Over the years, a private Ivy League university, Harvard, has provided free tuition to families with incomes below a particular number, which has increased multiple times since 2004.
According to the university, the amount of tuition was recently increased to $85,000 annually in 2023. In 2007, the institution additionally stopped offering loans as part of its financial aid packages, and instead substituted non-repayable grants.
The average annual tuition for an undergraduate student is $56,550, according to the Harvard website. This, however, exceeds $80,000 as attending would also account for extra costs such as housing, food, health care, and other student services.
As of March 17 this year, Harvard announced that they are offering free tuition to more learners. Tuition for undergraduates at the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution will be without charge for students from families earning $200,000 or less annually. In addition, the university plans to offer financial aid that would cover tuition, food, housing, health insurance, and travel expenses, leaving education completely at no cost for undergraduates from households earning $100,000 or less annually.
The new changes are reported to take effect in the 2025-2026 academic year.
The university president, Alan M. Garber shared his optimism in a statement, voicing, “Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth.” He added, “By bringing people of outstanding promise together to learn with and from one another, we truly realize the tremendous potential of the university.”
The university’s dean of the faculty of arts and sciences Hopi Hoekstra similarly believes so, sharing in a statement, “This investment in financial aid aims to make Harvard College education possible for every admitted student, so they can pursue their academic passions and positively impact our future.”
Harvard has joined other universities, namely, Dartmouth and the University of Virginia, in increasing their financial aid limits in the past year, making education more accessible for “lower-income” students.
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