Harvard Dental School Only Meets 50% of Financial Aid for Students

The Harvard School of Dental Medicine is trying to fill a cavity in its financial aid offerings.

HSDM Dean William V. Giannobile said in an interview with The Crimson late last month that the school’s financial aid program provides students with less than 50 percent of their demonstrated need.

Unlike Harvard Medical School, which covers almost the entirety of students’ financial aid needs, the smaller size of HSDM’s budget prevents the school from offering more financial aid.

Giannobile said that meeting students’ full financial aid needs is a top priority for him.

“If we could just raise the bar in terms of what we can deliver in terms of scholarships and fellowships, then we will continue to be even more competitive beyond the Harvard name,” Giannobile said.

Giannobile emphasized that improving financial aid could assist in diversifying the student body — which is especially significant given that the incoming class has just four students who are “underrepresented in dentistry,” a 50 percent decrease from the previous year.

Giannobile said that HSDM’s limited financial aid offerings could inhibit its ability to attract students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Some of these students might be receiving a merit scholarship for a full ride,” he said

“I would love to be able to reduce that debt burden in the next five to 10 years for our students, so we can be more competitive,” Giannobile said.

In addition to its difficulties providing financial aid, HSDM has also faced budgetary challenges over the past several years. Despite Giannobile’s efforts to solicit donations from the school’s 2,700 living alumni, the school will be running a deficit this year.

Despite HSDM not meeting 100 percent of each student’s need, there has been a “significant uptick” in the number of applicants to the school’s D.M.D. program, according to HSDM Director of Financial Aid Gardner Key.

Key said that HSDM is the only dental school that offers need-based financial aid to all eligible students even though the school can only cover a portion of their demonstrated need.

“We typically outspend out peer institutions in the amount of financial aid we provide,” Key wrote.

This aid “distinguishes it from other peer dental schools, and can be an advantage for students considering the program,” Key added.

For Giannobile, the goal is “creating those opportunities where it’s not a barrier from a financial standpoint.”

—Staff writer Veronica H. Paulus can be reached at veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @VeronicaHPaulus.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.