I never knew that Harvard was affordable. The news that, not only was it affordable, it was FREE to kids from families making less than $200k annually, was shocking to me. I began to dream for my soon-to-be-senior in high school, until I read further.
First, while there is no tuition at the school for the 80% of Americans that don’t cross the $200k gross household income line, it is not exactly a lay up to get in.
Here are the averages (and apologies for throwing a wet towel on your dreams) for the Class of 2028 (current freshmen):
Total applications: 54,008; Total accepted: 1,970 (3.6%)
Legacy acceptance rate (kids of previous Harvard grads) is 33%; Athletic acceptance rates are 86%; others have approximately a 2% chance of acceptance.
Average GPA at Harvard: 4.2
Average SAT score: 1550
This SAT score is just below the 75th percentile (1,580). According to PrepScholar.com, those kids looking to attend Harvard should aim for 1580.
Let’s say your student is admitted and your household makes in excess of $200k per year, Harvard does have financial aid that does not factor in a family’s equity or retirement savings in its access of need. The annual costs of attendance are close to $90k.
So, while the Ivy League dream is available to the middle class, it comes after traversing a steep uphill academic climb. Other than the issue with legacy family acceptance, it seems right that a kid has to excel in the classroom and on standardized tests to reach this pinnacle. If your kid can be accepted and graduates, the rewards are there – including a reported average private sector salary of over $200k per year.
Harvard is FREE, but, alas, it will not answer the knock of the average high school graduate.
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