The U.S. Senate voted last week by a narrow margin to increase federal funding for college tuition by $250 billion over the next 10 years. But the increase will be mostly symbolic for need-blind colleges like Harvard.

While the extra federal funds will provide a $600 addition to the non-merit-based Pell Grants, increasing the maximum amount of federal aid to $4,350, the federal government's commitment to reducing the cost of higher education will hardly be felt by students receiving Harvard financial aid packages.

"It won't change the way we distribute financial aid," said Sally C. Donahue, director of financial aid for the College.

Harvard's hefty $19 billion endowment and a $100 million specifically earmarked for financial aid from the recently completed Capital Campaign permit the University to meet all financial need for students requiring aid.

At a well-funded institution like Harvard, money intended to reduce a family's college expense burden rarely comes from the federal government.

"We meet full need. If the federal government doesn't give a Pell Grant, we meet that need with a Harvard grant," Donahue said.

This year, about $3 million of the $55 million in aid given by the University comes from the federal government. Of that money, a little over $1.2 million comes in the form of Pell Grants.

Just 568 Harvard students actually receive Pell Grants, according to the manager of federal and state aid for the College.