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The first few questions will lead you to other sections of this website and the remainder are answered in full below.
There are additional Q & A specifically relevant to Admitted Students in the Admitted Students section of this website.
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How much will it
cost me to attend Harvard?
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How do I apply for
financial aid?
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What is the College Board Institutional Documentation Service(IDOC)?
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What happens to my
financial aid award if I receive additional outside
assistance?
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Are loans available if I choose not to work?
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Are there any merit-based
financial aid awards at Harvard?
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What can I do if my
family's financial situation is complicated?
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If my parents are
divorced or separated, do they both need to send in
financial information?
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Can I apply for Harvard's
financial aid independently of my parents?
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What if my parents
refuse to pay for my college education?
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Is there financial
aid available for foreign students?
We estimate for 2008-09 that the cost for tuition,
fees, room, board and personal expenses will be approximately
$50,250 plus an amount for travel depending on your
home state. However, more than half of Harvard
undergraduates receive some form of scholarship aid. All
Harvard-administered financial aid is given on the basis
of need as determined by the Financial Aid Office, using
need analysis to determine the expected parent and student
contributions. All interested students are encouraged
to apply for admission regardless of their family's
financial situation. The Financial Aid Office will tell
you what aid is available and only then will you really
know what it will cost to attend Harvard.
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What happens to my financial aid award if I receive additional outside assistance?
A large percentage of each entering freshman class receives one or more outside awards from national or local
organizations. When adjusting the Harvard financial aid package, 100% of the total outside award amount is first
deducted from your job expectation, and then from your summer earnings expectation, up to the total amount of those
expectations. If the total of outside awards exceeds the combined amount of your job and summer earnings expectations,
that excess amount is deducted from the Harvard Scholarship. Since outside awards are additional resources that help
to meet need, they may not be used to replace your parents' contribution or other expected family resource.
For example, if you were originally offered a financial aid package with a $2,500 job, a summer
earnings expectation of $1,500, and an $8,000 Harvard Scholarship and subsequently receive a $2,000 National
Merit award and $1000 from the Elks Club, then we will reduce your term-time job expectation to $0 and your summer
expectation to $1,000. Only if outside awards exceeded $4,000 would they have any impact upon
the amount of Harvard Scholarship.
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Are loans available if I choose not to work?
Unless you have outside awards exceeding your term-time work expectation, you
will be expected to have a job. If you will have heavy extracurricular demands
on your time (such as playing football in the fall or
acting in a spring drama production), you could choose
to meet the job expectation completely through
student loans.
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Are there any merit-based financial aid awards at Harvard?
No, we admit students based on their strengths and
talents, but all Harvard-administered aid is based only
on financial need, and we treat all admitted students
equally in terms of their eligibility for that aid.
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What can I do if my family's financial situation is complicated?
Attach a letter to the tax returns you are submitting
explaining the special circumstances.
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If my parents are divorced or separated, do they both need to send in financial information?
Yes, your custodial parent should file the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS PROFILE
Application, and your non-custodial parent should complete
the "Noncustodial Parent's PROFILE" . We feel
strongly that both parents have an obligation to support
you, and a divorce or separation does not change that
obligation. We look at each case individually, and we
make every effort to be sensitive to particular family
circumstances when deciding how much to ask from each
parent. You should attempt to obtain financial information
from both natural parents and explain any problems to
us in writing. If either parent is remarried, financial
information about their new spouse and dependents, if
any, should be provided. In this way we obtain the fullest
possible picture of your financial background and can
make the fairest judgment about your need for assistance.
If we have received financial information from both
your parents, the figure listed as "parent contribution"
on your award letter will be the combined figure for
your mother and father determined by doing a separate
need analysis for each parent. If you would like to
know our breakdown of this joint parent contribution,
you may call or write our office. However we have split
that contribution, it is really up to you, your mother,
and your father to decide how to divide the responsibility
for paying the bills. In most cases, we will send a
copy of your award letter to your non-custodial parent
so that parent is informed about your financial aid
award.
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Can I apply for Harvard's financial aid independently of my parents?
No, in 99% of the cases. We feel strongly that your
parents have an obligation to help finance your college
education. Our aid is available only to students whose
families would not otherwise be able to send them to
Harvard.
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What if my parents refuse to pay for my college education?
There may well be a serious problem. To be fair to
all our students, we can base our financial aid decisions
only on ability and not willingness to pay, and a decision
to attend Harvard must be made by you and your parents
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Is there financial aid available for foreign students?
Yes, on exactly the same basis as for American citizens.
Although foreign students are not eligible for any federal
funding, the College has its own job and scholarship
money available to non-citizens.
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