ST. LOUIS—Starting next fall, Washington University in St. Louis will remove federal student loans from financial aid packages for undergraduate students as the school adopts a “no-loan” policy.

“We are deeply committed to making a WashU education accessible for all talented students who earn admission,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said in a statement released Friday. “We have worked hard to make good on our promise to remove financial barriers for all admitted undergraduate students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds. We want to get them here, support them during their time here, and prepare them to do great things. Now, when they graduate from WashU, they will do so debt-free.”

The move comes two years after the school announced it was moving to a “need-blind” admissions policy.

“In the past, some qualified students and their families — including those from middle-income backgrounds — might have thought attending WashU was financially impossible,” said Ronné P. Turner, vice provost for admissions and financial aid. “Removing loans from our financial aid packages is another way to show those students we want them here, and that we’ll do what it takes so they can receive a WashU education without taking on the burden of student loan debt.”

Need-based loans loans will be replaced by scholarships and grants 

The move comes on top of the recent adoption of the “WashU Pledge”, which offers a full undergraduate education to students from Missouri and Southern Illinois with an annual family income of $75,000.

According to a 2022 U.S. News survey, 45 schools, including Stanford University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill had some form of a no-loans policy.

In Missouri, the College of the Ozarks “discourages student borrowing, and therefore, does not participate in the federal, state or private loan programs.” It encourages scholarships and summer work programs to pay for educational costs.