Even at elite colleges lauded for generosity, some students take on debt
“The daughter of a single father who earns less than $25,000 a year, and the first in her family to go to a four-year university, Gonzales, a Sacramento native, found herself deciding among the University of California at Santa Cruz, Boston College and Cornell. Attracted by the chance of getting a college education without having to take out any loans, Gonzales picked Cornell. The university, according to its website, ‘guarantees that any family with a total income of less than $60,000, and total assets of less than $100,000 (including primary home equity), will have no parent contribution and no loans.’”