經濟危機時期入讀哈佛難上加難

Getting into Harvard University got tougher this year as a record number of students applied to the school's undergraduate program, many drawn by attractive financial aid offers during the recession.

Harvard, the world's richest university, said Monday 29,112 students applied for a spot in the Class of 2013. Of those, just 7 percent were accepted, the lowest in the history of the school and down from 7.9 percent last year.

Many U.S. universities are seeing a surge in enrollment as the baby-boomer generation's kids graduate from high school. But unlike Ivy League peers Princeton, Yale and Stanford, Harvard has not significantly expanded the size of a freshman undergraduate class in more than two decades.

It has, however, rolled out a series of financial aid incentives in recent years.

The Class of 2013 will receive the most financial aid in Harvard history, with $147 million in scholarships alone. That is up 8 percent from last year.

Seventy percent of Harvard students receive some form of financial aid. The Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, which was announced in 2004, slashed the amount low-income students must pay to attend the oldest US institute of higher learning.

Under the program, students from families earning less than $60,000 a year do not have to contribute to the cost of tuition, which together with room and board, reaches $47,000 a year.

Those from families earning between $60,000 and $80,000 also pay far less than they would have in previously.

About 25 percent of the Class of 2013 are eligible for the program.

Harvard also caps tuition at 10 percent of income from families earning up to $180,000.

The school said it would mail out acceptance letters on Tuesday. Nearly 18 percent of those accepted to the Class of 2013 are Asian, a record 10.9 percent are Latino and 10.8 percent are black.

今年想入讀哈佛大學更加困難，因爲今年申請哈佛大學本科學位的人數創新高，這主要是因爲在經濟衰退的大背景下，該校高額的獎學金對很多人而言是一個誘惑。

堪稱世界最富有高等學府的哈佛大學於本週一稱，申請2013屆學生的數量達29112人，但錄取率則從去年的7.9%降至7%，爲哈佛建校史上最低水平。

隨着“嬰兒潮”一代的子女們高中畢業，美國多所大學招生人數激增。但與普林斯頓大學、耶魯大學和斯坦福大學等其他“常青藤”盟校不同，哈佛大學在過去二十多年中未對本科生進行過大規模擴招。

但哈佛大學近年來出臺了一系列的助學金獎勵計劃。

2013屆新生將獲得哈佛建校史上最高額度的助學金，僅獎學金就達1.47億美元，比去年增加了8%。

70%的哈佛學生會得到某種形式的助學金。於2004年公佈的“哈佛助學金計劃”大規模削減了低收入家庭學生必須支付的費用。哈佛大學是美國曆史最悠久的高等學府。

按照該計劃，家庭年收入低於6萬美元的學生不必交納每年合計共4.7萬美元的學費和食宿費用。

家庭年收入在6萬至8萬美元之間的學生交納的費用較以往也大幅減少。

約25%的2013屆新生有資格申請該助學計劃。

哈佛大學還設定了學費上限，即家庭年收入不到18萬美元的學生需繳納的學費不超過其家庭總收入的10%。

哈佛大學稱學校將於本週二寄出錄取通知書。在被錄取的2013屆新生中，近18%是亞裔，10.9%爲拉美裔，創歷史紀錄；10.8%是黑人。