<p>I am curious whether the financial aids that schools like Harvard give are something you have to pay all back later. I know that people who are in the income bracket lower than 60,000 American receive full financial aid at Harvard. Does this financial aid mean that I would have to pay all back, or partially, or none at all? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>You pay back only the loan portion. This is typically quite small-- a few thousand dollars. Don't sweat this. If you can get in you can afford to go. At princeton aid is all grant which means you don't have to repay anything.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>My espected family contribution is $0 but I would still have to pay around $5-6,000, so it's not that much.</p>
<p>Now we just have to get in :)</p>
<p>The student contribution is not $5,000-$6,000 but rather $2,200.</p>
<p>xjayz, what about the loan/work-study portion...that's part of the student contribution, in addition to the summer earnings.</p>
<p>what does studiing at Harvard cost?
How much costs on year?
I'm from germany, but I want to study in the USA.
Thanks for help!</p>
<p>harvardbound: I found fin. aid complicated, and I hope I can elucidate this a bit. If you notice, not ALL of the money you have will go toward Harvard exclusively. You can calculate this based off the money that you will be paying Harvard (don't include the travel budget and personal expenses, etc.) and subtract your scholarship money. That will give you a true expectation of how much you will need to pay Harvard directly in any given year. It is certainly not $5,000, I believe.</p>
<p>GermanYalie17- If you receive no financial aid, the tuition and housing cost is about $41,000 a year.</p>
<p>thanks xjayz :)</p>
<p>Hey harvardbound123 -- I really explained in detail to you in PM how to go about calculating what you truly have to pay to Harvard. Hope it helps! :)</p>
<p>To others -- Sorry, I only respond to PMs from accepted students who have concrete questions about financial aid; prospective students can find all the information they would ever want on this website. I keep to NSM's policy on the belief that everyone should be informed of any developments in college admissions advice.</p>
<p>It is relatively easy to get a feel for what it will actually cost you to go to harvard or Princeton.</p>
<ol>
<li> calculate the total cost of attendance i.e., tuition plus residence plus books, insurance travel and personal expenses. Say about 50,000</li>
</ol>
<p>2 go to the aid estimator on the Princeton site--the methodology for Harvard is about the same. Plug in your parents assets and income in American dollars</p>
<p>3 The results will say, how much your parents have to contribute and how much you have to contribute either out of summer earning or from a campus job</p>
<ol>
<li> The difference is made up of grants and a small loan component at Harvard. At princeton it is all grant</li>
</ol>
<p>5 The typical loan component is in the range of $2000 </p>
<ol>
<li> If your parents earn less than $60,000 US they are not expected to contribute. You however are still expected to contribute the summer earning, the campus job and the small loan component.</li>
</ol>
<p>Remember that travel, books and expenses are included in the expected cost of attendance calculation.</p>
<p>Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Williams, Amherst are need blind for internationals and are all more or less equally generous. Don't sweat the finances. The surest way not to get in is not to apply.</p>
<p>Remember -- Harvard does not have loans as part of its financial aid package. A family is certainly allowed to take out a loan, but it is not a requirement.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>umm, Amherst and columbia are NOT need-blind for intls. The officially need blind colleges for internationals:</p>
<p>harvard
yale
princeton
Mit
Cornell (cornell is need blind, but does NOT pledge to meet full need)
williams
middlebury</p>
<p>If any other college in America is need-blind for internationals, someone please let me know(so that we have a sort of exhaustive list right here!)</p>