Add Cornell and Northwestern to the long list of major universities that have now eliminated student loans from the financial aid packages they offer their neediest students.

Northwestern announced their decision on January 31 in a press release. The university's new policy is designed to give financial aid counselors some latitude in making decision. Loans will get replaced with grants for the school's neediest students. But unlike most other universities that have gone down this route, Northwestern is not setting a dollar amount as the income cutoff to define need. They will look at students on a case by case basis and consider "unusual expenses" (like high family medical bills) in determining need.

The College Admissions Counseling Blog has a good look at Cornell's new policy.

The basics of the new policy at Cornell are that the school will replace loans with grants in financial aid packages for students whose families make less than $75,000 a year. The school will also cap loans at $3,000 for students whose families make less than $120,000 a year.

Cornell and Northwestern join a long list of schools that have eliminated student loans from their financial aid packages for the neediest students. Among those other schools: Dartmouth, Harvard, Duke, Amherst, Davidson, Penn, to name just a few...