REQUIREMENTS AND CAMPUS GUIDE
Harvard University
Established in 1636, Harvard University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top schools for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university comprises the undergraduate Harvard College, 12 graduate and professional schools, and the renowned Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Nestled just across Boston’s Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard offers an intimate academic setting and access to a city filled with students attending Boston’s fifty institutions. Despite its undeniable prestige, it is important to note that Harvard is not a perfect fit for every student, and those who choose to apply should do so because they are interested in Harvard’s distinct campus culture and academic offerings. This guide provides everything you need to know about Harvard and its admission process so that you can go into application season confident and well-informed!
REQUIREMENTS AND CAMPUS GUIDE
Harvard University
Established in 1636, Harvard University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top schools for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university comprises the undergraduate Harvard College, 12 graduate and professional schools, and the renowned Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Nestled just across Boston’s Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard offers an intimate academic setting and access to a city filled with students attending Boston’s fifty institutions. Despite its undeniable prestige, it is important to note that Harvard is not a perfect fit for every student, and those who choose to apply should do so because they are interested in Harvard’s distinct campus culture and academic offerings. This guide provides everything you need to know about Harvard and its admission process so that you can go into application season confident and well-informed!
REQUIREMENTS AND CAMPUS GUIDE
Harvard University
Established in 1636, Harvard University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top schools for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university comprises the undergraduate Harvard College, 12 graduate and professional schools, and the renowned Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Nestled just across Boston’s Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard offers an intimate academic setting and access to a city filled with students attending Boston’s fifty institutions. Despite its undeniable prestige, it is important to note that Harvard is not a perfect fit for every student, and those who choose to apply should do so because they are interested in Harvard’s distinct campus culture and academic offerings. This guide provides everything you need to know about Harvard and its admission process so that you can go into application season confident and well-informed!
School Location:
CAMBRIDGE, MA
School Type:
PRIVATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY
Admissions Rates:
ADMITTED: 3.45%
GENERAL INFO
SAT/ACT Scores:
Test Required for 2024-2025
Admission Cycle
Class of 2027 Test Scores
Middle 50% SAT:
1500-1580
Middle 50% ACT: 34-36
Dates/Deadlines:
Restrictive Early Action: November 1
Priority/Rolling/Regular Decision:
January 6
Regular Results: Mid March
School Information:
Undergraduate population:
7,062
Faculty Ratio:
10:1
Interviews Considered:
Yes
HARVARD TIPS & GUIDE
How difficult is it to get into Harvard?
Harvard received a total of 56,937 applications to the Class of 2027, and admitted just 1,965 students, yielding an acceptance rate of 3.45%. With such a low acceptance rate, Harvard should be considered a high reach school by all applicants, no matter the exceptional quality of their applicant profiles. There’s no one-size-fits all path to getting into Harvard. However, the schools does publish certain academic expectations for all of their applicants, which include: “An ideal four-year preparatory program includes four years of English, with extensive practice in writing; four years of math; four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and an advanced course in one of these subjects; three years of history, including American and European history; and four years of one foreign language.” Whether your school offers AP, IB or Honors programs, you should enroll in the most rigorous courses that are available to you, as all applicants are evaluated in the context of their schools’ offerings.
The Class of 2027 had an 25th-75th percentile score of 740-780 in SAT Reading and Writing and 760-800 in SAT Math, with a 34-36 range for the Composite ACT. Ninety-four percent of first year students ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class.
What is the campus like at Harvard?
Harvard offers students access to the traditional campus experience and a major U.S. city. Residential living constitutes a significant part of the Harvard student experience. Harvard cultivates a warm community among its students beginning with Opening Days, an initiation week for incoming first-years during which students get to know many of their peers, especially those in their freshman dorm. Most first-years live in suites of two to four students, with roommates paired together by the college. All first-year students eat in Annenberg Hall, which is conveniently located near the dorms. In March of their first year, students attend their first “Housing Day” during which they find out where they will live for the coming three years.* You can think of the houses as mini colleges—they each have their own faculty deans, dining hall, library, gym, intramural sports teams, and academic advisors. If you want further opportunities to envision yourself on Harvard’s campus, take a virtual campus tour to learn more about the school and its facilities.
- * Some upperclassmen move off campus or transfer houses, but the overwhelming majority live in a house for all three years.
Harvard offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities that extend beyond traditional classroom learning, with over 500 student organizations in varied topics ranging from government and politics to health and wellness, public service, and the creative and performing arts. Service also stands as a main pillar of Harvard’s student life, and students can choose to give back to the local community by participating in programs hosted by the Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship of the Phillips Brooks House Association, a student-run organization that mobilizes volunteers in service of the Boston community.
What is Harvard known for?
Beyond the obvious prestige the school carries, it is also home to a number of unique and world-renowned academic programs available to undergraduate students. This includes programs offered through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, such as the Harvard-Amgen Scholars Program and the Summer Program for Undergraduates in Data Science (SPUDS). Harvard also allows students to cross-register at its prestigious neighboring school, MIT, expanding the rigorous and highly-ranked STEM programs available to students in the Harvard community. The school also offers dual degree music programs with two of Boston’s most renowned music schools, New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. For students who want to expand their knowledge outside of the Boston area, Harvard’s wealth of summer study abroad programs means that the whole world is your classroom.
What is Harvard faculty like?
Harvard is a good choice for you if you thrive in intimate learning environments and benefit from lots of one-on-one instruction and advising. If you prefer to learn alongside a large group of your peers, Harvard’s 7:1 student to faculty ratio might be overwhelming to you. That being said, the small class sizes and wealth of advisors ensures a supportive and productive environment. On top of that, Harvard’s faculty consists of Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, eminent researchers, and National Book Award winners. The close-knit Harvard community allows you access to some of the brightest minds in a host of disciplines and professions—connections that will continue to enrich your path even after graduation.
How diverse is Harvard?
Today, Harvard prides itself on diversity of all kinds, whether that be gender, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, or religious diversity. Their students represent all 50 states and nearly 100 countries. Of the 7,110 total undergraduate students enrolled at Harvard during the 2023-2024 academic year, 14.5% were international, 11.6% were Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% were Black or African American, 31.6% were White, and 23.5% were Asian. Harvard continues to foster diversity by implementing the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program, the Harvard First Generation Program, and the Harvard College Connection, which serves to help students from every socioeconomic background feel welcome and comfortable at Harvard.
How do I apply to Harvard?
Harvard offers both Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision application options. The Restrictive Early Action option differs from Early Decision in that it is non-binding (if you are accepted you don’t have to enroll), but restrictive in the sense that you can’t apply to any other early or binding program unless offered by a public university, military academy, or school outside of the United States. You may apply to other scholarships or other special programs with early deadlines, public or private.
Students who wish to apply to Harvard must submit the following:
- The Common Application or the Coalition Application by Scoir, including the personal essay and supplements
- Secondary School Report
- Midyear School Report
- Two teacher evaluations
- Final School Report and Transcript
- Standardized Test Scores
- SAT or ACT Score
- If the ACT or SAT is not accessible, the school will accept:
- AP exam results
- IB Actual or Predicted Scores
- GCSE/A-Level Actual or Predicted Results
- National Leaving Exams Results or Predictions
- Students may have the option to submit supplementary materials such as music recordings, artwork, or selected samples of academic work.
Is it advantageous to apply to Harvard Restrictive Early Action?
Harvard states that they do “not offer an advantage to students who apply early,” as higher early action admit rates are reflective of the “remarkable strength of the applicant pool rather than a benefit of application timing.” If you are confident that your application can hold its ground against other competitive applicants, then applying early action is a good choice for you. You should, however, research other colleges’ Early Action or Early Decision programs to be sure that you are willing to restrict your choices so early on in the college application process.
Does Harvard have a good athletic department?
Harvard offers 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity teams for women and men, as well as several club and intramural sports and recreational activities. Nearly 80% of Harvard students participate in athletics in some way, so if you plan on playing a sport at Harvard, you definitely won’t be alone! You can play intramural soccer for your freshman dorm, or try something totally unfamiliar. Club sports include everything from Shaolin kempo to skiing to archery to ultimate frisbee.
What are Harvard’s core curriculum and programs?
Harvard’s curriculum allows students to determine their own academic path, but there are some guidelines. The General Education requirements are divided into four main categories (Aesthetics & Culture, Ethics & Civics, Histories, Societies, Individuals, and Science & Technology in Society), and offer a decent amount of flexibility. In addition to the Gen Ed courses, Harvard requires that each student complete a “distribution requirement.” All students must take one departmental (non-Gen Ed) course in each of the three main divisions of the college: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science and Engineering and Applied Science. Additionally, all students must complete a foreign language and a Quantitative Reasoning with Data requirement. Most requirements can be completed at any time during a student’s undergraduate career, with the exception of an expository writing course required of all freshmen.
Beyond the mandatory courses, Harvard offers more than 3,700 courses in 50 undergraduate fields of study (called concentrations). If none of these concentrations match your exact intellectual interests, you can apply for a special concentration, which is a path you design yourself. All of these options might seem overwhelming, but fortunately Harvard doesn’t require students to declare a concentration until the end of sophomore fall.
Can I afford Harvard?
The total cost of attendance for 2024-2025 at Harvard is $82,866, which includes tuition, health services, housing, student services and food. Harvard is committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all four years– 55% of students receive Harvard scholarship aid, and 24% of Harvard families pay nothing. Harvard has several tiers of financial need. Harvard first establishes your parent contribution.
- “For families with annual incomes below $85,000 (increased from $75,000 beginning in the 2023-24 academic year), the expected contribution is zero. Families with annual incomes between $85,000 and $150,000 will contribute between 0 and 10 percent of their income. Those with incomes above $150,000 will be asked to pay proportionately more than 10 percent based on their circumstances.” If you want a clearer picture of what you would have to pay if you attended Harvard, use this helpful net price calculator.
