4 ms·

The flipside of that is that if Harvard charged $1M a year, they'd still have more applicants than spots. The sticker price of Harvard is not what the median a

The flipside of that is that if Harvard charged $1M a year, they'd still have more applicants than spots. The sticker price of Harvard is not what the median applicant pays. Some applicants -- e.g. Jared Kushner -- literally do pay millions [0]. Others pay a small fraction of that [1]. My 2c: lowering the sticker price at elite schools would be great because it would lower the perceived barrier to entry. Those perceptions matter, especially to folks who don't come from the Professional Managerial class and don't have a clear understanding of how the system works. But I also see why they don't -- they do, after all, want to make sure that rich families pony up. [0] https://www.propublica.org/article/the-story-behind-jared-kushners-curious-acceptance-into-harvard https://www.propublica.org/article/the-story-behind-jared-ku... [1] https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/why-harvard/affordability https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/why-harvard/affordabi...

jandrese 4y ago
It still raises the barrier to entry since the kids who can't technically afford the school now have to not only qualify to be accepted, but also qualify for the scholarship. The latter is not a guarantee.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Some private schools (not sure Harvard is one) have a "if accepted you WILL go" rule - which boils down to pay as much as you can, take some (usually relatively low) loans, and the college will cover the rest. You may have to go on work-study. I think the "loans" part should be removed, myself.
  - musicale 4y ago
    > pay as much as you can pay as much as you and your parents can pay and/or borrow[1] TFTY https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/types-aid/parent-loans https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/type...
  - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
    I don't know about Harvard (EDIT: now I do, it's the same), but Yale's policy on this is that they do not expect students to take loans, and that the university will provide 100% of the demonstrated financial aid need for an admit. https://admissions.yale.edu/affordability-details https://admissions.yale.edu/affordability-details
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Yep, things like this is why I would counsel students to either aim very high or affordable. The middle-ground is where you can get eaten alive.
      - vineyardmike 4y ago
        +1, I attended a relatively endowment-rich private “top school” (not Harvard) and every other student I knew said “it was by far the cheapest school i was accepted to!” Everyone I knew from high school that attended private schools, or “good schools” out of state paid out the nose (or their family did). I grew up in a relatively affluent area, so most people didn’t get much aid. My family could afford to pay for my schooling too, but I had one of the lowest bill of anyone, excluding some in-state public schools, because private schools with big endowments heavily subsidize almost all students that aren’t rich foreigners, 1%er kids, GI bill/someone-else-pays attendants. TLDR: Schools know who can write a blank check, and they set the sticker price based on those students. Everyone else is subsidized.
    - mcguire 4y ago
      How much weight is the word "demonstrated" carrying?
      - bombcar 4y ago
        Usually the hard part is the "expected FAFSA parent contribution". If you have children that may consider college, spending some time now to structure things can help (the FAFSA ignores some assets and counts others): https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/sherwoodhs/uploadedfiles/student20aid20secrets20minimize20the20impact20of20assets.pdf https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high... So it can be strangely worthwhile to sell all your non-retirement investments and buy the biggest house you can find.

jandrese 4y ago

It still raises the barrier to entry since the kids who can't technically afford the school now have to not only qualify to be accepted, but also qualify for the scholarship. The latter is not a guarantee.

bombcar 4y ago
Some private schools (not sure Harvard is one) have a "if accepted you WILL go" rule - which boils down to pay as much as you can, take some (usually relatively low) loans, and the college will cover the rest. You may have to go on work-study. I think the "loans" part should be removed, myself.
- musicale 4y ago
  > pay as much as you can pay as much as you and your parents can pay and/or borrow[1] TFTY https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/types-aid/parent-loans https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/type...
- NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
  I don't know about Harvard (EDIT: now I do, it's the same), but Yale's policy on this is that they do not expect students to take loans, and that the university will provide 100% of the demonstrated financial aid need for an admit. https://admissions.yale.edu/affordability-details https://admissions.yale.edu/affordability-details
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yep, things like this is why I would counsel students to either aim very high or affordable. The middle-ground is where you can get eaten alive.
    - vineyardmike 4y ago
      +1, I attended a relatively endowment-rich private “top school” (not Harvard) and every other student I knew said “it was by far the cheapest school i was accepted to!” Everyone I knew from high school that attended private schools, or “good schools” out of state paid out the nose (or their family did). I grew up in a relatively affluent area, so most people didn’t get much aid. My family could afford to pay for my schooling too, but I had one of the lowest bill of anyone, excluding some in-state public schools, because private schools with big endowments heavily subsidize almost all students that aren’t rich foreigners, 1%er kids, GI bill/someone-else-pays attendants. TLDR: Schools know who can write a blank check, and they set the sticker price based on those students. Everyone else is subsidized.
  - mcguire 4y ago
    How much weight is the word "demonstrated" carrying?
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Usually the hard part is the "expected FAFSA parent contribution". If you have children that may consider college, spending some time now to structure things can help (the FAFSA ignores some assets and counts others): https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/sherwoodhs/uploadedfiles/student20aid20secrets20minimize20the20impact20of20assets.pdf https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high... So it can be strangely worthwhile to sell all your non-retirement investments and buy the biggest house you can find.