No-loan policies at selective institutions can be eye-catching for low-income students that may not have viewed those schools as a viable option said Mark Huelsman, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a left-leaning think tank. But they do little to increase equity in higher education because the group of low-income students educated at these schools is so small, he added.
“If you serve a fairly elite slice of the student population, having a no-loans policy does not actually get at students that are most likely to struggle to repay debt,” Huelsman said.
