<p>I apologize if this is discussed elsewhere.</p>
<p>My son has been accepted with excellent financial aid packages to Yale, Princeton, Notre Dame, and New England Conservatory.</p>
<p>He is waitlisted at Harvard and inclined to stay on the list as he would then be able to continue his violin studies with the New England Conservatory Professor.</p>
<p>However, we have been warned that the financial aid will be mostly given away by the time Harvard admissions turns to its wait list. Does anyone know the truth of this?</p>
<p>On the acceptance letter, Harvard says that there is no limit set on the amount of financial aid awarded. I don’t think its those few waitlistees’ fault that they had to wait so long, or Harvard would have said something. I dont think it makes a difference whether u get in regular or off the waitlist</p>
<p>I don’t think Harvard has a specific amount of money set aside for aid. Schools like Harvard consider aid requests on a case by case basis, and I believe that aid will be available even if taken off the waitlist.</p>
<p>The wait list letter doesn’t say anything about financial aid. I have heard that the process in decisions about the wait list is not need blind; I have read analysis in various places indicating the wait list is way of bringing in students who can pay.</p>
<p>I’ve heard the following recommendation made in articles about how to get in off the wait list: “be sure to tell them you can pay the whole tuition.”</p>
<p>^ For some schools I would guess so, but Harvard has THE best financial aid program in the history of modern higher education. (Other than the few odd schools offering free education) I would bet with 98 percent certainty that Harvard will offer the same aid to those off the waitlist as those accepted in the regular admissions process.</p>
<p>If your son gets off the wait list, it is likely that you will be able to discuss matching Princeton or Yale’s packages if you are not happy with the package that he has been offered. When Harvard accepts a student, they want the student to attend … and the financial aid office will do everything possible to help you make this happen.</p>
<p>Does it matter? If your son makes it off the waitlist, he can see what FA Harvard is offering. If it is not enough, your son can just say: “Thanks, but No Thanks”. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.</p>
<p>OperaDad: “Does it matter?” Yes! Some have advised my son not to bother staying on the wait list because wait listees don’t receive any financial aid. I didn’t think that was correct, and wanted to have the facts to enable my son to make the decision about staying on the list.</p>
<p>Who cares what they say? It doesn’t cost anything to stay on the wait list. Worst case, your son can then say: “I was accepted to Harvard, but turned them down”.</p>
<p>So I repeat my question: Does it matter? What is the downside to being offered admissions off the wait list? You are no obligated to attend. You might win the lottery between now and clearing the wait list. Then you would be kicking yourself for not staying on the wait list.</p>
<p>StringKeyMom, applicants with multiple admissions who get off the waitlist
will have the option of appealing their aid to be at least commensurate
with the school they were planning to attend (as of May 1)- especially
if the school is comparable (P/Y/M/S) in COA to Harvard.</p>
<p>OperaDad: "So I repeat my question: Does it matter? What is the downside to being offered admissions off the wait list? You are no obligated to attend. You might win the lottery between now and clearing the wait list. Then you would be kicking yourself for not staying on the wait list. "</p>
<p>What is the point? “Should I not go on the waitlist because I MIGHT not get financial aid?” That is a defeatist attitude.</p>
<p>If that is the point, then why not stay on the waitlist and find out what financial aid you get?</p>
<p>How many of you have bought a lottery ticket? The odds of winning the lottery are a lot less than getting into Harvard off the waitlist. There is a cost to buying the lottery ticket. There is no cost to staying on the waitlist and finding out what financial aid you are offered. If it doesn’t cost you anything, why not take the chance, regardless of the outcome? There is no downside to staying on the waitlist.</p>
<p>Kids who get into Harvard are the future movers and shakers in the world. Kids who are willing to take calculated risks for untold rewards. If you are not willing to take the NO RISK option of staying on the waitlist, then you are probably not cut out for Harvard.</p>
<p>My son was accepted off the wait list. We just received his FA letter and he received the best package of any university he had applied to. At Harvard at least, if you are accepted you will get FA regardless if you were RD or WL.</p>
<p>OperaDad–I agree with you 90%. Not all Harvard kids become movers and shakers. I didn’t go to HC but the Kennedy School. I know many HC students who lead very ordinary lives (and many HBS grads now sit in jail). You should go to Harvard for the education but do not expect it to be a meal ticket. If that is what you are expecting, you may be very disappointed.</p>
<p>Stringkeymom: wait list admission at Harvard is definitely need blind. Harvard is one of the few universities where that is true. Saying you can pay the whole tuition will not improve your child’s chances. Now it is another story if you are a Senator, member of parliament, Bill Gates’ child etc. Those ‘diversity’ factors may get noticed! (I’m not joking, Stanford famously admitted that Chelsea Clinton’s name and address were noted when her application was reviewed. No doubt!).</p>
<p>Harvard provides the same financial aid to students taken off the waitlist as it does to other students admitted. It guarantees to meet 100% of the students’ demonstrated financial need, and Harvard has the most generous financial aid in the country.</p>
<p>It also is need blind in terms of whom it takes off the waitlist. It takes students off the waitlist in a way that will help create the most well rounded and diverse class as possible.</p>