Family Wealth Secrets Online Magazine

Middle Class Families Given a Break at Harvard

Growing up, my family didn’t have much financial wealth. One of the impacts of that was that I knew I would have to go to an in-state, public school for college. My parents could not afford to send me out of state and I didn’t really believe I could qualify for scholarships. What that meant is that I stopped trying very hard in high school (it didn’t help that I also fell in with a bad crowd). I knew that I only had to do well enough to get into a State school, which back then was not that difficult.Yesterday, Harvard announced a new initiative that will give kids growing up with limited financial means new hope of being able to attend Harvard despite financial limitations.

Parents, make sure you share this information with your kids. If they believe it’s something attainable, they are more likely to strive for it.

“In a sweeping new financial aid initiative announced today, Harvard said it would significantly reduce the expected contributions from middle- and upper-class families and eliminate loans for all students.

Undergraduates whose families make between $120,000 and $180,000 per year will be asked to pay 10 percent of their yearly income in tuition, the University said in a statement.

The program expands on the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, which in 2004 eliminated tuition costs for families making less than $60,000 a year.

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, University President Drew G. Faust said that the program, which will increase College’s financial aid grant budget by $22 million—more than 20 percent—will be paid for using a variety of sources, including Faust’s discretionary fund and funds from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences… ” — The Harvard Crimson