Student bound for med school explains how financial aid made Harvard possible
Part of a series on the impact of Harvard financial aid on students. Sahar Ashrafzadeh grew up in Stevensville, a town of about 1,000 in Michigan. But there’s more to her story. Pursuing education, her Iran-born father moved with his wife to Calgary, Canada, where Ashrafzadeh was born. After her father completed his degree, a job offer brought the family to Stevensville, where Ashrafzadeh and her older sister, Sepideh, grew up. “I lived in a rural area called the ‘Fruit Belt’ along Lake Michigan,” she said. “There were beaches, apple orchards, vineyards, and farms, so it was a lovely place to grow up.” Ashrafzadeh is the first person from Lakeshore High School to attend Harvard College, where she is pursuing a concentration in molecular and cellular biology. She will graduate this spring and plans to attend medical school. “Harvard’s financial aid made it possible for me,” she said. “Even compared to my state school, Harvard...