Re-Imagining Financial Aid at Tufts Dental School

Using Needs-Based Funds to Promote Racial Inclusion, Diversity, and a Balanced Enrollment at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

*Re-Imagining Financial Aid:

*Rosemary Hilliard

Created for Race & Ethnicity in Education

EDU 6051, SEC 4

Dr. Atira Charles

Northeastern University College of Professional Studies

*Goals

*Demonstrate that minority students, particularly those with foreign-born parents, are placed at a financial disadvantage by our current grant policies

*Demonstrate that by re-aligning our grant policies, we will not be harming current recipients of needs-based funding

*Provide a model for targeting minority students who are ineligible to apply for grant funding with the maximum amount of needs-based funds available

*Evan Thomas & Pat Wingert

(2010)

*"If you look at who enters college, it now looks like [a diverse] America…But if you look at who walks across the stage for a diploma, it's still largely the white, upper-income population."

*Rosa Ramirez (2013)

*“At $22,886, the average amount Latinos borrow is slightly lower than for blacks ($28,692), and white students ($24,742). But many first-generation collegians say their parents, often hoping their children get the education they lack, offer little help in a confusing maze of federal and private loans that are often disguised as opportunity. “

*Equal Justice Works (2013)

*“The [Student Debt Crisis] report states that 27 percent of black bachelor's degree holders had more than $30,500 in loans, compared with 16 percent of white bachelor's degree holders. More black students who left school without finishing a degree cited student debt as the reason than their white peers – 69 percent versus 43 percent – and 74 percent of Latinos who opted out of attending college cited finances as the reason, the report states.”

* Nikki Lowe Lane (2013)

*TUSDM Student Population

*Tufts Dental Class of 2013

*Current Needs-Based Grant

Policy

*Students with US parents (Citizens/Permanent Residents) may apply for the best financial aid, including the Tufts Grant

*Students with foreign-born parents may apply only for federal student loans (no grants available)

*How do we identify

students with foreign-born

parents?

*Perkins Loan

*Low cost, favorable student loan

*Only source of “good” needs-based aid available to students who do not qualify to apply for grant funding

*Awarded to students with $0 in resources and educational debt above the average for their class

*Targeted to absolutely neediest students

*Class of 2013 Perkins

Recipients

*Class of 2014 Perkins

Recipients

*Class of 2015 Perkins

Recipients

*Class of 2016 Perkins

Recipients

*Average of 57% Minority

Recipients of Perkins Loan

*What does this mean for

students with foreign parents?

*How can we target funds to needy minority

students?

*Solution: Target Needy Borrowers

*Lower grant maximum for students with US parents from $12,000 to $10,000

*Use excess funds to create a Minority Student Grant

*MG amounts will be calculated based on amount of accrued interest on a full Grad PLUS Loan

*This award will be given to minority students who qualify for Perkins beginning in their first year.

*Minority students will be eligible to continue to receive this grant so long as they maintain Perkins Loan eligibility.

*Example One (based on 2012-

2013 COA)

*Minority Student

*Eligible for:

*$4,000 Perkins Loan

*$42,722 Direct Unsubsidized Loan

*$50,996 Grad PLUS Loan

*MG = $4,029, replacing Grad PLUS

*Lowers year one borrowing by $4,029, interest over four years by approximately $16,000.

*Example Two (based on 2012-

2013 COA)

*Minority Student

*Eligible for:

*$6,000 merit scholarship

*$42,722 Direct Unsubsidized Loan

*$44,996 Grad PLUS Loan

*MG = $3,555, replacing Grad PLUS

*Lowers year one borrowing by $3,555, interest over four years by approximately $14,000.

*What are our competitors

doing?

*Harvard School of Dental Medicine

*Needs-based grants only available to students with US parents

*Limited Restricted (Endowed) Scholarship opportunities for all students

* Harvard School of Dental Medicine Financial Aid Manual 2011-2012.

*Boston University Henry M.

Goldman School of Dental Medicine

*Need-based grants only available to students with US parents

*Some outside scholarship opportunities available

*What this means for

TUSDM

*Minority student futures at TUSDM

*Ability to attract more minority student applicants

*Lower average debt levels for minority student borrowers

*Lower average debt levels for ALL borrowers

*Only Boston-based dental school offering needs-based grant funding targeted to students with foreign parents

*More competitive option for minority student dentists

*Thank you!

*References

* Boston University Medical Campus Student Financial Services. (2013). Retrieved May 18, 2013 from http://www.bumc.bu.edu/osfs/sdm/application2013-2014/.

* Equal Justice Works. (2013). How Student Debt Affects Women, Minorities. Retrieved May 16, 2013, from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2013/05/01/how-student-debt-affects-women-minorities

* Harvard School of Dental Medicine Financial Aid Manual 2011-2012 (n.d.) Retrieved May 16, 2013 from http://hsdm.harvard.edu/file-richtext/FAManual_web_page_1112.pdf.

* Lane, Nikki Lowe. (2013). Multicultural Affairs Initiative to Support Cultural Needs of SDM Community. Retrieved May 16, 2013 from https://northeastern.digication.com/readfile.digi?localfile=Mbab2e4a6e2cd1ce205bd59a52df06ae1&filename=Nikki+Lane+Race+and+Ethnicity+Final+Project+Essay.pdf.

* Ramirez, Rosa. (2013). Minority Students are Saddled by Student Loan Debt. Retrieved May 16, 2013, from http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/education/minority-students-are-saddled-by-school-loan-debt-20130130.

* Thomas, Evan; Wingert, Pat. (2010). Minority Report. Retrieved May 16, 2013, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/18/minority-report.html.