Harvard Offers Middle-Class Parents Help*

Big scholarships could siphon top students who couldn't afford Harvard

(NEWSER) - It’s easy to applaud the generosity the Ivy League is lavishing on the middle class, but it could have unintended consequences, Newsweek notes. Second-tier schools and elite public universities rely on the highly talented middle-class kids Harvard and company are targeting. “Schools compete hard for those students,” said Colgate’s VP of finances. But Colgate’s $700 million can’t compete with Harvard’s $34 billion war chest. More»

(NEWSER) - Harvard and Yale remain the richest schools in the US, but both are getting a lesson in economics. The endowments of the Ivy Leaguer shrank by about 30% over the last year thanks to risky investments, reports Bloomberg. Harvard's fell $11 billion to $26 billion and Yale's dropped $7 billion to $16 billion. Both had moved aggressively into private equity and hedge funds over the past decade, and are now retooling strategies. More»

Endowment's record plunge threatens school operations

(NEWSER) - Harvard, the world's richest university, saw its endowment plunge 22% between June and October of this year, the worst loss in its history, the Boston Globe reports. Revenue generated by the endowment, which fell by $8 billion, pays for 35% of the school's operation, and Harvard president Drew Faust expects a total loss of 30% by year's end. More»

Smaller class size helps Harvard back to top of influential US News ranking

(NEWSER) - Harvard has reclaimed sole possession of the top spot in the ever-controversial US News and World Report rankings for the first time in 12 years. Princeton slipped to second, with Yale in third and Stanford and MIT tied for fourth spot. The magazine rates the halls of learning based on factors like SAT scores, reputation, and selectivity . More»

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

(NEWSER) - If you’re determined to get a great job, you might want to quit your course of study at Cornell or Dartmouth and transfer to one of the "top 5" schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Wharton. A new study shows that recruiters for the best law firms, investment banks, and consultancy firms are only looking at graduates of those schools, Business Insider reports. And even if you’re one of those elite grads, recruiters want to make sure you’re not—in their words—"boring," a "tool," or a "bookworm." More»