Harvard University on Monday announced that it plans to offer free tuition for certain students in a bid to boost diversity after the US Supreme Court banned racial preferences in college admissions.
The facility would be available to students whose families earn $200,000 and below, The New York Times reported. The move makes it the latest elite school to expand financial aid facilities in the United States.
The plan with the new income cap will take effect starting in the fall semester this year. Before this, only the students whose family incomes fell under $85,000 were offered free tuition by Harward. According to figures given by NYT, the median household income in the country is about $80,000.
The move comes at a time when regular Americans seem to be moving away from college education due to various reasons. These reasons include but aren't limited to, unaffordable tuition fees and high student debt. So Harvard’s move could bring down the cost for many regular people in addition to boosting diversity.
Other American universities offering similar tuition fee facilities
Harvard isn't the only elite school in the United States that has decided to offer free tuition to students falling under a certain income cap. The University of Pennsylvania announced a similar policy in November last year, saying it would offer free tuition for students from families under $200,000.
{{/usCountry}}Harvard isn't the only elite school in the United States that has decided to offer free tuition to students falling under a certain income cap. The University of Pennsylvania announced a similar policy in November last year, saying it would offer free tuition for students from families under $200,000.
{{/usCountry}}Another elite school following the same path is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The prestigious engineering college also announced a $200,000 cutoff last year. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) also offers a similar plan. Other universities have also increased their financial aid caps in the past year to attract new students. These schools include Dartmouth, the University of Virginia, and the University of North Carolina, among others.
In a 2023 judgment, the US Supreme Court ruled that race cannot be a factor in determining admissions to colleges and universities in the country.
Six apex court judges, all conservatives nominated by Republicans to the bench, voted against considering race as a factor, while three judges, all liberals nominated by Democrats to the bench, voted in favour of considering race as a factor.