2002-03 undergraduate fees set

For the 2002-03 academic year, Harvard’s package of undergraduate tuition, room, board, and student fees will increase by 4.9 percent, to $35,950. Costs include: tuition, $24,630; room rate, $4,461; board, $4,041; health services fee, $1,020; and student services fee, $1,798.

Committed to the dual principles of need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid, Jeremy R. Knowles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, also announced a 6.4 percent increase to the scholarship budget for next year, an amount that is once again higher than the overall percentage increase in costs. For the 2002-03 year, Harvard will devote nearly $68 million to its need-based scholarship program, and award an average grant of over $22,000 to nearly half of its 6,500 undergraduates. Over the past four years, Harvard College has increased its annual scholarship program for undergraduates by over $22 million, representing a 54 percent increase in need-based grant assistance.

Students receiving financial aid can choose either to work during the year or to borrow to meet their “self-help” contribution. This allows students to tailor their financial aid packages to their individual needs.

“Harvard is committed to the principle that all students have access to the whole range of academic and extracurricular opportunities while they are here, as well as to all the career options that await them upon graduation,” said Knowles. “While we believe that our undergraduates should share in the investment of their education, our financial aid program ensures that – no matter what their resources – all our students can embrace and enjoy the possibilities here, without carrying a significant burden of term-time work, or of debt after graduation.”

Campus student wage rates have increased for the 2002-03 year to between $7.90 and $10.25 an hour, so that a student working 12 hours a week can meet the whole student contribution of $3,250 through earnings. Alternatively, students choosing not to work during the year receive a low-interest loan offer for as much of this $3,250 as they need.

Dean Knowles also announced an improvement in health benefits, and an increase in funding to cover annual travel allowances for international students with demonstrated need. Students studying abroad for credit will continue to receive full financial aid benefits during their time away from Cambridge, and funding for summer and academic year research opportunities at home and abroad will exceed $1 million in the 2002-03 academic year.