This opportunity has changed my life, and I will never forget the hands that lifted me when I needed it most. Someday I will be that hand that reaches back just as another reached for me. For every opportunity I’ve been given I will strive to create another. Because for me the truest way to say ‘thank you’ is to ensure that future Fletcher students feel the same unwavering belief that carried me forward.
- Grateful Loan Recipient
Altering the trajectory of someone’s life is just the tip of what is possible because of donor support to the Fletcher Low-Interest Loan Program. Beyond helping students to achieve their academic and professional dreams, the Fletcher Low-Interest Loan Program enables talented students to be welcomed into the Fletcher family, strengthening the network of Fletcherites around the world who are shaping policy and driving innovative solutions to our greatest challenges.
Newly launched with the 2025-2026 academic year, the loan program offered need-based loans to close the affordability gaps for students who might not otherwise enroll. The students who accepted the loan come from Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nepal, and Türkiye, reflecting the program’s intended global reach. Now entering its second year, the loan program will offer its novel approach by maximizing donor and university funding to create pathways for learning and professional growth for all Fletcher students facing a financial gap in making their education possible.
Students who received the loan this past year described the loan offer as a welcome and unexpected boost that made accepting their admissions offer possible. Many expressed gratitude that Fletcher recognized their financial constraints by stepping in with a flexible, low-barrier solution.
The Fletcher Loan represents for me Tufts University's commitment to supporting students like me. This loan has made me feel part of a caring Fletcher community and has shown me that innovative forms of internal funding remain possible in academia. I want to thank the donors for supporting my academic journey. Without this assistance, I would face the significant financial burden of private student loans with interest rates reaching 15%. This loan will allow me to focus on my studies rather than worry about high interest payments.
-Ali
For students, the program addresses a critical need by filling the financial gap they often face since conventional loans are typically not accessible to them. Loan repayments and interest are deferred while students are in school and repayment terms are kept affordable. Importantly, Tufts University will match the donor funding up to $2 million, which will make available up to 600 loans of $5,000 to $25,000 when fully funded.
As just one student has shared, the loan and donor support to make this funding possible is life changing:
Above all, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude. As a young boy in rural Kenya tracing dreams into the soil, I never imagined those hopes would one day carry me to Fletcher. This loan has done more than support my education—it breathed life into a vision. Thank you for making the impossible possible, and for standing beside students like me on this transformative journey.
-Anonymous
Thank you for unlocking the doors of opportunity for students who enrich the dialogue on campus and enact positive change around the world.