GSAS Lowers Interest For Loans to Students

Interest rates on loans for students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have been reduced "considerably," J. Peterson Elder, dean of GSAS, announced yesterday. The School of Education is considering a similar reduction for next year, it was also learned yesterday.

Elder, calling the former policy of the GSAS "completely archaic," said that most students only need loans for short-term purposes, since a large scholarship program in general covers such basic expenses as tuition. "Although I don't expect a raid on the bank, lower interest rates should certainly make loans more bearable," he said.

Elder announced that students holding loans will now be charged two percent interest annually while enrolled in the School and four percent after graduation, instead of the former four and one-half percent rate for both.

Policies Differ Widely

The maximum grant available for each student has also been raised from $500 to $1,000 and the repayment period has been extended from three to five years.

The School of Education will be the last graduate school in the University to lower its rates, Robert A. Schofield, administrative assistant to Dean Keppel, said yesterday. He proposed a reduction in a committee report on financial aid which he submitted to the Dean on Wednesday.

Loan policies in the other Graduate Schools differ widely. According to John U. Munro '34, Director of Financial Aid at the College and administrator of a University-wide loan fund, a School usually builds its policy around the expected ability of its students to repay after graduation.