哈佛大学宣布将不向收入低于 20 万美元的家庭收取学费

【中美创新时报2025 年 3 月 17 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）哈佛大学周一宣布，从 2025-2026 学年开始，家庭收入低于 10 万美元的学生将免费就读哈佛大学，家庭收入低于 20 万美元的学生将免收学费。此前，年收入低于 85,000 美元的家庭免收学费。《波士顿环球报》记者Mike Damiano对此作了下述报道。

哈佛大学在公告中表示，扩大学校的助学金补助旨在让中等收入家庭更能负担得起哈佛大学的费用。这项新政策遵循了其他拥有大量捐赠基金的精英机构的类似举措，例如麻省理工学院，该学院去年 11 月宣布了类似的财政援助扩大计划。

哈佛大学在一份新闻稿中表示，新政策是其“承诺为每一位被录取的本科生提供入学和毕业所需的资源”的一部分。哈佛大学表示，在下一个学年，它将花费 2.75 亿美元用于财政援助，这是一笔不小的支出，因为特朗普政府削减了研究经费，共和党人讨论提高大学捐赠基金的税收。上周，哈佛大学和许多其他大学宣布冻结招聘和其他节约成本的措施。

财政援助扩大计划解决了许多高等教育观察家认为的中等收入家庭的负担能力差距问题。

虽然私立大学的学费对于有足够能力支付账单的富人来说基本上是可以负担得起的，许多贫困学生有资格获得大量财政援助，但对于中产阶级来说，私立大学的学费往往是遥不可及的。

通常，只有最富裕的家庭才能支付全额学费，但对于收入在 15 万至 20 万美元（波士顿地区中等收入范围的上限）的家庭来说，预计每年的学费通常超过 3 万美元，而且根据学校的不同，学费可能会更高。

哈佛大学的新政策将为所有家庭收入不超过 20 万美元的录取学生免收学费。他们还有资格申请额外的经济援助来支付食品和住房费用。

对于家庭收入不超过 10 万美元的学生，大学将承担“所有费用”，包括学费。它还将为大一学生提供 2,000 美元的“启动”补助金，为大三学生提供 2,000 美元的补助金，以及健康保险和旅行费用。

对于年收入超过 20 万美元的家庭，经济援助将根据具体情况进行评估。

哈佛大学的捐赠基金价值超过 500 亿美元。

题图：2023 年 5 月 24 日，嘉宾们观看哈佛大学第 372 届毕业典礼。Craig F. Walker/Globe 员工

附原英文报道：

Harvard announces it won’t charge tuition to families with incomes under $200,000

By Mike Damiano Globe Staff,Updated March 17, 2025 

Guests watch the 372nd Commencement at Harvard University on May 24, 2023.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, attending Harvard will be free for students from families with household incomes under $100,000, and no tuition will be charged to families with income under $200,000, the university announced on Monday.

Previously, tuition was free for households making less than $85,000 a year.

The expansion of the school’s financial aid grants is designed to make Harvard more affordable for middle-income families, Harvard said in its announcement. The new policy follows similar moves from other elite institutions with large endowments, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which announced a similar financial aid expansion last November.

In a press release, Harvard said the new policy was part of its “commitment to provide every admitted undergraduate student the resources they need to enroll and graduate.” In the next academic year, Harvard says it will spend $275 million on financial aid, a significant outlay at a time of austerity for universities, as the Trump administration cuts research funding and Republicans discuss hiking taxes on university endowments. Last week, Harvard, along with many other universities, announced a hiring freeze and other cost-saving measures.

The financial aid expansion addresses what many higher education watchers have identified as an affordability gap for middle-income families.

While private college tuition is broadly affordable for the rich, who have the wherewithal to pay the bills, and many poor students qualify for significant financial aid, it is often out of reach for the middle class.

Typically, only the wealthiest families pay the full sticker price for tuition, but for those earning $150,000 to $200,000, which is at the upper end of the middle income range in the Boston area, the expected yearly contribution is often north of $30,000 a year, and can be much higher depending on the school.

The new Harvard policy will make tuition free for all admitted students from household with income up to $200,000. They will also be eligible to apply for additional financial aid to cover food and housing.

For students from household making up to $100,000, the university will cover “all billed expenses,” including tuition. It will also provide a $2,000 “start-up” grant freshman year, a $2,000 grant junior year, health insurance and travel expenses.

For families making more than $200,000 per year, financial aid will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Harvard’s endowment is worth more than $50 billion.