Harvard to Give Qualifying Undergrads ‘Launch Grant’ for Post-Grad Boost

• Twenty-four percent of Harvard University undergraduates come from families making $85,000 or less per year.
• The grant is not limited, but Harvard suggests using it for internship interviews, buying professional clothing, and other career- and graduate-oriented purchases.
• Harvard covers the entire cost of education for students from families making $85,000 or less per year.

Harvard University is giving third-year students — whose families meet certain income requirements — a "launch grant" to jump-start their post-graduate life.

Harvard last week announced the $2,000 launch grants, which are designed to help juniors from families who make $85,000 or less to prepare for post-grad life. Also, for this year only, the grant will be given to seniors who qualify.

"As we prepare our students for lives of meaning and purpose after Harvard, we want them to know that no dream is too big," said Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi Hoekstra.

"Our alumni are leaders across all sectors and around the globe. Giving our students every opportunity to follow where their passions lead them, to make their unique contribution to the world, is an important investment in Harvard's global impact."

Harvard said there is no restriction for using the grant but suggested students use it to buy professional clothes, attend a networking conference, pay for graduate school preparation, or travel to a job interview.

Harvard also covers the entire cost of attendance for students from families making $85,000 or less, which is 24% of the students in Harvard College, the school's undergraduate college. The expected family contribution from a family making between $85,000 and $150,000 is between zero and 10% of the family's annual income.