When you qualify for financial aid from Harvard, we use a combination of resources to create an individualized aid package to meet your demonstrated need. This may include scholarship funds and student employment, as well as any awards you’ve earned from outside sources. Parent and student loans are also available for interested families.

Because Harvard is committed to affordability, our scholarships are designed to cover 100% of your demonstrated financial need. Here is our process:

First we determine your award by establishing your parent contribution
Then we factor in student employment and any outside awards you’ve received
Your remaining need will be covered by scholarship funds which are grant-based and never need to be repaid
Scholarship funds come from a variety of sources, including Harvard endowment funds, gifts from alumni, general tuition revenues, and federal and state grants.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences Scholarship program includes more than 2,000 individual endowment and gift funds, established by generous alumni and donors, including a transformational $150 million gift from Ken Griffin ‘89. We report to many of these donors annually using the information students share with us over the summer.