Staff Editorial: Penn's financial aid goal laudable

Newly minted Penn President Amy Gutmann has made increasing undergraduate financial aid the centerpiece of her agenda. While some critics may choose to disparage these efforts and claim that Penn will never be able to catch up to its better-endowed peers, we find her goal admirable. It is true that Penn has a lot of catching up to do in this particular area, but there is no time like the present to begin.

The affordability of a Penn education is one major element that sets us apart from some of our peer institutions. Bridging this gap and making a Penn education available to as many qualified students as possible is truly the most noble goal that Penn or any university can achieve. That it will take some effort to get there should not be cause for concern, nor should it limit our desire to see this improvement through. v

Aside from the obvious positive implications of increased financial aid, once realized, this ambition would have the practical effect of luring more talented students to Penn -- students who might have gone elsewhere because of a better financial aid package. Also, making a highly public fundraising drive with the clear goal of providing an Ivy League education to low income families, as Harvard recently did, could generate positive headlines and contribute to building Penn's reputation.

The fundamental challenge, of course, comes from the size of Penn's endowment. As Princeton's endowment is more than twice ours, the university can afford to subsidize 98 percent of its undergraduate financial aid through its endowment, compared to Penn's 14 percent. Adding donations to the endowment will help, and although it may take time to realize the overall goal, improving Penn"s loan to grant ratio even in the short run would be highly productive.

President Gutmann's refreshing infusion of energy into this crucial aspect of the University could be just the catalyst for Penn to truly capitalize on the momentum of the late 1990s. And as one of the first major goals of her young tenure as President, it is not a bad place to start.

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