Free Harvard Tuition for Low Income families!!!

[AEZMama]

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, 'When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income
distribution.

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on
undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for
free...no tuition and no student loans!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year visit Harvard's financial aid website or call the school's financial aid office at [phone].

SEND TO SOMEONE WHETHER THEY CAN USE OR NOT. THEY JUST MIGHT KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN!

[mom2ponygirl]

Well maybe we can use it in a few more years! That's cool that they upped it from 40 to 60K. Of course by then we may be up to something like 62K! LOL Now if a few more selective universities jump on the same bandwagon.

[supervee]

I had always heard that if you make it into Harvard, their financial aid will make sure lack of money doesn't prevent you from attending.

Isn't it like this at most schools? I paid very little (about $1000 altogether) to attend my college, though it was a state school.

[rabrog]

Nope. Most schools if you can't pay or get loans/scholarships (most schools have limited scholarships and no in house loans), you just don't go.

Jenn

[peachweenie]

Gee, I didn't even know I was low income - I thought I was middle class!!

[supervee]

I remember them telling us that in Sociology... *everyone* in America thinks they're middle class--low into the poor ranges and high into the rich ones.

[kmeyrick]

::balloon s

YES!

[Stella_luna]

Princeton does this as well---my friend's niece went there this way .

[BusyBee]

It is hard for me to believe that under 60K is low income. Of course I paid my way through a cheap state college with savings to boot even if it did take several extra years. Got an excellent education in my field as well--never would have thought a harvard education was possible as I felt my family of six was rather well-off at 35K. I agree there is a wide range of middle-class incomes. A lot of it has to do with attitude and education (the socio part of socio-economic class). Why did I feel well-off at 35K and others feel low-income at 55K. I know contractors with incomes of 85K and scientists with incomes if 25K. The contractors feel more lower middle class because of a lack of higher education while the scientists feel middle class with upper class aspirations because of education and the prestige of their profession.

[kofduke]

Originally Posted by supervee

I had always heard that if you make it into Harvard, their financial aid will make sure lack of money doesn't prevent you from attending.

Isn't it like this at most schools? I paid very little (about $1000 altogether) to attend my college, though it was a state school.

I think this is true of the majority of schools, especially the elite schools; they will work with you to find grants/loans etc. IME it's often easier for "low-income" children than for those that are middle-middle class. That's why this Harvard thing just kinda sounds like a publicity thing to me - it's great for the students that now don't have to take out any loans, but in terms of actually going it doesn't make a vast difference.

And, BusyBee, since Harvard probably costs like $40,000 per year now, it's not that $60,000 is low-income per se, it's that it's that Harvard is unaffordable with that income if you haven't been saving for college.

[quaz]

Originally Posted by kofduke

I think this is true of the majority of schools, especially the elite schools; they will work with you to find grants/loans etc. IME it's often easier for "low-income" children than for those that are middle-middle class. That's why this Harvard thing just kinda sounds like a publicity thing to me - it's great for the students that now don't have to take out any loans, but in terms of actually going it doesn't make a vast difference.

And, BusyBee, since Harvard probably costs like $40,000 per year now, it's not that $60,000 is low-income per se, it's that it's that Harvard is unaffordable with that income if you haven't been saving for college.

I agree with this....

It's more a 'nice feel good' thing. The folks that really struggle to pay for college education are all those in the middle class range with multiple kids. There is no way on earth my family could pay to send me. We weren't 'poor' enough to qualify for certain loans/grants/whatever. We were smack dab in middle class. Luckily where my dad worked they offered scholarships and I got one (ONLY based on academics and NOT need). It paid for most of my tuition and I had to work to pay for my room/board. Without that, there wasn't much 'offered' for those of us right in the middle.

I'm glad school are helping folks out even if a select few... but I still think it's more a nice gimmic... plus other schools have had programs like this for a while...
Tammy

[lindberg99]

I was skeptical about this because Lawrence H. Summers isn't even the president of Harvard anymore and it just made it sound like if anyone who is an honor student whose family makes less than $60K you can go to Harvard.

I found the link to the real article: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/...30-finaid.html

They did increase financial aid to encourage more middle class people to apply. But the bottom line is your child still has to get accepted. And s/he isn't going to get in just because s/he is an honor student because I'm thinking that everyone there is an honor student.

[maplesugar]

Cool.
I wonder if they are just offering more student loans, or will they really be paying for it all.

[heket]

Originally Posted by kofduke

I think this is true of the majority of schools, especially the elite schools; they will work with you to find grants/loans etc. IME it's often easier for "low-income" children than for those that are middle-middle class. That's why this Harvard thing just kinda sounds like a publicity thing to me - it's great for the students that now don't have to take out any loans, but in terms of actually going it doesn't make a vast difference.

My family was one income and I always thought of us as lower middle class. I went to a private woman's college. My family didn't have an assets, much less a personal savings account. I received 1/2 of my tuition through grants and scholarships. The other half was Stafford loans. Coupled with grad school, I'm still paying it off. Perhaps my private school wasn't one of the elite? Perhaps this is no longer true for those children in the same situation today. But I don't think things like this go across the board. I think it happens with those institutions that have better foundations and sponsors, personally. Some place like Harvard? Yes, good publicity, but that also generates more funding.

[UUMom]

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Getting into Harvard University got tougher in 2007 as more students than ever applied to the Ivy League school's undergraduate program, many drawn by an attractive financial aid offer.

Harvard, the world's richest university, said Thursday a record 22,955 students applied for a spot in the Class of 2011. Of those, just 2,058 were accepted -- an admission rate of 9 percent, the lowest in school history.

Last year, 2,109 of 22,753 applicants, or 9.3 percent, got the nod....

Harvard... said just over half of those admitted to the Class of 2011 were women, while the number of ethnic minorities hit a record high.

Nearly 20 percent of those accepted are Asian, 10.7 percent are black and 10.1 percent are Latino. The class would also be its most economically diverse, Harvard said, with 26 percent eligible for a new financial aid program....http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03...eut/index.html

[YummyYarnAddict]

Having struggled financially with no help from my parents to attend a top ten private university I'm a natural cynic. It does say that they expanded financial aid for low- and middle- income students. What they did was eliminate the expected parental contribution for families who make less than $60K and reduced the parental contribution for families making less than $80K. Now (remember, cynic here) I'm sure there's some small print somewhere that's not in the press release which stipulates what the family size has to be and which looks at assests, mortgage, tax returns, etc. etc. and that they just aren't going to go by what last year's gross and net household income was.

The other thing they mention is that they changed the rules to allow students to get more outside financial aid as they used to limit the amount that students could get in outside scholarships (as many universities do). They're also allowing students to apply more of their summer earnings to the financial aid picture to make up for what they are no longer expecting parents to contribute.

That being said, overall, it's a pretty good deal. Harvard is wealthier than many private institutions and has a a sizeable endowment fund which allows them to do this. I hope that many people who wouldn't otherwise consider Harvard because of finances will apply.

[mommy68]

Yeah, forget Harvard. I want something smaller and closer to home. I'll be just as proud if my kiddos make it through a comunity college.

[kofduke]

Originally Posted by heket

The other half was Stafford loans. Coupled with grad school, I'm still paying it off.

Hey, so am I...and because I'm no longer in the field I took $35,000 of loans out for, it makes it a double blow.

My point is more that you (and I)got to GO because of those loans. Harvard's offer isn't going to make more low-income students be able to attend per se, it's going to make their life after college easier. If a student doesn't want to take out loans and pay them back it's their call, but I think most schools try and make it possible to at least attend through some combination of grants and loans.

[BookGoddess]

We're still paying off DH's student loans so I see the Harvard deal as a good thing. Of course, it's great publicity for Harvard and I'm sure that didn't escape their notice when they decided to do this.

Originally Posted by mommy68

Yeah, forget Harvard. I want something smaller and closer to home. I'll be just as proud if my kiddos make it through a comunity college.

Same here. If DD goes to school in California (esp UC Berkeley) I would be thrilled. I'd actually prefer it if she didn't go far away for college.

[Nathan1097]

Awesome! My boyfriend's younger daughter is in her Senior year of high school and has always been on the honor roll and is taking the hardest classes. She has already been accepted to one local university with some financial help. Even if he and I were to get married before she'd be out of Harvard, that still would qualify. (Fortunately, or unfortunately....) I sent the link on to them.