What kind of students get into Harvard? Well, there is no one "type" of student that gets into Harvard. But the admissions committee does look for applicants who have excellent academic records, are engaged in their community, and will contribute to the vibrant intellectual culture on Harvard's campus.
Sound like you? Great! Then this post on the admissions requirements for Harvard University is going to help you understand how to put together a strong application. And to be super blunt, you're gonna need that, because the most recent admissions rate hit a record low of 3.19% after 61,220 students applied!
HOW HARD IS IT TO GET INTO HARVARD UNIVERSITY?
It is extremely difficult to get into Harvard University. The standardized test scores, like SAT and ACT, and grade point average of admittees are in the highest percentiles.
Harvard Acceptance Rate
The Harvard acceptance rate is 3.19%, making it one of the most competitive universities in the world. Acceptance rate is an indication of how competitive a school is, but it is also an indication of how popular a school is. To get into a school like Harvard University, you will need to excel in almost every major college application factor.
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Harvard University GPA Requirements
The GPA requirements for Harvard University are between 3.9 to 4.1. You will need an incredibly high GPA and will likely be graduating at the top of their class in order to get into Harvard University. If you’re GPA is lower than suggested at the time you apply, you may have to perform above average on your standardized tests. If you’re grades aren’t as high as they could have been due to life experiences or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
Average Unweighted GPA: 4.22
GPA Distribution: Unweighted
4.0 = 75.76%
3.75-3.99 = 18.02%
3.50-3.74 = 4%
3.25-3.49 = 1.79%
3.00-3.24 = 0.32%
2.5-2.99 = 0.11%
2.0-2.49 = 0%
1.0-1.99 = 0%
Below 1.0 = 0%
What GPA should I have?
Applicants should be between 3.9 and 4.0 to be strong candidates for admission to this school. Having less than this will require compensating by increasing your SAT or ACT score.
Harvard University SAT Requirements
The SAT requirements for Harvard University are a 1,500 to 1,600 composite score, combining the reading and writing, and math sections together. You will need an incredibly high SAT score and getting close to perfect scores in order to get into Harvard University. If you’re SAT is lower than suggested at the time you apply, you may have to perform above average on your standardized tests. If you’re grades aren’t as high as they could have been due to life experiences or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
Average SAT Composite Score: 1520
SAT Distribution: Score = Reading | Math
700-800 = 83.81% | 87.88%
600-699 = 15.49% | 10.82%
500-599 = 0.7% | 1.3%
400-499 = 0% | 0%
300-399 = 0% | 0%
200-299 = 0% | 0%
What SAT score should I have?
Applicants should score between 1,500 to 1,600 on their SAT to be strong candidates for admission to this school. Having less than this will require compensating by using a substitute ACT score or having an above-average GPA. Either an SAT or ACT score is required for application to this school.
Harvard University ACT Requirements
The ACT requirements for Harvard University are a 34 composite score combing all English, mathematics, reading, and science sections. You will need an incredibly high SAT score and getting close to perfect scores in order to get into Harvard University. If you’re ACT is not what you’d hoped by the time you apply, you may have to make it up by getting above-average scores on the SAT and having an above-average grade point average. If you’re ACT wasn’t as high as you’d like because of difficulties or hardship, you should consider writing about it in your additional information section.
What ACT score should I have?
Applicants should score between 30 and 36 on their ACT to be strong candidates for admission to this school. Having less than this will require compensating by using a substitute SAT score or having an above-average GPA. Either an SAT or ACT score is required for application to this school.
Average ACT: 34
ACT Distribution: Composite Score
30-36 = 95.27%
24-29 = 4.57%
18-23 = 0.16%
12-17 = 0%
6-11 = 0%
Below 6 = 0%
Harvard University Application Requirements
Harvard University Application Deadlines
The Harvard University application deadline for regular decision is January 1st. Harvard University also provides an alternative form of application in addition to regular decision: restrictive early action. The application deadline for Harvard University’s restrictive early action is November 1st. Below is a table showing the deadlines for each of the steps of the Harvard University admissions process.
| Notification Plan | Application Material | Application Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Restrictive Early Action | Submit Test Scores (optional) | October 31 |
| Submit Application and Financial Aid Application | November 1 | |
| Admissions Decisions Released | Mid-December | |
| Regular Decision | Submit Test Scores (optional) | Early November |
| Submit Application | January 1 | |
| Submit Financial Aid Application (if still pending) | February 1 | |
| Admissions Decisions Released | End of March |
Harvard University Supplemental Essay Prompts
Prompt #1
Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? (10-150 words)
Prompt #2
Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience? (10-150 words)
Prompt #3
Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (10-150 words)
Prompt #4
How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? (10-150 words)
Prompt #5
Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (10-150 words)
Harvard University Application Essay Tips
Prompts Above
As we said above, you can check out our comprehensive guide on the Harvard supplemental essays to get in-depth guidance on your approach to each. Below, we’ll offer some big-picture guidance.
Consider paying particular attention to the, “What does Harvard look for in Students?” section of this post (above): Supplemental essay prompts are perfect opportunities for you to showcase how a different aspect of who you are fulfills something the school looks for.
In particular, a lot of schools use supplemental essays to get a sense of how you and the school “fit” together. This is especially important for things like “Why Us” essays, but you can demonstrate ways you and the community and academic programs fit together via other supp essays.
Any time a school has multiple supplemental essays, be sure to use each to focus on a different aspect of what you value and what you bring to the campus and community. Linked to that, try to avoid repeating anything covered in your personal statement—use these prompts to help the readers see new sides of you.
Though you’ll want to be mostly focusing on specific examples of yourself and your life in these essays, having a clear understanding of Harvard’s mission and vision will give you a direction for your reflections in your essays. (Semi-pro tip: for any school, just search for “[school name] mission and vision” and you’ll quickly find what you’re looking for)
Tip #1 for Harvard University Supplemental Prompt#1
Treat this as a combo identity/community/background + why us prompt.
We offer a bunch of strong examples of “how will you contribute” essays in that guide, but essentially, think of this as showing a core part of who you are (and how you’ve become who you are), and then specific ways that this aspect of you contributes to the diversity of thought, culture, perspective, etc. of Harvard’s community.
Tip #2 for Harvard University Supplemental Prompt#2
Show you can engage in productive, healthy disagreement
This is a pretty common kind of prompt. You can see a bigger guide here, but, essentially, show that you’re ready to engage in complex, perhaps difficult discussions in a way that leads to your and other people’s growth.
Tip #3 for Harvard University Supplemental Prompt#3
Write about something you haven’t talked about elsewhere (much or at all) in your application.
This is your classic short extracurricular essay. You’ll find an in-depth step-by-step guide at this link, with specific advice for the 150-ish-word format (plus some really great examples) towards the end. We recommend using that post to guide you as you’re writing.
But if you want to see the short version, here’s what to do:
Go to your Common App activities list and pick 2-3 of your most impressive or important (to you) activities.
Then, go through the Best Extracurricular Activity Brainstorm I’ve Ever Seen (AKA BEABIES exercise), either mentally or by filling out the chart. This will help you decide which topic might yield the most content for your essay. If you’re unsure, maybe do a simple outline for two different topics.
Write a draft. Then start revising.
Tip #4 for Harvard University Supplemental Prompt #4
Think of this as a specifically framed “Why Us.”
What will you do once you finish your education at Harvard? And especially, how does what Harvard offers help you on the path to achieving these things. Harvard is generally looking for students who want to use their educations to make a positive impact in the world—how might you do so with yours?
Tip #5 for Harvard University Supplemental Prompt #5
Show your personality.
This is pretty similar to Stanford’s fairly famous “roommate” prompt. And we actually have an entire separate blog post on that Stanford prompt we’d recommend reading.
The super short version?
Do this exercise.
Pick three that Harvard isn’t seeing elsewhere + that show your interests and (especially) personality.
Write. Then probably rewrite a bunch.
Special thanks to Ameer for contributing to this post.
Ameer is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about college admissions and career development. Prior to freelancing, Ameer worked for three years as a college admissions consultant at a Hong Kong-based education center, helping local high school students prepare and apply for top colleges and universities in the US. He has a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Spanish Linguistics from UCLA. When he’s not working, Ameer loves traveling, weight lifting, writing, reading, and learning foreign languages. He currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand.
Top values: Growth / Diversity / Empathy
