Yale University will no longer require parents earning less than $45,000 a year to pay anything toward their children\'s educations. Harvard announced a similar program last year, freeing parents who earn $40,000 or less from paying anything, and the change helped raise its applications to record levels. Several of Yale\'s other competitors, including Princeton, have taken a slightly different approach by no longer requiring loans for low-income students, and they also believe the move helped increase applications. Yale\'s change is more generous than many of the financial aid overhauls at other schools, public and private universities alike. The University of North Carolina, for instance, no longer requires students from families of four earning about $37,000 or less to take out any loans to cover school expenses. Rice did the same but set the income bar at $30,000. \"We wanted to signal that we\'re serious about access,\" said Richard C. Levin, Yale\'s president. He also said Yale would reduce what it expects parents earning between $45,000 and $60,000 to pay.