Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 7,601 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 4%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $19,148per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 97%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $121,95710 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Families earning $100,000 or less with typical assets pay nothing: aid covers tuition, housing, food, fees and more. Up to $200,000, aid covers at least full tuition. Home equity and retirement savings usually don't count.
Source: Harvard College Financial Aid
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 4%About 1 in 27 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test scores requiredApplicants must send SAT or ACT scores.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1510–1580Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–36Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Harvard University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
95% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 4.22. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- Admit rate in this report
- 4%2,003 admitted of 47,893 first-year applicants
- Off the wait list
- 100%75 admitted of 75 who stayed on the wait list
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–3527% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 95%99% were in the top quarter.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Considered
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Interview
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Class rank
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Harvard University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Harvard University Common Data Set 2025–26; College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $19,148full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $89,279sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $64,796Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 97%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $121,95710 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $17,559federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 7,601Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 20%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 26%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA — admits 60%
- Bentley University Waltham, MA — admits 45%
- Berklee College of Music Boston, MA — admits 44%
- Villanova University Villanova, PA — admits 27%
Also worth a look
- University of Chicago Chicago, IL — admits 4%
- Northeastern University Boston, MA — admits 5%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA — admits 5%
- Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD — admits 6%
- Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN — admits 6%
- Emory University Atlanta, GA — admits 11%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Harvard University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.