by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending Harvard University, covering the cost range, projected degree costs, net price, debt at graduation, default rates, and aid distribution patterns.
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Published attendance costs at Harvard University comes to about $82,842.00 per academic year.
Below, the published cost is shown three ways — the full sticker price with no aid, the net price after the average grant package, and the net price for low-income students who typically receive the most aid.
| Tuition and fees | $61,676.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $21,166.00 |
| Total cost | $82,842.00 |
| That is 153% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $82,842.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$66,474.00 |
| Net price | $16,368.00 |
| That is 50% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $82,842.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$76,843.00 |
| Net price | $5,999.00 |
| That is 82% below the national average net price. | |
| Go deeper on the components with tuition and fees and living costs. |
Published costs have climbed year over year at about 3.5% per year, so the four-year total runs well above today’s cost. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. The loan rows amortise the projected total over a ten-year, 6.8% repayment.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Freshman year | $6,211.00 | $16,945.00 | $85,764.00 |
| Senior year | $6,891.00 | $18,803.00 | $95,164.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $26,188.00 | $71,453.00 | $361,639.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $9,977.00 | $27,221.00 | $137,771.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $301.00 | $822.00 | $4,162.00 |
| Total amount paid | $36,165.00 | $98,674.00 | $499,411.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Freshman year | $6,211.00 | $16,945.00 | $85,764.00 |
| Senior year | $6,430.00 | $17,543.00 | $88,789.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $12,640.00 | $34,488.00 | $174,554.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $4,815.00 | $13,139.00 | $66,499.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $145.00 | $397.00 | $2,009.00 |
| Total amount paid | $17,456.00 | $47,627.00 | $241,052.00 |
See the full net-price breakdown in the net price section below.
The net price is the real out-of-pocket cost — what families pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied. For most prospective students, net price gives a more realistic estimate than sticker tuition.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $19,066.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $16,816.00 |
Net price varies sharply by family income, dropping as need-based aid grows. Here is the average net price for each family-income range:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $2,895.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $2,496.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $2,167.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $13,937.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $53,571.00 |
Run your own numbers with the Harvard University Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
Curious how grants and scholarships are distributed? Explore the financial aid breakdown.
Median graduate debt at Harvard University works out to $12,500.00, landing it in the Low ($10-20k) debt-burden bucket.
Here’s how debt at graduation distributes across borrowers:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $2,700.00 |
| 25th | $4,379.00 |
| Median (50th) | $12,500.00 |
| 75th | $16,135.00 |
| 90th | $29,889.00 |
The distance from the 10th to the 90th percentile shows how widely debt outcomes vary.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student loan debt detail.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. The breakdown below segments borrowers by family income at entry:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500.00 |
| Middle income | $13,250.00 |
| High income | $11,535.00 |
Low-income borrowers graduate with $965.00 in extra median debt compared with high-income peers.
First-generation college students often carry different debt loads than their continuing-generation peers.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,736.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,535.00 |
First-generation graduates from Harvard University take on $1,201.00 more debt than continuing-generation students.
The Pell Grant is the largest federal grant for undergraduates from low-income families. Comparing Pell recipients vs non-recipients shows how debt is distributed by need.
The median debt gap between Pell and non-Pell graduates of Harvard University works out to $4,375.00. This school is flagged by the Department of Education for Pell-related debt inequity.
The default-rate category at Harvard University is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 1.4% |
To give some context for these rates, Stafford loans disbursed at Harvard University amount to $809,345,210.00 distributed across 25,887 borrowers.
Veteran and active-military students often access dedicated federal aid programs including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 394 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $23,587.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 57 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $2,912.00 |
Explore GI Bill and military aid in detail on the veterans benefits detail.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through Harvard University, keep these questions in mind:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.