The class of 2025 represents the last of these large cohorts, and we expect to return to more typical enrollment of approximately 6,650 by fiscal year 2026”—i.e., the period when the new aid plan comes into effect, beginning this August. That might mean that although the proportion of students eligible for the more generous scholarship program grows in the next academic year, the enrolled student body overall will be smaller, possibly offsetting in part or whole the absolute number of those receiving aid.
A statement of priorities. However those practicalities work out, reworking College financial aid now is a statement of institutional commitment. As President Garber said in the 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. By bringing people of outstanding promise together to learn with and from one another, we truly realize the tremendous potential of the University.”
It is also a statement about priorities, highlighting student access to Harvard, as FAS embarks on what may be a protracted, and uncomfortable, reexamination of its resources.