Harvard University Extends its Financial Aid Program beginning with the Class of 2026

Harvard University extended offers of admissions to 1,954 students for the class of 2026 from a total of 61,220 applicants. The School accepted 740 from the early decision round and 1,214 from the regular round. 

Check: International Scholarships at Harvard University

William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, commented “The Class of 2026 is truly remarkable in every way, and we hope they will choose to come to Harvard in the fall. Beyond their academic and extracurricular accomplishments noted in their applications are the many contributions they made to their families, schools, and communities during a time of pandemic and economic challenge.”

Harvard has also followed through with its commitment to providing higher education opportunities to all students regardless of their financial status. Starting with the class of 2026, the university announced an extension of its Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI). 

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One of the first schemes proposed by HFAI for this year was that the overall cost to attend Harvard College, which includes tuition, room, board, books, and supplies will be free for families whose annual income is under $75,000. 

This is quite an impressive step as a quarter of the total students at Harvard are from families with total incomes below $65,000. Claudine Grey, Dean of the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences, said, ‘Harvard continues to make investments in our financial aid program to lessen the enormous pressures that low- and middle-income families face in sending their deserving students to College. Education is a source of opportunity, and we will support families seeking to provide the best possible opportunities for their children.’

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Till last year, the overall income threshold was $65,000.Students from these families will also receive around $2,000 as start-up funding to help cover move-in costs and other expenses. 

Starting from the academic year 2020-21, Harvard also removed the need for summer work expectations from aid awards and replaced it with a scholarship fund. Students will not have to apply for loans. Instead, they only have to pay an amount of $3500 throughout term time to meet the cost of their books, academic supplies, and other personal expenses.

Checkout: Harvard University Admission 2022-2023

During the 2022-23 application cycle, around 20.5 percent received a federal pell grant, awarded to students from low-income backgrounds. Around 25 percent of students received funding under HFAI, whereas 55 percent received need-based grants. In the case of need-based grants, families only have to pay around $12,700 annually.

Candidates planning to apply to Harvard can use the Net Price Calculator to get a sense of the overall cost of attending this University. The total cost of attendance for students who have not applied for any financial aid for the year 2022-23 is $76,763. This is a 3% increase from the previous year.

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