<p>"Families earning less than $60,000 a year will no longer be expected to pay for their children to attend Harvard, school officials announced yesterday."</p>
<p>dang...ivies are just exceeding the limits..40k to 60k..now i wish i wouldve applied to harvard</p>
<p>60K = Free. 120K = pay full amount. Now the income taxes on that 60K difference will be 25% (Federal, state, social sec, medicare). Thus it's cheaper for 2nd parent to sit at home. Or better yet work under the table someplace and off the tax rolls like all the illegal imigrants.</p>
<p>Great country, you just gotta know how to scam it.</p>
<p>I love it... competing for poor people.</p>
<p>See: "Harvard to Yale, Princeton, Stanford: "We'll see your $45,000 and raise you $15,000!"</p>
<p>People with incomes below 60K hardly "sit around".
My parents are divorced and their combined incomes are barely above that...and I promise you that they are educated and hard-working and legal.</p>
<p>Yes, but what about the "poor" middle class. We get screwed two ways from sunday!</p>
<p>Ummm, 50K is is considered the median income for the US. So, 60K is pretty much a middle class income (unless you come from an upperclass area).</p>
<p>I think last year the median was $44,000 nationally.</p>
<p>Now all they need to do is do away with tuition completely.</p>
<p>man i wish i applied</p>
<p>Sorry, Byerly, I missed the creative title... must have been scanning for $60,000. :)</p>
<p>50K in 2000 for familys, 41K in 2000 for households.</p>
<p>In 2004, it was 53K for families, 44K for households.</p>
<p>I think its very generous of them. If you look at the statistics, its the poorest people who may be very gifted, and very talented, who can't finish their education because of financial problems. I think helping out those who need it most is great of them. ;)</p>
<p>The government figures it out all screwy. They count your house as capital, but they don't count that you pay a mortgage on it. My family is considered middle class, but they will take out tons of loans, that I will have to pay off, to get me to a great school. It is all very unfair unless you are very poor or very rich. Evita said it best: "screw the middleclass"</p>
<p>Well, the middle class is in the middle... I am sure you [middle class] can still get plenty of scholarships and funds, but still pay half of the amount. Thats what I think, but I may be wrong.</p>
<p>This is quite interesting, because earning somewhere around 60000 in my country would put you in the above middle class range, and I'm sure that in other countries you would be seen as really rich if you earned that kind of money.</p>
<p>:(</p>
<p>^yep. US is just expensive.</p>
<p>Sweet, my family's income is about 45k, I'm a minority and I do have stats better than those compared in my school, which is terrible (my school)...do I stand a chance...God, all is in your hands.</p>
<p>Harvard expands financial aid for low- and middle-income families</p>
<p>Reinforcing its commitment to opportunity and excellence across the economic spectrum, Harvard today (March 30) announced a significant expansion of its 2004 financial aid initiative for low- and middle-income families. Beginning with the class admitted this week, parents in families with incomes of less than $60,000 will no longer be expected to contribute to the cost of their children attending Harvard. In addition, Harvard will reduce the contributions of families with incomes between $60,000 and $80,000.</p>
<p>The new income thresholds build on the program announced two years ago, which provided that families with incomes below $40,000 would not be expected to contribute to the cost of education, with a reduced contribution for families with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000. (See 2004 release, <a href="http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.04/01-finaid.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.04/01-finaid.html</a>) The number of students enrolled at Harvard from these income brackets increased by 24 percent for the class entering this past fall the first full year of the program.</p>
<p>"There is no more important mission for Harvard and higher education than promoting equality of opportunity for all," said President Lawrence H. Summers. "We are fortunate to have significant resources, and there is no better way to use them than to support families seeking to provide the best possible opportunities for their children. These increases in financial aid build on and extend our emphasis on recruiting students from low-income backgrounds, and send a clear signal to middle-class families who have all too often felt that Harvard and other leading universities are out of reach."</p>
<p>Harvard is also revising its policy on outside awards won by incoming students, ranging from scholarships provided by local community groups to programs such as the National Merit and Gates Millennium Scholarships. Students will now be able to apply these awards to eliminate their summer savings obligations. Previously, outside awards could be used to offset the $3,650 self-help expectation toward the cost of attendance, but did not apply to the summer savings obligation of $2,150.</p>
<p>Overall financial aid</p>
<p>"We are very pleased to offer such exceptional financial support to our undergraduates," said William C. Kirby, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which oversees Harvard College. "Even before these enhancements, the financial aid budget for next year was projected at $90 million, a 6.2 percent increase over last year, and a 65 percent increase over the past six years. This new initiative will add an additional $2.4 million annually. Although many students and families might find this hard to believe, Harvard is actually more affordable for many students than public colleges or universities."</p>
<p>Two-thirds of Harvard students receive financial aid, and the average grant award for next year is expected to be more than $33,000, or 70 percent of the total cost of attendance. In the past decade, Harvard has reduced the median four-year debt for graduating seniors from more than $16,000 to $6,400 less than one-third of the national average of $20,000.</p>
<p>Expanding the reach of the 2004 financial aid initiative</p>
<p>"Since its inception two years ago, the financial aid initiative aimed at families with incomes below $40,000 has had an enormous impact in attracting students of all backgrounds to Harvard's applicant pool," said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid. "The message that Harvard is open to all talented students continues to resonate and the momentum the program has created has encouraged students to consider colleges they had never imagined before."</p>
<p>Raising the income thresholds for the financial aid initiative to a level above the median family income in the United States is meant to address the very real dilemmas felt by families struggling to balance rising living expenses and the cost of higher education.</p>
<p>"Our financial aid initiative has been very successful in attracting students from the lower income ranges, and we see it as an important step in attracting more students from middle-income families, where our application rates are lower than they should be," said Summers. "If there are thousands of highly qualified students not applying to Harvard, we need to find ways to address that problem. Middle-income relief is one of the steps we are taking, but we also want to reach out to these students in other ways."</p>
<p>In its ongoing effort to attract the best students, Harvard continues to seek talented students across the nation with intensive recruiting by the Office of Admissions, faculty, alumni, and a team of undergraduates.</p>
<p>"Students who have benefited from the financial aid initiative are anxious to give back to the program by working with students who come from similar backgrounds," Fitzsimmons said. "We hope that as we increase the number of students who benefit from the program, we will inspire students from every economic background to consider the full range of our nations colleges and universities."</p>