You can look at Harvard's stated financial aid standards. The rough guideline last time I checked (I'm Harvard class of 2013) was that if your family income was

You can look at Harvard's stated financial aid standards. The rough guideline last time I checked (I'm Harvard class of 2013) was that if your family income was under 60k a year, you got full aid, and from 60k to 180k per year you were expected to pay about 10% of your family income. They have a calculator you can use here: https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/net-price-calculator https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/net-price-calculat... . It's definitely the case that when they say that Harvard students are graduating without debt, it is because of the generous financial aid and not just the independent wealth of the students and their families.