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Harvard pledged to fully pay for tuition for all undergraduates, an unprecedented move among Ivy League schools and a fund-raising goal the university hopes will extend its dominance in recruiting the nation’s best and brightest students.
The $100 million commitment would apply to low and middle-income students, and would take effect in the 2019-2020 academic year. Harvard disclosed the plan in a letter sent to students on Thursday.
The plan would cover tuition, currently $47,734, and will make the school’s latest price increase redundant. It would be financed by donations, drawing in more ways to attract money for the world’s richest educational institution.
Howard University offers full-tuition help to its entire undergraduate student body, but it relies mostly on federal dollars, and does not offer the same full loan forgiveness or other scholarships that Harvard will provide.
The new methodology will extend the same financial assistance to the children of alumni, a critical factor in maintaining giving levels by parents of current students or prospects. But it would also extend those financial cushions more broadly for parents who earn three times the federal poverty line, or roughly $75,000 per year for a family of four — a higher bar than where the school now sets its limits.
Harvard officials estimated that in the current year alone, the move could lead to an increase in the student body of five to 10 families nationwide, or 15 to 30 students.
The Ivy League schools, which are located in affluent areas with relatively low costs of living, already have among the nation’s lowest prices for a private education.
The school has already lowered its financial aid barrier for undergraduates, which currently crosses a threshold after parents’ income has crested $180,000, and assigns no loans in its student aid packages.
For some scholars who study wealth inequality, Harvard’s big move Thursday only shined a brighter light on an already contentious issue: the limited value of a college degree in narrowing economic opportunity.
John B. King Jr., who oversaw the Obama administration’s efforts to make college more affordable, echoed others, noting that the prices of college-related expenses, including housing, medical costs and textbooks, have risen faster than tuition in recent years.
Harvard’s new financial aid plan also represented a rare ideological shift among Ivy League schools, whose own tuition has risen far faster than inflation or wages over the last decade.
Cornell, Yale and Columbia failed to generate much enthusiasm yesterday for Harvard’s example, making clear that they intend to pause before taking similar steps themselves.
Rothman said she might consider following Harvard’s lead someday — “especially because we have so many folks from our region who can’t afford to pay,” she said in an interview yesterday afternoon from Albany, N.Y. “But as long as there are large gaps in income, overseas students are continuing to be more economically competitive, and there are part-time job opportunities, I don’t see how you can make it tuition-free and not loans.”
Albright hailed Harvard for its “commitment to bringing our very best students here” and said he once considered going to graduate school to teach at the Ivy League campus, he “was unfortunately turned away due to my inability to afford tuition.” But even with its full financial aid package, he added, “I knew Harvard was unaffordable for me.”
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts expressed admiration for Harvard’s plan, saying it has greatly influenced the Ivy League fiscal terrain.
Harvard’s plan also comes during a difficult moment in higher education, as the Trump administration makes its priorities clear — including a steep spending freeze that affects education construction projects and academic research.
The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities is concerned that about 10,000 school districts now have cumulative deficits greater than $50 billion.
Can you summarize Harvard’s plan to fully cover tuition for all undergraduates in one sentence?
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