New parents / students - getting $2500 for computer covered by outside scholarships

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>This was a topic of discussion on the parents' thread lat summer that bears repeating. Most incoming Harvard students have the stats to be pretty successful in lining up outside scholarships, but at most colleges, if you receive financial aid any outside scholarships will just reduce the amount of the aid you receive. Harvard does two very thoughtful things for students who generate outside scholarships, and if you can get the scholarships awarded, you need to take advantage of them.</p>

<p>First, in any Harvard aid package, there is an expectation of a student contribution from work - a couple or few thousand dollars, I forget exactly. Any outside scholarships you get first go to cover that contribution so that you won't need to work, or if you do, you get to keep the income. There's nothing you have to do to take advantage of this except report the outside scholarship(s).</p>

<p>Then, if you generate additional outside aid, you can use that one time only - at the start of your first semester at Harvard - to apply up to $2500 of it to a computer and necessary hardware and peripherals. You can get printers, cables, speakers, etc., but not optional peripherals such as cameras, iPods, etc. You'll get a flyer regarding a Harvard student discount on purchasing the equipment, and you'll want to talk to Financial Aid in August about getting the form to claim reimbursement for what you purchase.</p>

2

<p>Thanks gadad. So I’m assuming you can’t use Harvard’s deal in conjunction with the Apple Mac+iTouch in August?</p>

3

<p>laststopforme - You can get an educational discount from Apple that’s roughly equivalent to the “Harvard” Apple discount. Because the iPod touch ends up being free, I think it’d work for Harvard’s Financial Aid Office, but I haven’t tried it myself.</p>

4

<p>The Apple educational discount and the Harvard discount are roughly the same <em>however</em> by going through Harvard we paid no state sales tax (shipped to our son outside MA) and the Harvard price included a 3 year warranty vs Apple’s 1 year warranty. I agree that the free iPod offer should not affect the use of the scholarship because it is free.</p>

5

<p>Hats post brought back a memory. D ordered her laptop through H, which came with a free printer. They would not let her pick up the printer when she arrived there, she had to have it shipped to her with the laptop. So in total, the printer was shipped to H from CA (from Apple - that is what the packing materials showed), then shipped from H to CA (where we live), then shipped by us back to H. No state sales tax, though! :)</p>

6

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>Do you know if the payment for the students computer has to be in the student’s name (or does just the purchase have to be in the student’s name)? Thx.</p>

7

<p>I’d think that the student’s name would just have to be on the receipt as the person to whom the equipment was delivered.</p>

8

<p>^^I don’t think a name is required at all on the receipt.</p>

<p>This is the exact petition given to entering freshmen-- also note that the amount for 2010-11 is $2000 and not $2500:</p>

<p>Dear [name],</p>

<p>Since you recently contacted our office to inquire about the computer reimbursement petition process, we are writing to provide you with information about this program.</p>

<p>The Harvard outside award policy states that if you receive outside awards, there will be a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your term-time job of $2,500 and your summer earnings expectation of $1,500, in recognition of your success in obtaining outside assistance. If the total of outside awards exceeds your self-help and summer expectation of $4,000, the “excess” amount replaces your Harvard Scholarship dollar-for-dollar. If this situation applies to you during your freshman year, you may petition for a one-time exception to Harvard’s outside award policy. This exception allows you to apply up to $2,000 of your “excess” outside awards toward the purchase of a single computer before your Harvard Scholarship is adjusted. You may not be eligible for this program, if your outside awards exceed your financial need.</p>

<p>In order to apply for this one-time exception, please complete the enclosed petition and return it to the Financial Aid Office along with copies of the receipt(s) documenting your computer purchase. Items eligible for reimbursement include a computer, printer, security kits, warranties, laptop docking stations, shipping and taxes. Examples of items not eligible for reimbursement include PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, and external CD/DVD burners. If you have questions about the eligibility of a particular item, please feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office at (617) 495-1581.</p>

<p>If your petition is approved, the reimbursement will appear on your term bill as an increase in your Harvard Scholarship, in effect reducing the amount that you and your family need to pay to your term bill. There will not be a separate “computer reimbursement” credit indicated on your term bill. This reimbursement will be applied to your term bill account in equal amounts for the fall and spring semesters.</p>

<p>You may wish to purchase your computer through Harvard’s Technology Product Center at [Technology</a> Services : University Information Systems](<a href=“http://uis.harvard.edu/technology_services/]Technology”>http://uis.harvard.edu/technology_services/). The Faculty of Arts and Sciences recommends that you consider buying either a laptop or a flat-panel LCD monitor with a desktop, and that you select Energy-Star labeled computers and peripherals. We also encourage you to consider energy efficiency when purchasing your equipment; for more information, please visit [In</a> my dorm: More Energy Conservation | Sustainability at Harvard](<a href=“http://www.green.harvard.edu/hbs/energy-conservation]In”>http://www.green.harvard.edu/hbs/energy-conservation).</p>

<p>If you have not yet informed the Financial Aid Office of the outside awards you will be receiving for your freshman year, please visit the Outside Aid Reporting System website
<a href=“http://admin-apps.fas.harvard.edu/oars/[/url]”>http://admin-apps.fas.harvard.edu/oars/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>The Committee on Financial Aid</p>