Harvard to Stop Asking Parents Who Earn Below $40,000 to Aid Their Childre [View All]

http://chronicle.com/daily/2004/03/2004030102n.htm


Monday, March 1, 2004


Harvard to Stop Asking Parents Who Earn Below $40,000 to Aid Their Children's Education
By JULIANNE BASINGER and SCOTT SMALLWOOD
Miami Beach, Fla.
Harvard University's president, Lawrence H. Summers, told college presidents gathered here Sunday that the gap in opportunities for children from different economic backgrounds is the "most severe domestic problem in the United States," and he called on colleges and universities to take steps to ameliorate it.
To deal with those issues at Harvard, Mr. Summers announced on Sunday that parents in families who earn less than $40,000 a year would no longer be asked to pay anything toward their children's education. The change is geared to encourage low- and moderate-income students to attend Harvard.