Financial aid budget to increase by 8 percent

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After the Admissions Office released its early action decisions yesterday, the Financial Aid Office projected an 8 percent increase in the University’s financial aid budget.

Yale College has raised the income level below which parents are not asked to make any contribution to their child’s tuition by $5,000, from $60,000 to $65,000, according to a Dec. 15 press release. The press release said families earning between $65,000 and $130,000 will continue to pay an average of 1 percent to 10 percent of annual family income.

In addition, Yale will not increase the student self-help and summer contributions from their 2011-2012 levels.

“Even facing serious constraints on our budget, we wanted to expand access for families with more limited means and to maintain our current expectation for the amount that students are asked to contribute from their own earnings or other sources,” Provost Peter Salovey said in the release.

As a result of the announced changes, Yale’s undergraduate financial aid spending is projected to grow from $108 million in 2010-2011 to an estimated $117 million in 2011-2012, said the press release.

Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel said the strength and diversity of the early applicant pool caused a slight increase in early acceptance rate, as it rose from 13.9 percent for the current freshman class to 14.5 percent for the class of 2015.

“The applicant pool has strengthened significantly over the past few years especially as we have made a Yale education financially attainable for all students,” Brenzel said in the press release.

This year, Yale admitted 761 early applicants, up from 730 early admits last year.

Correction: December 16, 2010

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that families earning between $60,000 and $130,000 will continue to pay an average of 1 percent to 10 percent of annual family income. That instead refers to families earning between $65,000 and $130,000.