The University of Pennsylvania will provide grants for undergraduate students from economically disadvantaged families with incomes of $50,000 or less, announced Penn president Amy Gutmann recently. This move is in line with the university’s effort to reach out to more diverse populations of 18-year-olds. Penn is the first major Research University to spend more than $78 million per year out of its operating budget on financial aid to eliminate loans for low- and middle- income students.

Penn will continue its longstanding need-blind admissions policy, which admits students based on academic achievement, without regard for their ability to pay, according to university sources. The University will also continue its full-need policy, which guarantees that those students who matriculate with demonstrated financial need will receive financial aid packages that meet the full extent of the their need for a full four years.

Total undergraduate charges for tuition, fees, room and board at the University of Pennsylvania will increase 5.25 percent for the 2006-2007 academic year, bringing the total cost of an undergraduate year to $43,960. Tuition and general fees for undergraduate students for the 2006-2007 academic year will increase 5.5 percent to $34,156; average room and board charges will increase 4.3 percent, to $9,804.