Books, room and board, spending money, meal plans, lab fees and tuition. The life of a college student isn’t a cheap one.

Loans can help students finance college, but they can also leave young graduates saddled with debt and anxiety. Currently, college students across the country borrow $53.8 billion every year.

Davidson College, a small liberal arts school located near Charlotte, is trying to alleviate the financial strain of higher education. This year, Davidson completely eliminated student loans from financial aid packages. Students’ financial need will be met 100 percent through grants and on-campus employment.

That’s no small feat for a school with an all-inclusive yearly tuition of $40,814.

Dan Freeze, a 2004 Davidson alum, said the new initiative will take away some of the stress of the college experience.

“With room and board and books and everything, it’s a lot. I was always wondering, ‘Where is this money going to come from?’” Freeze said. “I struggled.”

Since Freeze graduated in 2004, he won’t benefit from the new policy. He is still in the process of paying back student loans.

“I feel kind of cheated, as someone who came out of the Davidson system with a lot of student loans,” he said. “It’d be great if they’d help me pay back my loans now.”

So, will Elon implement a similar program anytime soon?

Davidson and Elon have several shared characteristics — both are small, private liberal arts schools located in North Carolina and both are pricey. Elon’s tuition is less than Davidson’s, but not by much. An out-of-state student will pay about $29,500, while in-state students pay around $27,500.

“I think it’s a really great idea,” senior Maggie Santry said. “It will definitely increase diversity there, and that’s also something that Elon is trying to do. A program like that would help.”

In recent years, the issue of diversity at Elon has gained momentum. Elon’s Admissions Web site states that the student body represents 46 states and 45 countries.

Patrick Murphy, Elon’s director of financial planning, said a financial program like Davidson’s would help bring students from even more varied backgrounds.

“Ultimately, it would be great if all schools could do that, because what you would see is an increase in diversity,” he said. “It wouldn’t just be greater racial diversity, but social and economic diversity. What you would see is all the social classes coming together – the playing field would be totally level.”

But, Murphy said Elon is not prepared to go loan-free just yet.

“We’ve never been able to meet student need through grant and scholarship money alone,” he said. “We’ve always had to have the loan component.”

Murphy said Davidson started the program because it is smaller than Elon (1,700 students compared to just under 5,000), and because it has a “larger, wealthier alumni base.”

Freeze agreed. “Davidson has a really good track record of everyone giving back,” he said. “That makes this kind of thing possible.”

For now, many Elon students will continue to graduate with debt. Though, Murphy said Elon has recently placed a stronger emphasis on fundraising so that more grant money will be available to students.

“Hopefully in the near to distant future, we will have more scholarship money,” Murphy said. “That’s something we’re aiming for.”

Reporter: Whitney Bossie - 11/14/07