Harvard University announced Feb. 28 the components of a new initiative targeting students from low- and moderate-income families to attend the university.
Beginning fall 2004, parents in families with an income of $40,000 or less will not be expected to contribute to the cost of their child attending Harvard.
The expected contribution of a family refers to the amount the family pays in fees to the university added to what the student earns through work-study programs or summer jobs. This amount covers tuition and other expenses; the rest is covered by loans or grants.
The expected contribution is currently $2,300. The expected contribution of parents in families who make between $40,000 and $60,000 will also be reduced by $1,250 on average.
According to a statement from Harvard University, this new financial-aid plan is expected to affect 1,000 of the 6,600 enrolled undergraduates.
Harvard has also committed $2 million in new financial-aid funds to cover the expanded financial aid next year, which would bring its annual financial-aid budget to just less than $80 million.
“Already nearly half of Harvard’s undergraduates receive grants averaging more than $24,000 each year, and two-thirds receive some form of financial aid,” William C. Kirby, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said in the statement. “This new initiative will enhance our effectiveness in reaching out to students who have done remarkable things with their lives despite limited financial resources.”
Harvard’s tuition this year is $26,066, and the university estimates that when books, travel, food and housing are added in, the total cost for a year totals slightly less than $40,000.
Undergraduates who receive grants are expected to contribute to their tuition expenses, and that amount is set at $3,500 for students next year.
“Students may use outside scholarship awards to meet this requirement. Students may work about 12 to 15 hours per week at a variety of term-time jobs,” Harvard’s statement reads. “Alternatively, they can secure a loan at favorable long-term interest rates. Students are also expected to contribute from their summer earnings ($1,850 for incoming students). Such flexible financial-aid options contribute to Harvard’s high graduation rate of 97 percent, among the highest in the nation.”
Steve Van Ess, student financial services director at the University of Wisconsin, said he personally does not like the idea of waiving parental contributions because the most important thing is to keep loan amounts down.
“I wouldn’t waive the parental contributions. UW’s goal is to meet the student’s full need without too much of it in loans,” Van Ess said. “Some schools are on a low tuition, low loan plan, while others are at a high tuition, high loan plan and a number of students pay the $26,000 bill.”
Van Ess also pointed out that for Wisconsin residents, UW’s tuition rate is still the lowest among the Big Ten schools. Tuition had increased by $700 for Wisconsin residents in the 2003-’04 year, and Van Ess estimated tuition might increase another $700 in the near future.
The Harvard initiative’s purpose is to provide more opportunities for students who might not otherwise attend an Ivy League school.
“The opportunity of learning from classmates who come from every economic background — in addition to differing nationalities, religions, ethnicities and academic interests — is cited time and again by alumni/ae as critically important to their Harvard education,” the Harvard statement said. “The new low- and moderate-income financial-aid program renews and strengthens that tradition for the benefit of all future undergraduates.”
