Harvard University Free Tuition For Low-Income Families
The university will cover expenses like housing and health insurance for families making less than $100,000, and students will receive a $2,000 stipend in their first and junior years to help support the transition beyond Harvard. This expansion of financial aid is a significant step towards making Harvard more inclusive and diverse.
Harvard University has announced a significant expansion of its financial aid program, making it free for students from families with annual incomes of $100,000 or less, and tuition-free for students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less, starting in the 2025-26 academic year.
This move aims to make Harvard College more accessible to students from middle-income families, enabling approximately 86% of U.S. families to qualify for financial aid. Students from families earning up to $200,000 will receive free tuition and additional aid to cover billed expenses, and many students from higher-income families will also receive aid. Harvard's financial aid team works individually with students and families to match each family's specific situation.
The expansion of financial aid builds on over two decades of investment in undergraduate financial aid at Harvard, which has awarded over $3.6 billion since launching the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative in 2004. This decision follows a trend of elite universities offering free or reduced tuition, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The average cost of a private university in the US has more than doubled since 2001, with the average price per academic year being $58,000. The move comes as the Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from universities over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which have been a target of criticism.
With this new policy, Harvard University aims to widen the array of backgrounds and perspectives among students, making it more affordable for middle-income families to attend the prestigious institution. The university's commitment to financial aid will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the accessibility of higher education.