Reaching out to talented high school students

Rather than dialing for dollars, a recent (Jan. 10) telethon at Harvard’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid aimed to give money away. Emily Haigh ’05 was one of 10 Harvard College students who reached out to approximately 150 high school students admitted to the College through Early Action to alert them to the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative. The initiative was launched by President Lawrence H. Summers in February 2004 to encourage talented students from families of low and moderate incomes to attend Harvard College. The admitted students were identified either because they requested application fee waivers or by biographical and geographical information submitted on their applications, said Sarah Beasley, admissions officer and co-director of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative. Beasley added that the student callers also took advantage of the opportunity to share some of the high points of life at Harvard with the admitted students.- Beth Potier