Cheaper to go to Harvard?

Private universities with big endowments such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale have revamped their financial aid policies.  The result?  Depending on your family income, it may be cheaper to go to an Ivy than your local state school.

At Harvard, students from families that make up to $60,000 will not have to contribute anything to the cost of attending college. Families with yearly incomes from $60,000 to $120,000 will be asked to contribute on a sliding scale from 10% (at $120,000) down to 0% (at $60,000). Families with incomes between $120,000 and $180,000 will be asked to pay a maximum of 10% of their incomes towards college. This is a significant difference – under the old policy, if your family made $120,000, you would have to pay almost $20,000 a child per year. Now, you would pay $12,000. They have also replaced loans with grants and no longer look to home equity as part of your contribution.

Other elite colleges are jumping on the bandwagon.  Check out this article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/151695