At 7 this evening, regular-action decisions were sent to applicants to Harvard College’s Class of 2023, and 1,950 students were officially admitted.
“The Class of 2023 is remarkably accomplished and promising by any standard,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid. “Reading their applications and getting to know these individuals through their unique experiences and talents inspires great confidence for the future of Harvard College and our society.”
This year’s admitted class hails from every state and from 89 countries throughout the world. International citizens make up 12.3 percent of the class, and 8.9 percent are U.S. dual citizens; 21.7 percent come from the mid-Atlantic states, 19.6 percent are from the South, 17.3 percent from the Western and mountain states, 16.6 percent from New England, 11.8 percent from the Midwest, and 13 percent from the U.S territories and abroad.
Based on current projections, more than half of the Class of 2023 will receive need-based grants, allowing families to pay an average of only $12,000 annually. Harvard will require no contribution from the 20 percent of today’s admitted students’ families with annual incomes below $65,000, and these students will also receive a $2,000 start-up grant that helps with move-in costs and other expenses incurred in making the transition to college.
This is the 15th year of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI). Originally targeting students from low-income backgrounds ($65,000 or less), the program was expanded in 2007 to include middle-income families with incomes up to $150,000 or more. Since launching the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative in 2005, Harvard has awarded more than $2 billion in grant aid to undergraduates, and its undergraduate financial aid award budget has increased by more than 138 percent, from $80 million in 2005 to more than $191 million in 2018.
“Thanks to the University’s unwavering commitment to the HFAI program, Harvard costs the same or less for 90 percent of American families than in-state public universities,” said Jake Kaufmann, Griffin Director of Financial Aid. “Financial aid at Harvard is provided on the same basis to all families who need it, both domestic and international. Our strong financial aid program continues to remove financial barriers and [to] open doors for all undergraduates, bringing the best students to campus without respect to financial need. Additional recent efforts, such as the start-up grant, enable students to explore all that Harvard has to offer from the moment they arrive. All this is possible only through the continued commitment of the FAS.”