Harvard University announced a dramatic financial aid overhaul on Monday that will slash the cost of tuition even for students from middle-class and upper middle-class families.
The university said it would replace all loans with grants, and spend up to US$22 million more annually on aid, mostly targeting middle and upper-middle class students, starting with the 2008-2009 academic year. Families earning under US$60,000 already pay nothing to attend the world's richest university, with an endowment of nearly US$35 billion.
The Ivy League school said it will pay US$120 million a year so families earning up to US$180,000 a year will pay only as much as 10 percent of their income on annual tuition and fees, compared with about US$30,000 today. Harvard also said it would take home equity out of its wealth calculation in financial aid.
"We want all students who might dream of a Harvard education to know that it is a realistic and affordable option," Harvard president Drew Faust said.
The initiative will affect more than half of Harvard's 6,600 undergraduate students, she said.
Tuition and fees at public and private US colleges and universities rose by more than double the rate of inflation this year, statistics compiled by the nonprofit College Board show. Harvard's tuition is currently US$31,456. With room, board and services fees, the cost of attending jumps to US$45,456 per year, for each of four years.
The new policy is intended to help students choose careers they want instead of ones that promise hefty salaries to pay off thousands of dollars in loans amassed to pay for their educations, the university said.
"We want them to think more creatively about what they want to do with their lives," said William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid.
But getting into Harvard is getting tougher. It received a record 22,955 applications for the Class of 2011 and accepted only 2,058 -- or 9 percent, the lowest acceptance rate in its history.
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