Carleton College students will be able to graduate debt-free after school eliminates loans

Carleton College will become the first Minnesota school to do away with student loans. The liberal arts school announced the decision this week.

Starting next school year, Carleton will cover student financial needs through a combination of grants and scholarships.

The decision will cost Carleton College just about $5 million in financial aid. The school, which has just over 2,000 students, says covering the cost is possible thanks to an $80 million collective donation from alumni that came in over the course of just ten months.

For Carleton President Dr. Alison Byerly, it's been a top priority.

"Everybody recognizes that affordability is on the minds of all students, but particularly today, with uncertainty about the future, students don't want to leave college feeling like they're going to be carrying student debt with them," Byerly said on Tuesday.

Byerly says the school plans to raise another $50 million to continue the program long term. She says it was an easy concept to pitch to alumni.

"People are used to being asked to support the college; they're used to being asked to support lots of great organizations, but supporting students is very special. To be able to give people an idea of what it means for a student to graduate college without any student loan debt was a picture that a lot of people were really excited to be a part of," she said.

The current Carleton student graduates with just over $20,000 in loans. The national average for graduating college students is just shy of $40,000.