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We have all heard about Harvard, as one of the most famous and prestigious universities in the world. In fact, several of us study at Harvard for our graduate degrees, so we have close experience with the University.

The cost of studying at Harvard is around $ 70,000 to $ 110,000 a year approximately, including tuition, medical expenses, housing, among others. This institution is aware that not all students can afford to pay this amount of money, and that is why it makes scholarships available to you to help you achieve your goal.

There are two types of scholarships you can apply for. The first is based on the financial need of the student regardless of where they come from, while the second is a scholarship for international students. So, let’s see what are the steps to get a scholarship at Harvard.

Step 1: Apply to the program of your interest

The first step you will have to take is to start your admission process. To get a scholarship, Harvard first has to be interested in your profile and offer you a place in one of its graduate programs. For this you will have to meet the specific requirements of the program in which you are interested. But, generalizing, you will have to send standardized test results to compare and calibrate your level of English (either TOEFL or IELTS ) as well as to measure your verbal and quantitative reasoning skills (GRE, GMAT, etc), prepare your Curriculum Vitae, letters of recommendation, essays and interview.

The scholarships offered directly by the different Harvard schools (Business School, Law School, School of Arts and Sciences, etc.) have a different process, so you may be asked to show that you need financial support or that you have the potential to leadership or impact on your discipline. The scholarship process can be simultaneous to your postgraduate application, or once you have obtained the admission letter.

Many postgraduate programs offer scholarships and exclusive financing to candidates who are admitted or who are nominated by professors in the first semesters. However, these scholarship offers are not necessarily advertised on the Harvard website, so you may find little or no information about them.

We recommend that you first focus on getting admission. Once you are admitted, you will have a better chance of obtaining specific information about scholarships.

Step 2: Prove your financial need

For scholarships that are tied to financial need, you will have to show that you really need it. Therefore, depending on the case of the student and school, you will be asked to present certificates that accredit it and that help determine the percentage of aid to assign. Some of the documents that may be requested are related to taxes, personal and business income, trusts and real estate. This type of scholarship process is generally more common for undergraduate or college studies.

Again, remember, for these types of scholarships Harvard has to want you to study there first. You will not be able to start this process until you have been accepted.

Step 3: Receive acceptance letter

Often times, “the vast catalog of options to get financial aid does not unfold until you obtain a letter of acceptance to a university” (Borunda & Borunda, 2018). This is normally the case for scholarships awarded to international students. In order to apply to these, the first thing you must comply with is the required nationality. Speaking of Latin America, the Harvard General Scholarship Committee has programs for Argentines, Colombians, Mexicans, and Brazilians.

Step 4: Prepare your documents and fill out the financial support application form

As we mentioned above, the process for applying for financial support by each Harvard school is different, so the school to which the program of your interest belongs must indicate the documents to present.

Different types of documents must be presented for each nationality. In the case of scholarships for Argentines and scholarships for Colombians, you will have to fill out an application form, submit your curriculum vitae, and write your statement of purpose in a short essay no longer than 1,000 words, in which you discuss how your goals are related. professionals with the Harvard curriculum.

On the other hand, for the scholarships for Mexicans that are offered by the Mexico Foundation at Harvard, you will have to fill out the support application form and have an endorsement with a real estate in Mexico. The latter is due to the fact that, regardless of whether the support was granted in the form of funding or scholarship, the student has a contractual obligation to return to Mexico and, if not, must pay 100% of the support received. Also, you will have to attach the application for admission to Harvard including essays, acceptance letter, CV, Copy of 2 official identifications with visible signature, copy of the real estate deed in the name of the guarantor, copy of an identification of the guarantor and notice of privacy signed by you and by the endorsement.

As you can see, the steps to request an educational support to study at Harvard are not complicated, but it is important to emphasize that the support they will give you will not cover all your expenses. So the most advisable thing for you to be able to study at this prestigious university is that you have a combination of scholarships, financing through loans and savings that allow you to finance all your expenses at the time of your studies.