HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Harvard Application Requirements, Admissions Tips, and University Guide

Harvard is one of the most well-known schools in the U.S. and the world. Because of this, they receive a huge volume of applications each year. With that in mind, you should carefully consider whether or not applying to Harvard is worth all of the time and effort it will take to apply there, or if you’re just applying because of its prestige. This page is designed to help you get to know Harvard and its admission process a bit better so that you can go into application season as well-informed and efficiently as possible.

How do I get into Harvard?

There’s no one-size-fits all path to getting into Harvard. You don’t have to be a computer science genius or a world class violinist. However, Harvard does have certain academic expectations for all of their applicants: “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.” If your school offers AP or IB programs, you should definitely consider enrolling in those courses, to demonstrate that you can handle the academic rigor at a competitive school like Harvard.

How to apply to Harvard?

Like many other US universities, Harvard requires you to submit an application through the Common Application or the Coalition Application. In addition to one of these applications, you will need to submit Harvard’s supplemental materials, the ACT or SAT (optional for 2022-2026), a school report and high school transcript, two teacher reports, a $75 application fee, and a midyear school report. Clearly there are a lot of moving pieces to keep in mind throughout your senior fall if you’re applying to Harvard. Check out Harvard’s application timeline, which provides a monthly schedule for both early and regular decision applications.

Can I afford Harvard?

The total cost of attendance for 2022-2023 at Harvard is $76,763-$84,413. At first glance, Harvard seems astronomically expensive. However, Harvard is committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all four years. Harvard has several tiers of financial need. Harvard first establishes your parent contribution. “For families with annual incomes below $75,000, the expected contribution is zero. Families with annual incomes between $75,000 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.” Unlike some schools, Harvard offers financial aid to foreign students as well. Harvard makes no distinction based on citizenship during the financial aid process, so non-U.S. citizens are equally eligible for aid as U.S. citizens. If you want to get a clearer picture of what you would have to pay if you attended Harvard, use this helpful net price calculator.

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’re more of a “get lost in the crowd” type, 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 to have access to some of the brightest minds at your fingertips, as well as generates a competitive and challenging environment.

Should I apply to Harvard Early Action?

Harvard has a “Restrictive Early Action” option, which 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 private institution under an Early Decision, Early Action, or Restrictive Early Action plan, or to a binding early program at a public university. You are welcome to apply early to any public university, military academy, or university outside of the United States under a non-binding program. Additionally, you are able to apply to other universities under their Regular Decision or Early Decision II programs. If your application is deferred in the early action round, you may apply to a binding early decision program at another college (i.e. Early Decision II). You may apply for scholarships or special academic programs with an early deadline at another institution, public or private, if the timing is proven to be a necessary aspect for consideration, and the outcome is non-binding. Harvard will meet the full financial need of admitted students regardless of whether they apply Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision.

Harvard does not offer an advantage to students who apply early. While admit rates tend to be higher in Restrictive Early Action, this reflects the remarkable strength of the applicant pool rather than a benefit of application timing. For any individual student, the final decision likely would be comparable whether the student applied Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision. If you are confident that your application can hold its ground against other competitive applicants, and you are rather certain that you want to attend Harvard, then applying early action is a good choice for you. You should, however, research other college’s 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.

How is Campus Life?

Residential living is a huge part of the Harvard experience. Harvard cultivates a warm community among its students beginning with Opening Days, a sort of initiation week for incoming first-years during which you’ll get to know many of your peers, especially those in your freshman dorm. Most first-years live in suites of two-four students, with roommates paired together by the college. All of the first-year students eat in Annenberg Hall, which is conveniently located near the dorms. In March of your first year, you’ll attend your first “Housing Day” during which you find out where you’ll be living for the next 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. Do you want to have a better idea if you can picture yourself living and studying at Harvard? 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.

What are academics at Harvard like?

Harvard allows you to determine your own academic path, but there are some, somewhat complicated, guidelines. The General Education requirements are four main categories (Aesthetics & Culture, Ethics & Civics, Histories, Societies, Individuals, and Science & Technology in Society), with a decent amount of flexibility within them. 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 taken at any time during your undergraduate career, with the exception of an expository writing requirement for all freshmen.

Now that we have all the mandatory courses out of the way, we can talk about all of the fun you’ll have designing your unique course at Harvard. 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 at Harvard you don’t have to declare your concentration until the end of your sophomore fall, and, in certain cases, can change it as late as senior spring.

On top of all of this, there are even more unique opportunities for study at Harvard. Although Harvard has incredible STEM faculty and courses, its neighbor, MIT outshines Harvard in this regard. Harvard knows this, and consequently allows students from each school to cross-register at the other. There are also dual degree music programs with two of Boston’s most renowned music schools, New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. As nice as it is to have the chance to study at other schools in the area, Harvard’s wealth of summer study abroad programs means that the whole world is your classroom.

Is Harvard diverse?

Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest university in the U.S.. For over 300 of those years, Harvard was home to almost exclusively white men. Today, Harvard prides itself on diversity of all kinds, whether that be gender, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, or religious diversity. Their students represent all fifty states and nearly 100 countries. The class of 2026 consists of 15.5% African American/Black, 27.8% Asian Americans, 12.6% Latinx and 2.9% Native American and 0.8% Native Hawaiian admits. These numbers are relatively consistent from year to year. Harvard ensures the growing diversity at Harvard by implementing the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program, the Harvard First Generation Program, and the Harvard College Connection. In particular, the Harvard College Connection serves to help students from every socioeconomic background feel welcome and comfortable at Harvard, despite it traditionally being a space for the children of elite and affluent families.

The variety of backgrounds from which students hail make each class year unique and vibrant. Plus, while you’re not in the classroom learning from famous lecturers, you’ll be in the dining hall, sitting in Harvard Yard, or at club meetings learning from your peers every day. If you feel comfortable within certain familiar settings, you have over fifty cultural, ethnic, and international organizations to choose from to spend your time with communities you’re more familiar with, or to learn about groups you’re interested in. Although Harvard generally trends toward a secular, liberal environment, there are groups representing dozens of religious and political perspectives. Plus, there are more than 30 on-campus chaplains representing religions from around the world, so if your spirituality is an important part of your life, you don’t have to put the fellowship aspect of it on pause just because you’re in college.

Can I play sports at Harvard?

Harvard offers 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity teams for women and men, which is more than any other DI college, as well as several club and intramural sports and recreational activities. 20% of the student body participates in intercollegiate sports and 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! Professors are very understanding of athletic commitments, so the balancing act won’t be impossible. If you didn’t play a sport in high school, now is your chance to try! You can play intramural soccer for your Freshman dorm, or try something totally unfamiliar. Club sports include everything from Shaolin kempo to archery to ultimate frisbee.

*Updated 2022