"We've been planning this one for a long time," McGrath-Lewis said. "It's the time of year we always announce tuition and financial aid packages.
This is a sort of February ritual."
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But McGrath-Lewis said that both Princeton and Harvard were profiting from financial success.
"It's the same amount [as Princeton's loans], but it's a prudent amount," she said. "We didn't have the money then [referring to '98] but we've just finished the capital campaign."
The capital campaign raised $225 million dollars earmarked specifically for the purpose of increasing student financial aid. Harvard's financial aid budget for next year is close to $100 million, with $63 million of scholarship funds coming from the endowment.