Harvard will provide free tuition for students from families who receive $200,000 (£154,000) per year.
The new policy will begin in the 2025-26 school year. Its purpose is to help more students afford Harvard education.
Harvard President Alan Garber said the goal is to ensure that all admitted students can go to college regardless of their financial situation. He also said bringing students from different backgrounds together will help them learn and grow.
Nowadays, Harvard is very expensive. Tuition costs $56,550 for the 2024-25 academic year. When you add other expenses, such as housing, food, and health insurance, the total cost may exceed $80,000. The new policy will reduce costs for many households.
Families with less than $100,000 a year will receive more support. Harvard will pay for its tuition, housing, food, travel and health insurance. These students will also receive additional grants to help them pay other fees in their first and third years.
To support students from weak financial backgrounds, Harvard University has donated more than $53 billion. In the past, only families earning less than $85,000 a year received free tuition. Now, more and more students will be eligible to participate in the university’s aid program.
Other universities also provide more financial aid. Similar changes have been made by schools like the University of Pennsylvania, MIT and Dartmouth.
Harvard has been working for many years to make education more affordable. In 2007, it no longer offered student loans and began offering grants that did not require repayment. Despite the aid package, most Harvard students still belong to wealthy families. Data show that nearly 40% of students come from the wealthiest families, while less than 5% come from the poorest 20%.
This new policy is an important step to make Harvard more accessible. The announcement will help middle-class families provide the highest education for their children.
