Making Your Duke Education More Affordable
A message from President Richard Brodhead
December 8, 2007
Dear Students,
On the eve of final exams and the holidays, I write to share some exciting news. The Board of Trustees today approved a new undergraduate financial aid program that will benefit Duke students from lower- and middle-income families beginning next fall. The changes will apply to incoming students and to current students as well.
Duke is eliminating parent contributions for families who earn less than $60,000 a year. Undergraduates from families with total incomes below $40,000 will have no loan packaged into their financial aid. The loan component of aid will be reduced for families with incomes from $40,000 up to $100,000 on a graduated basis. Going forward, Duke plans to also freeze the loan component for all four years of attendance at the current freshman level, eliminating the practice of annual increases.
The university will substitute grant support to cover these new benefits to students and their families. In all, Duke will be increasing its investment in need-based undergraduate aid by nearly $7 million a year.
Duke's mission is to educate students of promise without regard to their parents' ability to pay. This new initiative will make Duke's first-rate education more affordable for students from all backgrounds, today and far into the future. Our Financial Aid Initiative has already raised $240 million toward its $300 million goal and will continue through 2008. But we don't want students to wait to have the benefits of this effort.
You can learn about our new financial aid program in more detail by visiting the website at http://dukefinancialaid.duke.edu/newsupport.
Wishing you the best of success during exams and a joyous holiday season,
Richard Brodhead
President