Is Harvard's Study Abroad Free?

gibby
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:57:31 +0000

Based upon financial need, my daughter attended Harvard on almost a full academic scholarship. She (we) basically had to pay room, board, plus about $2,000 in tuition costs per semester. The total per semester came to about $9,000, which made the whole endeavor less expensive than our flagship state school. (Our family’s need was calculated having 2 children enrolled in college at the same time.)

However, if my daughter had elected to go abroad for the summer, Harvard’s Financial Aid office said we would have been responsible for 54% of the cost, which could have been an additional $5,000 to $8,000, not including airfare. Consequently, my daughter did not go abroad during the summer term.

Make no mistake about it, Harvard is generous, but they don’t have a surplus of aid for student’s going abroad for the summer. It’s not a priority, nor is it a necessity in order to graduate.

As 94% of applicant’s are rejected at Harvard, may I suggest you ask the question again after you’ve been accepted!