Harvard University by a big margin contributes the most for the state economy. In 2016, the student community, all of 34,202, that include undergraduates, professional, graduates and extension school participants, had a direct or indirect impact on the economy.The Puritans, settled in Boston, in the 1630s believed in the power of learning, not of worldly concepts but theological morals. For them, educating children, or at least giving them the capability to read the Bible was essential for a well-rounded life on Earth and thereafter. Respect for the government was proclaimed in the Bible. Literacy was a paramount virtue, and to fulfill the qualities of a responsible and religious citizen, the first formal school - the Boston Latin School was opened in 1635.
The 1647 Massachusetts School Laws led to the first publically funded schools in Massachusetts, with small tuition fee or support for the schoolmaster demanded in return from the children’s family. The Schools were a training ground for Harvard College (Founded in 1648) – the prestigious church-sponsored institution of the time. 
Apart from Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston Carroll School of Management, Boston University Questrom School of Business, consistently feature in the Top 30 Business School in the US.
Harvard University by a big margin contributes the most for the state economy. In 2016, the student community, all of 34,202, that include undergraduates, professional, graduates and extension school participants, had a direct or indirect impact on the economy. For instance, $317.6 million were spent on local purchases and salaries for the support staff. Over Eighteen thousand people were directly employed by Harvard University, enabling a sub-economy exclusively to meet the need of the huge support staff and students. The total expenses in 2016 ran at $2.8 billion, out of which, $1.4 billion was spent in the state for supplies and services.
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.