For release: March 30, 2006
General inquiries: Harvard College Financial Aid Office, 617-495-1581
Press inquiries: John Longbrake, 617-495-1585
Harvard expands financial aid for low- and middle-income families
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| ‘There is no more important mission for Harvard and higher education than promoting equality of opportunity for all,’ said Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers. (Staff file photo Justin Ide/Harvard News Office) |
Reinforcing its commitment to opportunity and excellence across the economic spectrum, Harvard today (March 30) announced a significant expansion of its 2004 financial aid initiative for low- and middle-income families. Beginning with the class admitted this week, parents in families with incomes of less than $60,000 will no longer be expected to contribute to the cost of their children attending Harvard. In addition, Harvard will reduce the contributions of families with incomes between $60,000 and $80,000.
The new income thresholds build on the program announced two years ago, which provided that families with incomes below $40,000 would not be expected to contribute to the cost of education, with a reduced contribution for families with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000. (See 2004 release) The number of students enrolled at Harvard from these income brackets increased by 24 percent for the class entering this past fall – the first full year of the program.
“There is no more important mission for Harvard and higher education than promoting equality of opportunity for all,” said President Lawrence H. Summers. “We are fortunate to have significant resources, and there is no better way to use them than to support families seeking to provide the best possible opportunities for their children. These increases in financial aid build on and extend our emphasis on recruiting students from low-income backgrounds, and send a clear signal to middle-class families who have all too often felt that Harvard and other leading universities are out of reach.”
Harvard is also revising its policy on outside awards won by incoming students, ranging from scholarships provided by local community groups to programs such as the National Merit and Gates Millennium Scholarships. Students will now be able to apply these awards to eliminate their summer savings obligations. Previously, outside awards could be used to offset the $3,650 self-help expectation toward the cost of attendance, but did not apply to the summer savings obligation of $2,150.
Overall financial aid
“We are very pleased to offer such exceptional financial support to our undergraduates,” said William C. Kirby, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which oversees Harvard College. “Even before these enhancements, the financial aid budget for next year was projected at $90 million, a 6.2 percent increase over last year, and a 65 percent increase over the past six years. This new initiative will add an additional $2.4 million annually. Although many students and families might find this hard to believe, Harvard is actually more affordable for many students than public colleges or universities.”
Two-thirds of Harvard students receive financial aid, and the average grant award for next year is expected to be more than $33,000, or 70 percent of the total cost of attendance. In the past decade, Harvard has reduced the median four-year debt for graduating seniors from more than $16,000 to $6,400 – less than one-third of the national average of $20,000.
Expanding the reach of the 2004 financial aid initiative
“Since its inception two years ago, the financial aid initiative aimed at families with incomes below $40,000 has had an enormous impact in attracting students of all backgrounds to Harvard’s applicant pool,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid. “The message that Harvard is open to all talented students continues to resonate and the momentum the program has created has encouraged students to consider colleges they had never imagined before.”
Raising the income thresholds for the financial aid initiative to a level above the median family income in the United States is meant to address the very real dilemmas felt by families struggling to balance rising living expenses and the cost of higher education.
“Our financial aid initiative has been very successful in attracting students from the lower income ranges, and we see it as an important step in attracting more students from middle-income families, where our application rates are lower than they should be,” said Summers. “If there are thousands of highly qualified students not applying to Harvard, we need to find ways to address that problem. Middle-income relief is one of the steps we are taking, but we also want to reach out to these students in other ways.”
In its ongoing effort to attract the best students, Harvard continues to seek talented students across the nation with intensive recruiting by the Office of Admissions, faculty, alumni, and a team of undergraduates.
“Students who have benefited from the financial aid initiative are anxious to give back to the program by working with students who come from similar backgrounds,” Fitzsimmons said. “We hope that as we increase the number of students who benefit from the program, we will inspire students from every economic background to consider the full range of our nation’s colleges and universities.”
HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES
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| President Summers speaks to parents of first-years inside the Science Center during the beginning of Freshman Parents Weekend. (Staff file photo Justin Ide/Harvard News Office) |
Overcoming economic barriers
‘Harvard is open to talented students from all economic backgrounds,’ says President Summers
Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers flung Harvard’s doors open even wider last week, outlining a new financial aid initiative intended as a clarion call to talented students from poor families and disadvantaged communities across the country.
The $2 million plan completely eliminates the need for families making $40,000 or less annually to contribute toward their child’s Harvard College education.
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The initiative, which was announced Saturday (Feb. 28), also lowers the contribution expected from families making between $40,000 and $60,000.In addition to the financial aid boost, the initiative intensifies recruiting efforts aimed at talented youth from low- and middle-income families and incorporates the mentoring and development opportunities of a summer academy for disadvantaged students.
“We want to send the strongest possible message that Harvard is open to talented students from all economic backgrounds,” Summers said. “Too often, outstanding students from families of modest means do not believe that college is an option for them – much less an Ivy League university.”
Harvard has long had a need-blind admissions policy that ensures the University is affordable for any student qualified to attend. Students are chosen on the basis of their outstanding academic, extracurricular, and personal qualities, and on their promise for achievement in college and in life.
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National statistics, however, indicate that family finances play a huge role in determining who attends college and who does not.
One 2004 study showed that just 20 percent of students whose families are in the bottom 25 percent of income attended a four-year college within two years of graduating high school. By contrast, 75 percent of children from families whose income is in the top 25 percent attended college.
At highly selective institutions like those in the Ivy League, the statistics are even worse. At the 146 most competitive and selective institutions, just 3 percent of students come from families whose incomes are in the lowest 25 percent, compared with 74 percent from families in the top quarter.
At Harvard today, the picture is slightly better, with 6.8 percent of students from the lowest income category versus 74 percent from the highest category.
“Our doors have long been open to talented students regardless of financial need, but many students simply do not know or believe this,” Summers said. “We are determined to change both the perception and the reality.”
The new program is just the latest in a series of commitments to financial aid in recent years. Harvard’s scholarship programs have grown by nearly 50 percent over the past six years, to just under $80 million.
Today, about 48 percent of Harvard undergraduates receive scholarships that average close to $24,000 annually, and two-thirds of Harvard College students receive some form of financial aid.
The new initiative, which goes into effect in September, will affect 1,065 current undergraduates, 605 of whom come from families with incomes $40,000 and less. Those families’ current contribution toward Harvard’s $37,928 annual cost is $2,300.
“This new initiative will enhance our effectiveness in reaching out to students who have done remarkable things with their lives despite limited financial resources,” said William C. Kirby, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The program was crafted after months of listening to the stories of students from low- and middle-income families. The message heard loud and clear was that finances figured highly in college attendance decisions, but that money wasn’t the only hurdle. Harvard administrators also heard that Harvard’s image as a place reserved for the wealthy and privileged is pervasive.
Students spoke about how they were discouraged from applying by parents afraid of the tuition bill, by guidance counselors certain of rejection, and by peers who said they wouldn’t fit in.
The program was designed to punch through these persistent misperceptions and recognizes that students from low-income backgrounds face social hurdles, such as diminished expectations, as well as financial ones. By eliminating the family contribution, the program seeks to send an unmuddied message to parents, counselors, and prospective students that attending Harvard is an attainable goal.
“America cannot afford to waste the talents of so many promising students,” Summers said. “We hope our new financial aid initiative will better inform students and families that all colleges are open and accessible to them, and that our recruitment succeeds in reaching more students of modest means.”
The new initiative has four major components:
Financial aid: Beginning next year, parents in families with incomes of less than $40,000 will no longer be expected to contribute to the cost of attending Harvard for their children. In addition, Harvard will reduce the contributions expected of families with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000.
Recruiting: The College is intensifying its efforts to reach out to talented students across the nation who might not think of Harvard as an option. Harvard College is seeking to make sure students understand that Harvard has a long-standing commitment to enrolling students from a wide range of backgrounds and regardless of financial circumstances.
Admissions: Harvard is re-emphasizing, in the context of its highly personalized admissions process, the policy of taking note of applicants who have remarkable accomplishments despite limited resources at home or in their local schools and communities.
Pipeline: Harvard recently announced the establishment of an intensive summer program – the Crimson Summer Academy – for academically talented high school students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds in the Greater Boston area. Each student will participate for three successive summers, beginning after ninth grade, receiving encouragement and preparation to attend a challenging four-year college or university.
For release: March 30, 2006
General inquiries: Harvard College Financial Aid Office, 617-495-1581
Press inquiries: John Longbrake, 617-495-1585
