Harvard Business School launched a new financial aid program earlier this month that covers the full cost of tuition for 10 percent of MBA students.
The scholarships cover tuition and course fees and provide recipients with $76,000 per year. Students who receive the aid are still responsible for living expenses.
“Harvard Business School should be a place where talented future leaders can realize their potential,” said Business School Dean Srikant M. Datar in an August 16 press release announcing the move. “We want them to focus on being leaders who make a difference in the world by removing the financial obstacles that stand in their way and easing their debt burden.”
The increase in aid comes after several changes in recent years as the school aims to attract students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. HBS expanded its need-based scholarships, revised its financial aid formula based on socioeconomic background, and instituted application fee waivers. In the year In 2018, the school launched the Future Fellowship, which provides financial support to students who financially support family members in business school.
Need-based aid is assessed using a formula that considers pre-MBA income and assets, socioeconomic background, and debt. Currently, 50 percent of MBA students receive scholarships at the school.
The school announced that it is also offering new educational opportunities to middle-income students who were previously ineligible.
According to a press release, HBS’s annual budget for MBA funding exceeds $45 million.
The increase in aid comes after a committee was convened in 2018 to “better understand the barriers that keep applicants from applying,” said Chad Losey, HBS’s managing director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, in a Q&A posted by the school. The team includes Dietar and former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria.
The changes, which affect students in the classes of 2023 and 2024, are already in effect.
-Staff Writer Paul E. Alexis can be reached at paul.alexis@thecrimson.com.
