For a while it seemed that only the affluent or the lower income could “afford” a high quality education at an elite college: the affluent because they have the funds to pay, the lower income because they could count on more financial aid. The middle-income families, however, seemed left to fend for themselves.

Happily, Harvard announced a plan last week that should help close the gap: they are making a Harvard education more affordable for middle and high-income families who make up to $180,000 per year! (They have been generous in the past, too, averaging about $21,693 of aid to families who earned over $100,000 even before this new policy.)

Under the new plan, families who make between $120,000 and $180,000 will be asked to pay only 10% of their annual income. That means that a family that makes $120,000/yr will get a year at Harvard (which usually costs around $45,000) for only $12,000 (the price of some public schools!), and a family who makes $180,000 would pay only $18,000!

Families who make less than $120,000 will be happier, too. The percent of annual income they pay declines with income to the point that a family making $60,000 per year or less won’t have to pay anything. University of Virginia, College of William & Mary and Duke also offer families that earn $60,000 per year or less a free education. Harvard will also no longer count home equity when determining financial need.

Will Harvard’s bold and generous move ruffle the feathers of its competing colleges? So far it’s anybody’s guess, but some schools have already begun the move toward affordability. A good number of colleges had previously made the move to prevent students from graduating with lots of debt. The Project on Student Debt has compiled a list of schools who have pledged to minimize or eliminate student loans in their financial aid programs, and other schools like Caltech have promised to replace loans with gift aid for some students.

Unfortunately the extra help to the higher income families may very well increase applications from this group and present even more competition for students of lower income families. This new policy may not only lessen the chances of students from lower income families of securing a spot at this elite university, it may actual have the opposite effect Harvard claims to want to accomplish by actually decreasing the diversity of the freshman class. Iâ€^TMll keep you posted on further developments.

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All the best,
Deborah Fox

Photo: Harvard Red Tree by surekat