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“My guess is that St. Thomas will not follow the Harvard system and [neither will] 90 percent of the schools in the United States,” said Kris Getting, director of financial aid at St. Thomas. “Harvard has billions of dollars in assets. They can afford to give more financial aids to students but other schools can’t.”

In 2004, Harvard announced the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative to reduce economic barriers and to promote equal access for higher education for prospective students. Harvard provides free tuition for students whose families have incomes less than $60,000. The financial aid package includes the cost of room and board. Students whose family income is between $60,000 and $80,000 will also qualify more financial aid under the HFAI.

“I think [St. Thomas is] being realistic in saying that they can’t afford to provide free tuition, but I think they do need to address the issue of middle class students who don’t receive that much of financial aid so that St. Thomas can be more affordable for them,” said senior Stephanie Edquist. “I hope Harvard can get the word out to students who can get into Harvard and take advantage of the free tuition.”

St. Thomas has two types of financial aid available to all students, need-based and merit-based. To qualify for a need-based financial aid, students have to fill out the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The merit-based aid is a gift from St. Thomas to the student based on academic achievement and community involvement.

Most St. Thomas students receive some financial aid; the single largest priority of the capital campaign launched in October is to raise $130 million to continue to make St. Thomas affordable.

“Harvard has more money than some institutions of the United States government,” said Getting. Harvard’s endowment for fiscal year 2007 is estimated $39.9 billion, more than 100 times larger than St. Thomas’ $350 million endowment.

Jim Winterer, St. Thomas news service director, said “for [Harvard] to do this is like a mosquito bite compared to [St. Thomas].” He said St. Thomas is 70 percent dependent on student contributions, with 30 percent coming from its endowment.

Students still have to be admitted to Harvard to receive the aid. In 2006, Harvard only accepted nine percent of its 22,000 applicants.

Some private colleges and universities are following Harvard’s example, including Carleton College in Minnesota. More than three dozen others have announced plans to reduce or eliminate loans from their financial aid packages and to increase the number of eligible students. Some worry that Harvard’s move will draw enrollment away from less-rich schools that cannot afford to offer a comparable amount of aid, according to an article in the Star Tribune last month.

The first test of the new plan will come when the high school graduating class of 2009, the first class eligible, begins applying for colleges.

"What they're doing is wonderful but does that mean the doors of Harvard are open to low-income students? Being able to afford it and being accepted to Harvard are two different things," said Winterer.