Harvard's Financial Aid is not #1 like people say

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>It seems to me that people take this thread way to seriously! I didn’t finish reading but to me it seems like the OP wrote this in a haste so his comments seem in-the-moment type of thing. How old is this guy? Same age as me! 17, 18? Still a kid, without a lot of experience or insights into the world. It was indeed very short-sighted of the OP (maybe a little stupid) but he probably feels differently now after all the long responses he received. So you all should just calm down and stop taking this so seriously.</p>

<p>@Falcon
Please don’t generalize all FA kids who are receiving a lot of aid based on this OP. I have lurked CC for a long time (well, 4 years) and this is the first time I have read something like this. No need to lose faith in the system. Would you prefer it that all the selective schools offer no aid? So only the upper class can afford to go there? Hell, no; I don’t want to live in that kind of world where only money can bring forth a great education. Just remember that he’s still a kid, blah his mouth probably in a moment of self-pity without really thinking too much into it (he said he did regret it so there’s growing for ya). People get expose to different perspectives and will change.</p>

<p>And to everybody! This is not representative of the FA kids! This OP didn’t know what he was talking about. I am 100% sure most kids (as in like 99.999999%) are very grateful for the aid they have received from schools like Harvard.</p>

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<p>Beware ye who argue on the internet. The OP could likely be 12 years old. Or he could just as well be 30 years old and live in India.</p>

<p>As for financial aid:</p>

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<p>This is more or less my timeframe as well, though I third the suggestion to contact the FAO for specifics. Under the 60k bracket there are mystery divisions at which you qualify for certain things but not others, like additional coverage of your health insurance expenses. Not all under 60kers qualify for work study, either, and the relevant amount owed is simply “term-time job.”</p>

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<p>@NO295208 I’m sorry. You are right, it was late and I should have known better than to allow the comments of someone who is still so young get to me. My apologies if I offended anyone. </p>

<p>When we make donations back to our colleges (no matter how large or how small the amount) we all just have to hope and trust that the money will be put to good use - invested wisely so that the corpus can grow, better facilities for the students, financial aid for kids who are deserving, etc. All I can do is have faith that the system works and continue to try to do my part along with the countless others who give back to their alma maters.</p>

<p>To the OP, I am sorry for your health issues. I hope they resolve quickly. If you don’t completely understand today the incredible gifts and opportunities you are being offered by HM&S, I believe you will in time. Since you must be a high achiever just to be offered a spot in these amazing universities, if you truly want to go Harvard I have every confidence that you can find a way to make it happen. Good luck to you and I hope you will be able to help others in your position someday.</p>

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<p>To the OP - Harvard offered you an aid package that requires a larger contribution than Stanford and MIT. That is your aid package. In order to compare these 3 schools, and which offers “the best aid” one would need to look at all of their aid packages. In your case, Harvard did not offer the best package. The corollary to your situation is the student who manages to get a full ride to a school that is known for lousy financial aid - that person thinks the school is in fact very generous.</p>

<p>Your complaint that Harvard comes across as entitled because you had the expectation that if Harvard offers the best aid in general, then they would offer you the best aid. Then you got defensive, because you felt people were picking on you. But most of what you read here is exactly what the financial aid office will be thinking when you appeal their decision. There seem to be two issues: family finances and your health. Since Harvard required the CSS Profile, the finances are likely to have already been taken into consideration. Further, you say you don’t work now, which means you are not already making a financial contribution - which suggests that the family is surviving without your contribution, and will do so if you don’t contribute in the future. They also won’t have you to support. You lament that you would effectively be working for the rich students, but what you don’t understand is that most of your classmates will work - and a significant percentage will probably have loans to cover a portion of their family contribution. The families that are asked to contribute $20,000 per year are not rich. Yes, they have more than your family, but they still work for every penny. In your situation, they ask nothing of your family, only a bit from you. Your family should already have lower expenses next year, because they won’t be feeding you during the school year, so they are getting a break. Please consider that there might be students who did get batter packages than you - and their families are most likely worse off than yours.</p>

<p>Then there’s your health. If you are honestly concerned that you don’t have the stamina to work a few hours each week, you should consider whether you have the stamina to make it through 4 years at Harvard, Stanford or MIT. This is not a question of posters here berating you, but pointing out a significant concern. Concern both for you, and for those who have and will contribute to Harvard, allowing them to have the money to offer to you. Help is given to those who help themselves - your family has supported you up until now; it’s time to step up to the plate and support yourself now.</p>

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<p>My son will take your spot if you don’t want it.</p>

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<p>@CTScoutmom Well said, indeed. </p>

<p>Now, I really do need to disable my CC account and get back to work. Much too easy for me to get engrossed in the lives of others without being able to offer much useful advice. Btw, my daughter will also be looking for a campus job. She has been working various jobs since the 9th grade, it’s all she knows (well, that and fortunately some other high level stuff). So even the full tuition kids know how to work :slight_smile: OP imagine that!</p>

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<p>I would like to write this apology for my thread.</p>

<p>I’m sorry.</p>

<p>I’m sorry for the way I have represented myself and my peers who have also received financial aid for college. I’m truly sorry that my mindless writing, which has escalated to a level I would have never foreseen, has seriously affected the faith some people have in financial aid. It was never my wish to become such a despicable person. Contrary to what you might perceive from this thread, I am really, really, really grateful for the help I have been given. Please do not misunderstand that I only say that to argue. It is really the truth. I am not eloquent so I’m afraid I cannot convey to you the feelings and the hope I experienced when I found the Questbridge program while searching for scholarships in ninth grade. Without knowing about FA, I would not have aimed to get into selective colleges, and I wouldn’t have done many things that I did during high school. I wouldn’t have grown so much academically during hs. Without this generous system, a plethora of students would have graduate college with tens of thousands of loan. After I finished reading Falco’s post, I feel extremely guilty and so very remorseful that it is me who have given a bad name to the system that has helped and will help me and many, many, many students.</p>

<p>Please let me clarify a few things.</p>

<p>When I was writing this thread, it was not my intention at all to “deride” Harvard like some people have said that I was. I have well regards for Harvard; that’s why I have spent much time in my application so that I could get in. Truly, I consider Harvard one of the very best schools in the University and I greatly appreciate their generous aid system. I feel extremely lucky and fortunate that I got into such a great institution. I was honestly expecting a rejection. I am very aware of the fortune I have given, and the opportunities and open-doors Harvard would grant me during college and post-college if I choose to attend. I don’t really believe what I said about the dishes (in fact, I copied it from another thread I have read before) and, even though I didn’t say this, I am prepared to work when the situation really comes down to it. I am not that stupid to be so princessy. I overcame many challenges, and have done many things I hate before too. If outside scholarships are enough to cover this portion, then it would be great; if not, of course I will work.</p>

<p>I want to clarify that because I don’t want people to misconceive FA students to be these hates-work yay-free-ride students who feel entitled to all these money. It reallly pains me that I am responsible for this. What I have written in the first post is just like I have previously mentioned, mindless. I deeply apologize for it again and I hope that you believe the me who have written such post is an extremely rare exception. I am sure that all kids are very grateful for the generosity H has displayed. I was just crazy and I can’t tell you what devil made me make such a thread; I don’t even know myself. My initial post was just careless, without much thought, stupid, and not characteristic of the usual me or any FA student. After 2-3 responses, I was already regretting my opening my stupid mouth without much thought; this incident once again reinforces this Cambodian saying my mom often tells me that is something like “Thrice thoughts before speaking” (I’m not good at translating). I read every single reply, every word, and I will keep all of them in mind.</p>

<p>I have gained a valuable life lesson, insightful perspectives, good advice, and some good reprimanding (some of which I think is a bit harsh but probably is well-deserved for the behavior I have displayed). This thread has brought much stress to me and deprived me of sleep, worrying whether someone can identify me and I am forever branded with the stupidity and ignorance displayed here. But I have grown. I know how fortunate I am, “winning a lottery” as someone has put it. I am not entitled at all in real life even though this thread may suggest that. I am grateful about the sponsor programs for students without the means to visit campuses because without them many other and I would have to make a decision without ever being on the campus. I also greatly appreciate other financial help I have given. I truly really value all of this. Other admits do too (please remember again that they’re not like the me who was writing the initial post; even the usual me is not like this). I am sorry that this program is also given a bad name even though it’s such a great and much needed (in my opinion) program because it’s affiliated to me. I hope that it’s not because of me that this program is suddenly shut down. My conscience would not bear it.</p>

<p>I have revealed too much of my personal information that it is entirely possible for someone I know to identify me. It has now become my worst nightmare if a Harvard adcom or FA officer lurks AP and comes across this thread. The words I have written here do not represent the usual me well at all. I feel so bad for the damage I have caused and I truly regret this so much. I hope that you will forgive my action and continue to believe the FA system.</p>

<p>tl;dr: I’m sorry.</p>

<p>I sincerely request that people stop replying to me and bumping this thread up. I have already acknowledge my error many times, so please, I have read enough reprimanding, however much you might think I deserve. It fears me so much that my in-the-moment stupid words will become one of the most read on CC. If you really want to say something to me, please PM me instead.</p>

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<p>Dulcinea - I know you’d like this thread to die, but there’s just one think I’d like to say first.</p>

<p>I think you’re handling this as well as possible now. You’ve shown yourself to be thoughtful, grateful, and remorseful.</p>

<p>I sincerely believe I can speak on behalf of the majority who’ve followed this thread in collectively accepting your apology and wishing you the best as you move forward from here.</p>

<p>You’ve accomplished a lot and you’ve got a lot of great things ahead of you. Enjoy!</p>

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<p>I haven’t read this entire thread, but to anyone next year who picks this up, Harvard was the only one to give me the aid I needed and more. Yale’s EFC was nine times bigger than Harvard’s. Shame, as I want to go to Yale and so I’m hoping they’ll reconsider… but Harvard’s aid was by far #1</p>

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<p>Harvard’s COA has about $3500 of unbilled costs that it figures students will incur going to school. The way it works is that the school will bill you for 1/2 of the tuition, fees and expenses at the beginning of the term less what you have put down as enrollment/room deposits. Half of your aid will be credited. You won’t ow the amount of the COA that is not billed. You have to come up with some of it, as you do have to buy some thing for college like supplies, toiletries, books and get to the school. Need linens, clothes. But a lot of that you can scrounge up from home and you’d need that stuff even if you weren’t going to school. You will only have a few hundred you will have to come up with to pay what you owe the Harvard Bursar’s office and if your parents and you cannot come up with it, then you can go on a monthly plan to pay it off through the year. But we are only taking about a few hundred dollars.</p>

<p>You then find a work study job Many times the jobs are checking ids, working the library and other positions that allow for study time. The pay is not minimum wage and many of the jobs are open to everyone, not just work study recipients, so you will be rubbing elbows with many who are not on financial aid working the jobs. Considering about half of H’s students are on financial aid of some sort and many who are not are also trying to earn some of the money it costs, you are hardly going to be singled out. In full disclosure here, I worked the cafeteria as a hash slinger and it was NOT work study. I did it for the extra money and because it also gave me free meals during the shifts I worked with made the job all the more valuable. Didn’t bother me one bit. I was also on financial aid but wanted the extra money for things. So there are going to be all kinds of people working the cafetera. My friend whose family was very well to do worked in the food service too.</p>

<p>What you earn during the year for work study can go towards those expenses that are not billed. For your sundries, towards your books towards your next semester’s amount that has to come out of pocket, and towards transportation costs home.</p>

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<p>Dulcinea, don’t let $4200 keep you from attending Harvard. You can work at Harvard Student Agencies, for instance. They’re a bunch of gifted and talented people. [Harvard</a> Student Agencies - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.hsa.net/]Harvard”>http://www.hsa.net/)</p>