So, you’ve decided you want to don the Harvard crimson, eh? You open your computer, beginning that ever-so-thrilling application process, to discover two different Harvard sites?
Overwhelm sets in.
Harvard College? Harvard University? Isn’t it just … Harvard? (Hint: kinda) Why are there two? What is the difference between college and university? Where do I start? What is happening?
Take a deep breath. Let’s demystify.
Sooo…
What’s the difference between Harvard College and Harvard University?
The short and sweet of Harvard College vs Harvard University is primarily undergrad vs. grad. Harvard College and Harvard University are: same-same, but ... different. The same in that they’re both Harvard. Different in that (if people are using the phrases precisely) they’re separate schools facilitating two different levels of education. As a matter of fact, there are 14 schools of Harvard! Yes, you read that right. 14!
Generally, college vs university can be presumed to be undergrad vs grad, respectively. Though exceptions to the rule exist. For example, fellow Ivy League institution Dartmouth College houses undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. But regarding Harvard, the difference between college and university holds to the general standard.
Harvard, as a broader institution, additionally offers online programs and other non-degree learning opportunities in both continuing and executive education, thus moving beyond university vs. college in its collective offerings.
What is Harvard College?
Harvard College is the nearly 400-year-old undergrad liberal arts college at Harvard, located in Cambridge, MA. So, if you’re planning to target Harvard as an emerging high school student, Harvard College is your aim.
Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the “original” Harvard and the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Harvard prides itself on the totality of the student experience, with first year undergrads typically housed in community-living dorms.
Upon completion of year one, they’re then assigned to live in one of the 12 Houses located in the heart of the campus, famously known as Harvard Yard. The 12 Houses of The Harvard House system represent one most recognized of Harvard traditions, a cornerstone of the Harvard experience. Here, undergrads live immersed in their education setting among fellow undergrads and nearby grads, mentors, and professors. Harvard not only encourages student interaction and bonding, they emphasize the vital synergy created by forging these relationships among creative, brilliant young minds during these pivotal years.
How many people get into Harvard is (no surprise) low relative to its applicant pool. Only a few lucky applicants will live in Harvard Yard, what with the acceptance rate at Harvard College being notoriously low. The ever-declining Harvard College acceptance rate is a staggering 3.2%, admitting only 1,984 shining newbies of the 61,221total hopefuls in the most recent Class of 2026 Harvard admissions.
However, how hard it is to get into Harvard is well worth the effort, what with the Harvard graduation rate being among the highest in the U.S. at 98%, and the school’s incredibly strong academic programs. So, as exclusive as the Harvard admittance requirements may be, they just may be doing something right! (Not to mention certainly maintaining their mystique in doing so.)
What is Harvard University?
Harvard University is the Ivy League, nonprofit, research university of Harvard, consisting of 12 graduate (degree-granting) schools, in addition to the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. While Harvard College specifically refers to Harvard’s undergrad liberal arts program, Harvard University is generally used to refer to the entire school. More than 35,000 students currently attend the three main campuses of Harvard University located in Cambridge and the Longwood and Allston neighborhoods of Boston.
The Harvard University acceptance rate mirrors that of its college, being notoriously low at around 3.4%. It also mirrors its college in global percentile in both prestige and notoriety among graduates, maintaining its place as a prominent global institutional treasure.
What makes a Successful Harvard Application?
Harvard utilizes a holistic approach, both in how it evaluates applications from prospective students as well as throughout a Harvard student’s education. They pride themselves, and rightfully so, in producing not only excellently educated graduates, but well-rounded, diverse, forward-thinking individuals who’ll ultimately contribute to a better world at large.
When it comes to considering applicants, Harvard obviously looks for high intelligence and the effective demonstration of it through things like a radiant GPA and test scores. In addition, Harvard generally wants to see a sense of curiosity, dedication/commitment, individual uniqueness, and the contributions one has made and further intends to make toward the bettering of society at large. They seek students possessing a strong emphasis on public purpose. In that regard, applying your intelligence in the humanities, arts, social sciences, or STEM is generally key to piquing Harvard’s interest.
So ... How high does your GPA have to be to get into Harvard?
In truth, the answer to this most commonly asked question is a bit of a “yes … and.” Yes, you have to have an exceptional GPA: in 2022, about 73% of accepted students had a 4.0. But Harvard turns down perfect GPAs and test scores every year. So beyond that high GPA, you have to project an illuminating individuality with a service-driven purpose, and you have to present an array of contributions you have made to your community, in addition to how you intend to grow these efforts in the future. These are among the elemental expectations woven into the intention behind the Harvard selection committee process. In other words, successful Harvard applicants transcend a GPA score, demonstrating themselves to be extraordinary in both their potential and past efforts, and thereby showing themselves to be excellent choices of investment for the school.
How one demonstrates these exceptional “Yes … and” qualities is generally through the college essay portion of the application. How to write a college essay and supplemental essays that win over Harvard essentially comes down to demonstrating your personal uniqueness, philanthropic/service-driven intention, life experience, past contributions to your school and community, intellect, expansive knowledge base, curiosity, drive, rigor, creativeness, etc.
Through either Common Application or Coalition Application (Harvard has no preference which you choose), Harvard supplies multiple essay prompts for an applicant to best express themselves, from both broad and acute perspectives. They further offer supplemental essay prompts which provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate other dimensions of personality, contributing to a spectrum of self-presentation to ignite greater intrigue for the Harvard application committee in review.
Harvard advises utilizing the supplemental portion of the application to reveal any unusual talents and transparently relays the fact that most students don’t utilize this portion of the application. That being said, if you’ve got additional uniqueness, more life experiences, future contributions, and more dreams to share, this is an excellent way to stand out among applicants!
To get a very specific look at the current Harvard supplemental essay prompts and information on how to best tackle them for success check out this helpful guide.
Now, the bedrock of the Harvard essay process is nailing your Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement is generally what they read first, and thus is what will (or will not) endear them to you, making them excited to read more of your intriguing essays. When successfully executed, it’s truly the hook pulling them into why they need you to join their incoming class. It’s, in essence and actuality, a written demonstration of—You. So, show them YOU!
In short, the three main things they’re looking for in the Personal Essay:
1. Who you are.
2. What unique contribution of value will you bring to their program.
3. A strong demonstration that you can write, and write very well at that.
The Four Harvard Admissions Factors
1. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
This is the Education portion of the Harvard application, including considerations of the students’ place(s) of study as well as presenting their GPA, academic awards, and/or accomplishments. Here is where you’ll lay out your intention for upcoming education pursuits, future plans, and perhaps intended career path. 2027 Harvard applicants will be happy to know, Standardized Testing for Harvard will now be optional! So you got that going for ya! Whew.
2. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Here, Harvard is looking to see how you spend your time outside of your required school hours. Harvard is generally most impressed by extracurricular activities which are service-driven with a strong purpose to serve humanity. To get a better idea of what extracurricular activities to do to get into Harvard, check out this post on how to build a strong Extracurricular Activities List.
3. PERSONAL QUALITIES
In short, let your personality and unique individual essence self shine through! Remember, Harvard isn’t only looking for students who will successfully complete their program, but they’re actively curating a young alliance of global masterminds with strong core values. The more unique you are, the more alchemic the collective will be! Your Personal Qualities should be present in your Personal Essay(s) through Common Application as well as any other required essays and supplemental writing you wish to contribute.
4. LIFE EXPERIENCES
Your Life Experiences will, similar to your Personal Qualities, be shared through (you guessed it) your essays. As a globally driven institution, Harvard assembles the most diverse, worldly collective they can through their highly selective curation process. That being said, the experiences you have had throughout your life are just that—yours. When choosing those to share with Harvard, look to the ones which collectively tell the story of who you are as a whole person. Find the gems of your history and let them illuminate the heartbeat of who you are and show how no one else has the ability to contribute to the world’s future like you! To get the writing juices flowing for both your Personal Qualities and your Life Experiences, it’s best to start with some good old fashioned brainstorming! This process will likely be enlightening for you! You will learn about yourself through these creative efforts! Have fun!
What Classes to Take to Get into Harvard
Short version: the hardest classes your school offers.
Longer version: First and foremost, Harvard tends to look for a well-rounded, broad education. An education which best prepares and demonstrates the student’s potential and drive to contribute to the betterment of society. Harvard has thoroughly researched what students successfully complete their programs with high achievement. Harvard advises taking the most challenging classes available to you prior to applying. This isn’t only to impress admissions, but furthermore to prepare you for the challenging first year in college. After all, upon admittance, you’ll need to keep up with your extraordinary fellows, rigorous schedule, and cutting-edge classes.
Speaking of rigorous, let’s chat briefly about rigor. Rigor is a ubiquitous term in college admissions. In this context, it essentially refers to the academic challenge of a student’s courses. For highly selective (aka “highly rejective”) schools such as Harvard, rigor of your high school classes is an important metric. If you have a sterling GPA, but you maintained it through taking fairly easy courses and skipped on the harder classes your high school offers, Harvard (and other colleges) aren’t going to value that GPA all that highly.
So, if you’re hoping to apply to Harvard (and its fellow highly rejective schools), get going on those AP and advanced classes as early as possible (I’m talking FRESHMAN YEAR, people) and as a general guideline, take as many as you can.
Here's a list of tips to get you into Harvard regarding class prep:
Go at English FULL STEAM!
Get in there and work hard in this arena all four years so you can build as strong a knowledge base as possible. Read and study the world’s classics—can’t really stress that enough.
Foreign Language
Don’t just wait until your junior year, and don’t just do the minimum requirements for a foreign language. Take a foreign language all four years and work at it as much as you can.
History
Aim for a minimum of three years of serious studies in History, including: American History, European History, and then choose another global history which is most relevant to your interests and future endeavors.
Science
Study science all four years in the areas of: biology, chemistry, and physics—and take advanced study in at least one of these focuses.
Get writing.
Particularly expository prose. Write. Write. Write. You just can’t practice writing enough. Am I right?
Math
Math counts where it counts. Meaning, Harvard expects its applicants to excel in math relative to their interests. In other words, if data science is your thing, research and apply its relevant mathematics extensively and rigorously. Whether it’s that, statistics, calculus, mathematical modeling, and/or any other advanced math classes, know these are all given the equal consideration in regard to how it’s applicable to your intended future path. Harvard doesn’t value one over the other. They do, however, expect to see how you specifically intend to fuel those excellent math skills into the future.
In addition to the foundational recommendations above, Harvard takes into great consideration those classes particularly aligned with your area of emphasis. For example, if your particular area of focus is math heavy, it would be wise to take as much advanced math as possible. Though no specific other elements of education are required, it does behoove you to include any other excellent skills and exceptional education (E.g., symphony, choir, specialty classes and/or individual skillsets, etc.).
In other words, as long as it’s something you’re genuinely and truly excelling in and passionate about, let it shine! Again, with Harvard, both Harvard College or Harvard University, it’s all… “Yes, and.”
Good luck!
Special thanks to KJ Olds for writing this blog post.
KJ Olds holds a BFA from University of Montana, an MFA from University of California, Irvine, and is currently finishing her MA in Psychology at University of Massachusetts, working toward her Doctorate (PhD) in Clinical Psychology and Research. Born and raised among the copper mines of beautiful Butte, Montana, KJ moved south to base in Los Angeles, building an integrated career in The Arts and Sciences as a writer, educator, director, choreographer, creative producer, performing artist, and all-around helper-healer.
Top Values: Love | Integrity | Honesty
