Cabridge, MA – March 17, 2025 – In a groundbreaking move aimed at expanding access to one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, Harvard University announced on Monday that it will offer free tuition to undergraduate students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. This significant expansion of financial aid is set to reshape the socioeconomic diversity of Harvard’s student body and reinforce the university’s commitment to inclusivity.
The announcement, made public today, marks a bold step in Harvard’s ongoing efforts to remove financial barriers to education. Under the new policy, students from families earning $200,000 or less annually will have their tuition—currently set at $56,550 per year—fully covered. Additionally, the university will provide comprehensive support for students from families earning $100,000 or less, covering not only tuition but also room, board, health insurance, and travel expenses. This builds on Harvard’s decades-long Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI), which has progressively increased aid thresholds since its inception in 2004.
Harvard University President Alan M. Garber emphasized the transformative potential of the policy in a statement released Monday: “Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth. By bringing people of outstanding promise together to learn with and from one another, we truly realize the tremendous potential of the University.”
The initiative is expected to make Harvard accessible to approximately 86% of U.S. families, based on current income distributions. For context, the median household income in the United States was $80,000 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning a vast majority of American families could qualify for some form of aid under this plan. Students from families earning above $200,000 will still be eligible for need-based aid depending on their individual financial circumstances, ensuring that Harvard’s doors remain open to talent across the economic spectrum.
This expansion builds on a history of financial aid innovation at Harvard. Since launching the HFAI in 2004, the university has raised its income threshold for free tuition and full cost coverage multiple times—from $40,000 in 2004 to $85,000 in 2023. The jump to $200,000 for tuition-free education and $100,000 for fully covered costs reflects both rising college expenses and Harvard’s substantial endowment, which stood at over $50 billion as of recent reports. The university has allocated a $275 million financial aid budget for the 2025-26 academic year, with more than $3.6 billion awarded to undergraduates since the HFAI began.
William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard College’s dean of admissions and financial aid, underscored the importance of the policy for attracting diverse talent. “We know the most talented students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and experiences, from every state and around the globe,” he said. “Our financial aid is critical to ensuring that these students know Harvard College is a place where they can be part of a vibrant learning community strengthened by their presence and participation.”
The announcement comes at a time when higher education faces scrutiny over affordability and equity. With the average cost of attending a private university in the U.S. hovering around $58,000 per year—and Harvard’s full cost of attendance exceeding $82,000 annually—the new policy positions Harvard as a leader in addressing these challenges. It also aligns with similar moves by other elite institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania, which recently expanded its own tuition-free threshold to $200,000.
For students and families, the implications are profound. A high school senior from a middle-income family could now realistically aspire to attend Harvard without the burden of debt—a prospect that was previously out of reach for many. Current undergraduates, 55% of whom receive some form of financial aid, paid an average of $15,700 out of pocket in the 2023-24 academic year. The new policy could reduce that figure significantly for eligible students starting next year.
While the initiative has been widely praised, it also raises questions about implementation and broader implications. Critics may wonder how Harvard will sustain such generous aid as costs continue to rise, or whether this move will pressure other institutions to follow suit in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape. For now, though, the focus remains on the opportunities this creates for the incoming Class of 2029 and beyond.
As Harvard prepares to roll out this policy in the 2025-26 academic year, the university stands poised to redefine what it means to be an accessible Ivy League institution—proving that even a 388-year-old school can adapt to meet the needs of a changing world.