<p>Johnlee: I am talking about merit aid, not need based. Harvard does not offer merit aid. Also, the “under $60,000 income” has already been proven to be pertinent to an extremely small percentage of kids at Harvard.</p>
<p>Here are Harvard financial aid figure as they reported to US News:</p>
<p>(The first percent is first-year students, the second is all undergrads.)
Need based Aid:
Students who applied for financial aid 64% 55%
Those determined to have financial need 52% 50%
Students whose need was fully met (excluding PLUS or other private loans) 100% 100%
Avg. financial aid package (% awarded aid) $32,009 (52%) $30,715 (50%)
Avg. need-based scholarships or grants (% awarded aid) $29,950 (52%) $28,004 (49%)
Avg. self-help aid, such as work study or loans (% awarded aid) $3,058 (37%) $3,369 (42%)
Avg. need-based loan (excluding PLUS or other private loans) $2,816 $3,439
% need met (of those awarded need-based aid) 100% 100%</p>
<p>Non-need-based aid:
Avg. merit award (% awarded aid) $0 (0%) $0 (0%)
Avg. athletic scholarship (% awarded aid) $0 (0%) $0 (0%)</p>
<p>An important exclusion to note is the exclusion of PLUS loans or private loans - the parents could very well be paying the balance with huge loans.</p>
<p>I don’t know why they are claiming two-thirds when it is more like half. But either way, I think kids are foolish to buy the line that “somehow it will all work out financially” and all they have to do is get in…If they buy that line they are apt to end up at a school they don’t want to be at because they haven’t explored all the better, more affordable options.</p>