GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — October marked the return of student loan payments for the first time in three years, but incoming freshmen at Aquinas College could avoid them altogether.
A new program called The Aquinas Assurance aims to help eligible students take on as little debt as possible.
“Before you get to all the other wonderful descriptors that we have about being a Catholic educational community, it is inclusive,” Aquinas College Vice President of Enrollment Management Brian Matzke said. “We want to be here for everybody.”
“There’s sometimes a misconception out there about who Aquinas students are,” Matzke added. “Half of our students qualify as low income, first generation or have accessibility services.”
This new financial aid program completely covers the standard tuition and fees of students with the greatest financial need.
To receive The Aquinas Assurance, students must meet the following criteria:
- Eligible for the maximum Federal Pell grant
- Eligible for the full Michigan Achievement Scholarship
- Eligible for the full Michigan Tuition Grant
- Graduate from high school in the spring of 2024 with a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale
- File a FAFSA by May 1, 2024
“We are inclusive. We’re Catholic in the broadest sense of that, right? We want to be here, and we want to be here for everybody to help and make the world a better place when we’re done,” Matzke said.
Aquinas Assurance payments stay the same, so if the cost of tuition increases while a student is between semesters, they must make up the difference.
Meanwhile, room and board are not included.
