Harvard Offers Free Tuition To Students Despite Claiming To Be Cash-Strapped

Harvard University announced on Monday it will be offering free tuition to all students whose families make less than $200,000 per year despite previously announcing it had halted hiring due to financial concerns.

This move comes as the university said on March 10 that it was putting a pause on all hiring due to the Trump administration cutting federal indirect research funding to schools. The free tuition will take effect in the 2025-26 academic year and applies to all undergraduate students at the university.

All students whose families make less than $100,000 a year will also receive free food, housing, health insurance and travel costs to attend the university, as well as two $2,000 installments throughout their studies, according to a university announcement.

“Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth,” Harvard president Alan Garber said in the announcement. “By bringing people of outstanding promise together to learn with and from one another, we truly realize the tremendous potential of the University.”

Harvard rakes in approximately $1.4 billion annually from student costs, according to 2024 financial records, and has an endowment of over $53 billion.

The Trump administration on Feb. 7 announced it was slashing indirect funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to universities, money that does not directly fund research but can cover other, unspecified costs such as administration salaries. The limit was set to 15%, a drastic cut from the previous 69% Harvard was receiving.

“Universities throughout the nation face substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies,” the university said at the time. “We need to prepare for a wide range of financial circumstances, and strategic adjustments will take time to identify and implement. Consequently, it is imperative to limit significant new long-term commitments that would increase our financial exposure and make further adjustments more disruptive. Effective immediately, Harvard will implement a temporary pause on staff and faculty hiring across the University.”

Harvard’s decision to offer free tuition may in part be due to a nearly 5% decrease in applicants it saw in 2024 after a year of campus unrest caused by pro-Hamas protesters. The university’s effort to increase “the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives” also comes after the Department of Education announced it is cracking down on schools using race as a factor in admission decisions. (RELATED: Education Department Opens Dozens Of Investigations Into Schools Over Alleged ‘Race-Exclusionary Practices’)

After the Supreme Court decision in 2023 banning the use of race in admission decisions, several universities formulated methods to skirt the ruling and racially gerrymander their student body with “targeted communication campaigns” geared towards their desired races. The administration is threatening to revoke federal funding from schools that fail to comply with civil rights laws.

Harvard did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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