Higher Education: Now Only a Little Less Unattainable

The education world is agog with excitement/fear over Harvard's new financial aid plan, which would ease the burden of middle- and upper-class families and make their costs competitive with typical in-state tuition, the Harvard Crimson reports. Poorer families will be expected to pay a smaller portion of their annual income (less than 10 percent), while those that make between $120,000 and $180,000 will pay 10 percent.

While Harvard has been getting the most press, other schools like Duke, Williams, Princeton, Davidson, Amherst, Colby, and Wellesley have decided to phase out loans in favor of grants for certain groups of students (either low-income and/or in-state). And in its never-ending game of catch up, Yale's president promises his own "major announcement" in January regarding financial aid overhaul. Better late than never.