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PSA: The 80k price tag is the sticker price. The actual average cost of Harvard is < 15k when you account for aid and parents bargaining down the price. So plea

by kanobo 6y ago

PSA: The 80k price tag is the sticker price. The actual average cost of Harvard is < 15k when you account for aid and parents bargaining down the price. So please try to negotiate the price if you are actually considering paying 80k.

DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
It appears that most families making under 65k USD/year pay nothing to send a child to Harvard. Families making up to 150k USD/year are expected to pay a maximum of 10% of their income. The sticker price is what Harvard charges rich people. Harvard has a massive endowment, and probably doesn't really rely too heavily on tuition anyways.
- namdnay 6y ago
  I wonder if this encourages some parents to take sabbatical or part time in order to stay under the 150k barrier :)
- 214610 6y ago
  What % of students with family incomes under 65k/yr are admitted to Harvard vs the % of students with family incomes greater than that? According to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/harvard-university https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit... “ The median family income of a student from Harvard is $168,800, and 67% come from the top 20 percent. About 1.8% of students at Harvard came from a poor family but became a rich adult.”
  - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
    > What % of students with family incomes under 65k/yr are admitted to Harvard vs the % of students with family incomes greater than that? According to Harvard, about 20% of their undergrads pay nothing. That's probably roughly the percentage of students from families making <65k/yr. > The median family income of a student from Harvard is $168,800, and 67% come from the top 20 percent. Then the median family should have no problem paying the ~10% of their income that Harvard will charge them, after financial aid. The point is that almost nobody who gets into Harvard decides not to go because they can't afford it. People who really can't afford it get a full ride, and even families that make 150k/yr are paying only a small fraction of the sticker price - they're paying less than what many public universities charge.
- djcollier 6y ago
  Large endowments are not always a straight forward metric to use for determining how well off financially an institution is. Lots of contributions to endowments come with strings attached on how the money can be spent. Wouldn't be surprised to hear about a large number of new costs associated with COVID that wouldn't be covered by a lot of an endowment. [1] https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/22/colleges-faced-whether-increase-endowment-spending-finances-grow-more-dire https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/22/colleges-face...
  - DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
    Sure, not all of the endowment is fungible, but it's $40 billion. Harvard is insanely rich by any measure.

by kanobo 6y ago

DiogenesKynikos 6y ago

It appears that most families making under 65k USD/year pay nothing to send a child to Harvard. Families making up to 150k USD/year are expected to pay a maximum of 10% of their income. The sticker price is what Harvard charges rich people. Harvard has a massive endowment, and probably doesn't really rely too heavily on tuition anyways.

namdnay 6y ago
I wonder if this encourages some parents to take sabbatical or part time in order to stay under the 150k barrier :)
214610 6y ago
What % of students with family incomes under 65k/yr are admitted to Harvard vs the % of students with family incomes greater than that? According to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/harvard-university https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit... “ The median family income of a student from Harvard is $168,800, and 67% come from the top 20 percent. About 1.8% of students at Harvard came from a poor family but became a rich adult.”
- DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
  > What % of students with family incomes under 65k/yr are admitted to Harvard vs the % of students with family incomes greater than that? According to Harvard, about 20% of their undergrads pay nothing. That's probably roughly the percentage of students from families making <65k/yr. > The median family income of a student from Harvard is $168,800, and 67% come from the top 20 percent. Then the median family should have no problem paying the ~10% of their income that Harvard will charge them, after financial aid. The point is that almost nobody who gets into Harvard decides not to go because they can't afford it. People who really can't afford it get a full ride, and even families that make 150k/yr are paying only a small fraction of the sticker price - they're paying less than what many public universities charge.
djcollier 6y ago
Large endowments are not always a straight forward metric to use for determining how well off financially an institution is. Lots of contributions to endowments come with strings attached on how the money can be spent. Wouldn't be surprised to hear about a large number of new costs associated with COVID that wouldn't be covered by a lot of an endowment. [1] https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/22/colleges-faced-whether-increase-endowment-spending-finances-grow-more-dire https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/22/colleges-face...
- DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
  Sure, not all of the endowment is fungible, but it's $40 billion. Harvard is insanely rich by any measure.