The number of Harvard students receiving the federally-funded Pell Grant continues to rise despite a trend in the opposite direction at the nation’s wealthiest colleges.

According to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, the percentage of undergraduates receiving the grant—traditionally an indicator of the number of low-income students in the College—has risen from 6.8 in 2000-2001 to 13 in 2007-2008.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week that from 2004-2005 to 2006-2007, the average proportion of Pell Grant recipients at the 75 wealthiest colleges dropped from 14 to 13 percent.

In the same time period, the percentage at Harvard rose from between 10 and 11 to around 12. Statistics for this academic year are not yet available from all schools.

The Pell Grant program provided up to $4,310 of need-based financial assistance to low-income students for the 2007-2008 academic year. The average recipient’s annual household income is under $20,000.

Fitzsimmons attributed Harvard’s increasing socioeconomic diversity to aggressive recruitment and outreach to lower-income students.

But Fitzsimmons said that it has not been easy convincing prospective applicants that Harvard is affordable even for the very poor.

“We’re not under any illusions. We know this is almost a generational battle. We have to fight. We can’t let up,” he said.

He estimated that it would be over a decade before the full effects of his office’s recruiting efforts would be felt.

In early December, Harvard announced a dramatic increase in financial aid, making Harvard free for families with incomes under $80,000 and drastically upping aid for those with incomes up to $180,000.

Harvard meets 100 percent of each undergraduate’s calculated need, which is determined after subtracting a family’s expected contribution and outside assistance (such as merit scholarships or Pell Grants) from the total cost of attendance.

For the 2007-2008 school year, Harvard’s cost of attendance was $48,550.

The Pell Grant is no longer as significant a source of funding for low-income students as it has been in the past. College tuition increases have outstripped inflation and funding for Pell Grants is not growing greatly, forcing low-income students to rely more on other sources of funding.

David A. Martin ’07, who received a Pell Grant and whose tuition was covered by the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, said that he noticed an increase in socioeconomic diversity during his time at Harvard.

Martin said that a diversity of backgrounds added to classroom discussion, where lower-income students could help illuminate the divide between the real world and the classroom.

“There’s a difference between what you read in Ec 10 and what you experience,” he said.

—Staff writer Lingbo Li can be reached at lingboli@fas.harvard.edu.