College Reveals 10% Rise In Amount of Student Aid

Student loans in the College have risen ten per cent this year over last year's volume of $330,000, James J. Pates, Jr., assistant director of the Financial Aid Office, revealed yesterday.

This increase corresponds to a decline in the number of students holding term-time jobs. Pates pointed out the relative increasing importance of loans, as opposed to jobs, in enabling students to pay for their education.

He also cited the desire of many students to take some of the financial burdens from their parents.

In anticipation of a rising demand for loans, the University this year budgeted $500,000 for that purpose, as compared to $450,000 last year.

To date, the Financial Aid Office has loaned out $365,000. Need for funds in February for spring term expenses are expected to exhaust the remainder.

Monro Urges New Program

In recent speeches and articles, Dean Monro has urged that colleges revise their financial aid programs in an effort to free more money to aid students from low-income families.

Monro has advocated substituting loans for scholarships for students from middle-income families. He declined, however, to discuss the College's scholarship program when contacted yesterday.

Pates asserted that a major cause of the increase in loans was simply "a growing attitude that a loan is simply an investment, and not an onerous burden." He acknowledged that letters from the University to students urging loans in cases of financial need may have stimulated the increased activity.