Harvard to announce aid for poor students | Boston Globe

[Ediacara]

Harvard to announce aid for poor students

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff, 2/29/2004

Harvard University's president, Lawrence H. Summers, is expected to announce today that parents who make less than $40,000 a year will no longer be asked to help pay for their child's Harvard education.

"We want to send the strongest possible message that Harvard is open to talented students from all economic backgrounds," Summers said in a statement that was released yesterday.

Under the plan, Harvard will foot the entire bill for its lowest-income students' tuition, room, board, and fees, the cost of which is $37,928 for this year. The initiative is one of several -- all aimed at boosting efforts to recruit and support students from low- or moderate-income families -- that Summers is scheduled to announce this afternoon in Miami, at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education.

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[historian]

1. well thats very nice

We earn about 65.000 and STILL couldnt afford harvard if we wanted to. Here we go again - help some, screw the others, all in the name of appearing compassionate.
gag

[plumbnsquare]

2. College expenses

When my sister wanted to go to college several years ago (early 70's), she could not get any financial aid. My was making about $14,000/yr and one of my other sisters (17 yrs. old) had just died of cancer. My father was left with about $11,000 in medical bills (alot today, even more back then). My parents never lived beyond their means, didn't run up consumer debt, etc. Obviously we didn't have much money. My parents had also been renting out the house we had previously lived in, but had to sell it to pay the medical bills. Guess what the reason was for not giving my sister financial aid? My father made too much? No. Are you ready?

My father didn't have any debt.

It broke my father's heart, and he wept over the fact that he could not help us.