Penn.[/QUOTE] Did you know that sometimes universities have morals and like to be egalitarian and help facilitate social mobility? Thus, their actions seem to be humanist as opposed to dictated entirely by business strategy. Plus, nowadays, most money is made from the endowments of rich universities, not the tuition. And, accepting students who are talented but from poorer backgrounds can help put people in power who are intelligent as opposed to just privileged and improve the meritocracy for the country and the world. All of these are factoids that a business student will never know nor learn. Merry Christmas. I hope Santa gives you a soul and a brain.

[QUOTE id="e0b320b6-ffff-42b0-93ec-e07014bce6f7"]Why does this seem unfair to the kids who are not on any financial aid? Cross-subsidizing your unprofitable clients with your profitable clients is a terrible business strategy. Whole industries get screwed over because of cross-subsidizing. No one likes to pay for someone else's education because money doesn't grow on trees. Why would it be fair that some people are attending this school with free money while others are spending their parents' hard-earned cash? Wake up Penn.[/QUOTE] In the case of a university education, financial aid, or cross-subsidizing as you call it, is necessary to preserve the value of the degree. The degree means something if it is earned by the best and the brightest regardless of their parents' financial condition. On the other hand, if the degree is something that is simply sold to those whose parents can pay for it, it won't mean much, and eventually won't be worth paying for. Thus, while some industries might get "screwed over" by cross-subsidization, university education is not one of them.

Bout time a little more of that $6+ billion actually went toward lowering the cost of attending Penn.

This is just great. Seriously, thanks a lot Penn. Thousands of kids will be going to Penn in the next decade debt-free while I'm still slaving away to pay off my $30,000!

Another smart move for Penn.