Attending what The Princeton Review ranks as the toughest school to get accepted to just got cheaper.

According to the Harvard University Gazette Online, Harvard President Drew Faust and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith introduced a new financial aid system on December 10 to help make attending Harvard more affordable.

Students coming from households with an income below $60,000 are already attending Harvard free of charge, but the new program aims to provide more financial aid to students coming from “middle to upper-middle-income” families.

Eastern’s Director of Financial Aid Jone Zieren said she applauds Harvard’s new financial aid policies.

“Anytime that the student doesn’t have to take out a loan and a school can make up those funds – the balance of their college costs – in scholarships, that’s wonderful.” Zieren said. “I really don’t see any downsides.”

Zieren said in an ideal world, Eastern would be able to model a similar program after Harvard’s. But she said most public schools simply do not have the funds.

The Associated Press reported in December that Harvard has an endowment close to $35 billion. Eastern’s endowment fund is just over $600,000.

Due to Harvard’s large endowment, the university has the ability to pay more financial aid than a university with a smaller endowment fund.

The Harvard University Gazette Online reported households making between $120,000 and $180,000 will pay 10 percent of their income for their student to attend the university. The percentage of income families will have to pay if they make under $120,000 decreases with the amount of household income. Students coming from households making $60,000 or less will still pay zero percent.

Like those at Harvard, Zieren said she believes even families considered well-off can have difficulty paying tuition.

“Any family that doesn’t start preparing early for their student to be going to school is going to have problems,” Zieren said. “Unfortunately, some families don’t even think about how they are going to finance their student’s education until maybe their junior or senior year, which is kind of late in the planning process.”

Zieren said this lack of planning can lead to families, even those with high-income, having to cut costs in other parts of their lives.

According to the Harvard Gazette Online, Harvard does not give out any merit or athletic scholarships. Aid is based solely upon need.

Zieren said the type of aid offered to students is unique to each university.

“It just depends on the resources of the institution,” Zieren said. “You have to decide which students to help. Are you going to help the need-based students or are you trying to attract the students with the best academic records? Hopefully you can do both, but it really depends on what you can afford.”

Previous to Harvard, several other private universities altered their financial aid programs to help make attendance more affordable. Among these schools are Columbia, Stanford and Amherst.

Factbox:

To be eligible to receive Title IV funds while attending Eastern Illinois University a student must meet the following eligibility requirements. The applicant must:

1. be a United States citizen, or eligible non-citizen,

2. have registered with the Selective Service,

3. be accepted and enrolled at least half-time at Eastern Illinois University,

4. complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA),

5. not be in default on any Title IV Aid, and

6. maintain satisfactory progress.

Barbara Harrington can be reached at 581-7945 or at bjharrington@eiu.edu.