(Article from CNNMoney, 25 February 2007)

Ivy League university - latest major college to give parents a break - to give grants to families making less than $100,000 and drop tuition for those under $60,000.

Policy raises Brown University's financial aid budget by 20%, to more than $68 million next year.

Brown University has become the latest major university to make paying for college easier.

The Ivy League school's governing board on Saturday said grants will be substituted for loans for families that make less than $100,000 per year.

Parents who earn less than $60,000 also will no longer be expected to make a financial contribution to fund their child's education at Brown.

The policy reduces loans for all students who receive financial aid, regardless of income. The provisions apply to current students as well as next fall's incoming class.

The new policy will bump Brown's budget for financial aid by 20 percent to more than $68 million next year.

Harvard, Princeton and Stanford are among the schools that have replaced loans with grants recently.