Well, sir, what we have found in our family is that sometimes there is a very substantial shortfall, a distance between what grants, loans, jobs, parental help, and scholarship can provide, and what the costs of Harvard really are. My kids’ father and I could put together a financial package to put our daughter into a school that cost $35000 a year. We could not find the financing to pay more, and believe me, we were determined and imaginative in looking for sources of income. Some middle-income people, or people who have lost savings due to personal setbacks, can fall through the scholarship cracks.
There was a story about this in the Wall Street Journal just yesterday. Some schools are reaching out to help a bit, but none of them can bridge the gap for all the kids who just lost parental support due to the recession.
What I meant is that Harvard has such a large endowment, that a student bright enough to gain admission there is almost certainly eligible for grants and scholarships that will foot the bill.