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wallinbl · Mar 31, 2006, 06:59 AM

Harvard just announced that if your household income is less than $60K/year, then you will be able to attend Harvard for free. Standard academic requirements apply, of course. I think that's a pretty cool thing. Someone is finally putting their money down about helping to educate the poor. I hope that other schools follow, as Harvard is only one school, and a hard school to get into at that.

My dad received a partial academic scholarship to Yale, but his parents did not have enough money for the remainder of the tuition, so he ended up at a small local school. He's done quite well for himself, but it's unfortunate that his education was limited due to lack of wealth.

turtle777 · Mar 31, 2006, 10:18 AM

Wow, that tells that Harvard must be hurting for customers that would pay.
Soon they'll drop out of the Ivy League.

-t

Goldfinger · Mar 31, 2006, 11:21 AM

Heh, paying for education.. So funny

funkboy · Mar 31, 2006, 12:42 PM

This is great news. Will Harvard simply pay for tuition, or also for housing and meal plans?
It will be an interesting difference to see very smart, poorer children right alongside possibly less smart (or maybe similarly intelligent) richer kids. How this will affect the social interaction will be a good case study.
I wonder how Harvard is hurting for customers... I turned it down in favor of a lower cost option, myself.

Millennium · Mar 31, 2006, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by funkboy

I wonder how Harvard is hurting for customers... I turned it down in favor of a lower cost option, myself.

I don't know if they're hurting for customers, but they're certainly not hurting for money. One of my friends is working on a Ph.D there, and she got a very nice stipend from them for several years. Harvard isn't afraid to throw money at someone they want badly enough. If they can afford that, then that's probably how they can afford to fund this venture. It will be fascinating to see what comes out of this.

That said, this will probably result in a huge surge in applications. Is Harvard going to have to get even more selective, just to handle the increased number of applicants?

production_coordinator · Mar 31, 2006, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Millennium

I don't know if they're hurting for customers, but they're certainly not hurting for money. One of my friends is working on a Ph.D there, and she got a very nice stipend from them for several years. Harvard isn't afraid to throw money at someone they want badly enough. If they can afford that, then that's probably how they can afford to fund this venture. It will be fascinating to see what comes out of this.

That said, this will probably result in a huge surge in applications. Is Harvard going to have to get even more selective, just to handle the increased number of applicants?

The admission process at these schools are generally a joke. The screen 95% of them to no end... and give a blank check to the remaining 5%. Having worked for a top tier school, I quickly found out that they will simply admit many famous/well connected people with little or no review of their credentials.

I was really upset when I saw it happen first hand.

funkboy · Mar 31, 2006, 05:44 PM

For famous / well connected people, why doesn't that make sense? They have a lot of money, can afford it, and will probably donate a lot back to the college later in life. Not that it's right, but it makes sense. Certainly can make one upset.

I don't know if they're hurting for customers, but they're certainly not hurting for money.

I spoke with another person who got their Ph.D from there, and they said the university has enough money to let everyone (not sure if that meant undergrads, or really everyone) attend for free.
I imagine with the increased number of applications to 'the free school' now, Harvard will definitely be #1 on the most selective ranks, simply because they will turn so many people's away.

d4nth3m4n · Mar 31, 2006, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

The admission process at these schools are generally a joke. The screen 95% of them to no end... and give a blank check to the remaining 5%. Having worked for a top tier school, I quickly found out that they will simply admit many famous/well connected people with little or no review of their credentials.

I was really upset when I saw it happen first hand.

i'm a cornell student. i've often said that there are two types of students here- the smart an motivated ones, and those descended from smart and motivated ones.