Moving costs follow you wherever you go. I’ve learned this lesson over four years on and off campus at Harvard.

Now as a senior, I want to use moving costs as a jumping-off point to provide some of the takeaways I’ve gained about accessing resources outside of direct financial aid. Harvard’s financial aid package considers students’ cost of attendance, including standard educational expenses in the form of room, board, tuition, personal expenses, and travel costs Aid is provided in the form of need based grants. Beyond that, there are various situational grants for students on the highest level of aid. For HFAI (Harvard Financial Aid Initiative) students, the Start-up Grant helps with college transition costs and the Winter Coat Fund provides resources for purchasing a Cambridge comfortable coat. Beyond the Financial Aid Office, there are other forms of aid, such as on-campus employment opportunities (including paid research!). With such a large pool of resources, however, it can sometimes be intimidating to try and match your specific need to the right solution, especially if you did not anticipate the cost. 

As a first-year, I realized moving to campus would be much more expensive than I anticipated. Shipping seemed exponentially pricey— my unrealistic visions of shipping my entire bookcase from Arizona to Boston disintegrated after I got my first few quotes. Beyond that, there were still supplies I wanted to buy once I was on campus— cleaning equipment, snacks, a cactus, etc., etc… One of the first things that helped me out was just the general community on campus. With so many students gathered in one place, there are many secondhand furniture, textbook, record & more sales; these are often publicized over Facebook or sent over email, with items listed in a Google presentation. On move-in day, even if you don’t have your own dolly or cart, the building managers have equipment you can borrow. The same thing goes for cleaning supplies— you can borrow a vacuum cleaner from your building manager, so you don’t need to buy your own. Moving out also has costs, depending on what summer opportunities you are interested in. Staying on Harvard’s campus over the summer means moving from dorm to dorm, but you may not want to lug all of your stuff with you. Different dorm buildings and clubs have storage spaces you can access to store your things over the summer. Many people end up finding storage through on-campus jobs. My roommate actually helped store many of our boxes at the house in the local community she knew from babysitting.If you have a very large amount of things to store, saving ahead of time — for example, putting aside a small portion of your Start-Up Grant if you are a first-year— can make a world of difference. Harvard has partnerships with storage companies so students can pool together for reduced rates. Beyond these moving costs, you may need to travel for an emergency or run into other unexpected situations. The Beneficiary Aid fund is also available for some emergencies and your Financial Aid Officer is a source to connect with about individual concerns. 

Do all of these factors still apply in the post-COVID world? Yes. Travel. Storage. Life post senior year. All of these still continue to apply, especially as the situation improves. Currently, I am not on campus, but many of my things are stored in Harvard’s storage. I remember when I left last March and things were very hectic. I had no idea what to do with everything in my room and how to move it all within five days. I felt very grateful that I was able to store my paintings with the English department and receive the glorious gift of 3 hours borrowing a car from my friend in Woburn, to help me pull everything together before I went back home. Harvard has many resources, but the best of those resources are the people. Whether it’s asking for direct help moving boxes or asking advisors how to apply for research funding, reaching out to the people around you is one of the fastest ways to get connected with what you need. You can always reach out to current students as well, to ask questions about their experiences and begin planning for your own. The Harvard Financial Aid Initiative supports the low-income prospective and current student community. We are always excited to hear from students and share information about Harvard. So please feel free to email us questions at hfai@fas.harvard.edu.