<p>It is difficult indeed to imagine any “proof” which you would be willing to accept, given your leanings, on an issue to which I have paid close attention.</p>
<p>I have my own “evidence” gathered through a survey of cross admit financial aid numbers voluntarily supplied to me in the last several weeks by about 15 CC posters or their parents - but I hardly expect you to alter your own views in response to anything so unscientific.</p>
<p>Absent a sworn affidavit submitted by each cross admit opting for Harvard over Princeton (probably between 75% and 85% of them) I can’t imagine anything you’d find convincing … and even then you’d probably challenge the accuracy of the survey!</p>
<p>I do, however, call your attention to this reported statistic: the yield rate at Harvard for those in the group eligible for the new “financial aid initiative” was 85.3% - substantially above the overall yield rate of 80% or a little bit lower - demonstrating that at least among lower income applicants to Harvard the financial awards offered seem to have been a strong draw indeed. If Harvard lost anyone to Princeton based on a superior financial aid offer - it was clearly a pretty random circumstance.</p>
<p>To quote:</p>
<p>“Eighty percent of students admitted to the Class of 2010 will enter Harvard in September, a slight increase over last year’s 78 percent. Led by an 85.3 percent yield for admitted students eligible for the newly enhanced Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI) for low- and middle-income families, the Class of 2010 will be the most economically diverse in Harvard’s history.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/05.11/01-yield.html[/url]”>http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/05.11/01-yield.html</a></p>