Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School Announces New Tuition-Free Initiative

Harvard Law School has announced a tuition-free initiative for its highest need students.

Starting with the Class of 2027, the new Opportunity Fund will enable J.D. students with the highest financial need to attend Harvard Law tuition-free for all three years.

“Harvard Law School has long worked to make legal education more accessible and to enable our students to pursue the career paths that are most meaningful to them, whether that’s in the public or private sector,” Harvard Law Dean John F. Manning says in a press release. “Opportunity Fund scholarships for our students with the highest levels of need will continue to advance that commitment. We are grateful to our generous alumni and friends whose support enables us to launch this important new program.”

ELIGIBILITY

The new Opportunity Fund aims to expand Harvard’s robust financial program even further by offering additional support to Harvard’s highest needs students. Eligibility for the program will be based on a comprehensive review of a student’s circumstances including factors such as the family’s income and their assets, and the student’s income and assets.

Harvard hopes that by looking beyond merely family taxable income, it can identify students from the least advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds who have income at or below two times the federal poverty line.

RECENT FINANCIAL AID INITIATIVES

The Opportunity Fund is just one of many recent financial aid initiatives at Harvard. Over the past decade, the school has increased spending on financial aid grants by 50%. The school also plans to enhance the participant contribution scale of the Low Income Protection Plan by 45% over two years. Just last year, the school launched a new Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, enabling qualifying J.D. graduates with an annual income of $70,000 or less to have their loan repayments fully covered by LIPP.

“In the context of our fully need-based financial aid program, Harvard Law School invests significant resources to make a legal education as accessible as possible and to enhance our graduates’ ability to pursue the path best for them, whether that’s in public service or the private sector,” Dean Manning says. “In recent years, we have worked both to make important structural improvements to our Low Income Protection Plan and to substantially lower the interest paid on student loans through our Preferred Lender Program. Now, by again increasing support for our existing Low Income Protection Plan and by launching a new federal loan forgiveness option, we are further deepening our investment in our graduates as they pursue careers of impact, meaning, and fulfillment.”

Sources: Harvard Law School, Harvard Law School