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Financial Aid

Does Harvard offer financial aid?

Yes. About 70% of Harvard students receive some form of financial aid-grants, loans and/or part-time work. Our policy of need-based financial aid is designed to meet 100% of a family's demonstrated need. Recent enhancements have made our aid program even more generous by reducing significantly the amounts that students are expected to work or borrow during the academic year, thereby allowing all students to participate fully in the extracurricular life of the College and to minimize their student indebtedness. Our financial aid policies apply equally to international students and to U.S. citizens.

Does applying for financial aid affect a student's chances for admission?

No. Admission to Harvard is need-blind, by which we mean that a lack of financial resources and need for financial aid are not impediments to admission. Applying for financial aid does not jeopardize a student’s chances for admission, and foreign students have the same access to financial aid funding as do U.S. citizens.

Is it easy to qualify for financial aid?

Financial aid is more widely available than most families expect. We determine need based on a variety of family circumstances, not income alone. Even families with annual incomes exceeding $130,000 (U.S.) may qualify for scholarship aid.

What if a family's financial situation changes while their student is attending Harvard?

We adjust individual financial aid packages to accommodate significant changes in a family's financial situation. Students apply for financial assistance each year, and we will meet students' demonstrated need for all four years.

Does Harvard award merit scholarships?

No. Harvard is firmly committed to allocating resources to sustain our policies of need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid. Our unusually talented student populations -- chosen in a very competitive admissions process -- would, in any case, complicate the equitable distribution of merit-based awards. However, students last year brought with them to Harvard about $13 million in scholarships from outside resources, thus enhancing their own financial flexibility during their college years.

Does Harvard provide loans to international students who qualify for financial aid?

Yes. Students from foreign countries may receive loans from the Harvard Loan Program as a part of their financial aid packages. No interest accrues on these loans during full-time enrollment in college or graduate school and for six months thereafter. Students must begin to repay these loans six months after the end of full-time enrollment in college or graduate school.

Does Harvard require international students to work if they qualify for financial aid?

No, a job is not required, but is easily available. All students, international or American, who demonstrate financial need will be offered a modest amount of loan or job as part of their financial aid award. Some students will choose to take a loan for the full amount of their loan/job offer; others will choose to work for the full amount with a job requiring about twelve hours per week; and yet other students will choose to have a combination of loan and job. U.S. immigration regulations require foreign nationals to work on-campus, and they restrict the amount of time a foreign student can spend working part-time while attending college. Jobs are plentiful and are often interesting and relevant to academic interests.

Can students find jobs on or near campus?

There are always many jobs available at Harvard, and we guarantee on-campus employment for students whose financial aid packages include term-time work provisions. Employment opportunities range from dining hall duties to work in the University's libraries, laboratories and offices. Students have also earned money on campus as bartenders, teaching assistants, sportswriters, computer programmers, lifeguards and research assistants, to cite a few examples. Working on average eight to twelve hours per week, most students find that they can work, excel academically, and participate in a range of extracurricular activities. Read more at our Student Employment Office web site.

Will Harvard provide travel expenses for international students who receive financial aid?

All students who are on financial aid have a travel allowance included in their financial aid award which is meant to help with the cost of travel to and from Cambridge. Because of our flexible financial aid policies and the availability of jobs on campus, many international students travel back and forth to Cambridge several times during their undergraduate years. Overseas students are advised to seek information from the nearest U.S. Cultural Affairs Office about travel grants and other financial assistance available to qualified students from various foundations in this country and from the U.S. government. Foreign nationals should explore the possibility of aid from their own governments.

Does Harvard provide financial aid for study at other institutions?

All our funding benefits exclusively those students from the U.S. as well as abroad who are admitted to and enter Harvard College. A Harvard undergraduate's financial aid package will apply to their expenses in a College-approved study abroad program, however.

How much financial aid does Harvard award, on average, to international students?

We assess the financial circumstance of each applicant and his or her family individually in order to craft a financial aid package that will meet fully each family's demonstrated need. The College does not award merit scholarships of any kind. For international students who qualified for financial aid for the 2005-2006 academic year, an average aid package includes a $2,000 job offer, a $1,650 loan and $26,500 in scholarship. Compare these average award figures to 2005-2006 tuition, room, board, insurance, fees and personal expenses that total $44,350.