ANYBODY CAN GO TO HARVARD

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts is arguably the most prestigious university in the world. The quality of instruction there is very good. Furthermore, it is in the middle of the greater Boston area, a beautiful and stimulating place to be. Who wouldn't want to study there?

But doesn't Harvard receive tens of thousands of applicants each year for just a few spots? Don't those applicants have stellar grades and SAT scores, as well as fantastic extra-curricular accomplishments? Do I, an ordinary pretty good student, stand any chance of being admitted? Yes, yes, and no.

And doesn't Harvard cost about $50,000 per year to attend? You shouldn't worry about that because Harvard has lots of money. It offers very generous financial aid to students from low-income, middle class, and even upper-middle class families. Only the extremely rich pay full-fare. This is true of all elite private colleges.

It's the getting admitted part that's difficult. But you can study at Harvard and earn your Bachelor's degree there without ever getting admitted. Yes, you can move to Cambridge, start taking classes at Harvard, and graduate with a Harvard degree without mailing them an application first! Your grades and SAT scores can be perfectly ordinary, and the cost is nowhere near $50K per year.

Here's how: Harvard University has an extension school that offers the B.A. degree. Traditionally, extension school consists of evening and weekend classes offered to working adults in Boston at a modest cost. The classes are taught on campus by regular Harvard instructors. There are no admission requirements to take extension courses, and the cost is about 1/8th the cost of daytime courses at Harvard College. If you take at least three of these extension courses and get a B- or better in them, you will be admitted into the bachelor's degree program. That's all there is to it.

Essentially, you are treating Harvard University like its your local community college. There are a few potential downsides:

• Your classes will mostly be in the evenings and weekends. (This means you can get a daytime job.)
• Your classmates will not be regular Harvard College undergraduates, but a more diverse group of working adults, retired people, younger adults, etc. Their academic skills may be less polished, but they will bring their their real-world experience to the classroom.
• You will not get as much faculty advising or support as a student enrolled at a regular daytime college.
• You will live off-campus and not eat at Harvard's dining halls, so your social life will be completely up to you to create.
• In some ways, you might not feel like a full-fledged citizen of Harvard (even many Harvard students and staff don't really understand what the extension school is.)
• Your degree will say "Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension from Harvard University" instead of "Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College." (Outside of Boston, most people wouldn't understand this distinction.)

But if you are a mature and motivated person who knows how to spot opportunities and take them (as opposed to just waiting to be told what to do) and want a world-class education at a modest cost, then this might be an option for you to consider.

I am not making any of this up! See the New York Times Nov. 18, 2005 article Harvard, for Less: Extension Courses' New Allure. Besides, my father regularly takes courses at the Harvard extension school today and went to Harvard College the traditional way in the 1950's. He told me all this well before the article was written.

Do any other universities offer similar deals?
All major universities offer evening and weekend courses but most will not allow you to earn a bachelor's degree this way. However, there are some that do. Admission requirements and tuition costs vary and I think Harvard's is the most generous and accessible but here are some others I have found:

University of Pennsylvania's College of General Studies

Columbia University's School of General Studies

New York University's School of Continuing & Professional Studies

Boston University's Metropolitian College

Georgetown University's Liberal Studies Degree Program

Northwestern University's School of Continuing Studies

The University of Virginia's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program

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