Harvard University

• Overview
• Admission
• Score Card
• Financial Aid
• Student Body
• Contact

• 

  Harvard is more than a university. It’s a tradition. No other American institution of higher learning has such a prominent place in the nation’s history or imagination. Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest university in the United States. (And the oldest corporation in the Americas.) It is perhaps the U.S. university that is both closest to the British model of university education, yet distinctly American in identity and outlook.

  

  Harvard was founded as a small institution with the mission of educating Protestant clergy. It grew as the United States did, expanding in size and scope, and diversifying its student and teaching communities. Today a Harvard University degree commands respect not only in the United States, but around the world – Harvard counts seven U.S. presidents among its alumni. And over 40 Nobel laureates among its current and former faculty.

  Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just across the Charles River from Boston. This is a highly urban setting that joins colonial-era buildings and landmarks with Massachusetts’ burgeoning hi-tech industry. Harvard is a large university, with high-profile graduate and professional programs. About two-thirds of its approximately 21,000 students are enrolled in its professional and graduate schools. (These include the world-renowned Medical School, the Business School, the Law School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Divinity School, the School of Public Health, and the Graduate School of Education.)

  

  Despite the university’s size, the Harvard educational experience is usually an intense and companionable one, with students benefiting from low student-to-faculty ratios and opportunities to get involved with the local community. Connections made at Harvard University often last a lifetime, with graduates becoming part of a vigorous network of over 370,000 alumni spread out around the world.

• • Acceptance Rate

    

  • SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)

    
    
    

  • ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)

    
    
    

  Application Deadlines

  Early decision: Nov. 1 (Decisions made by December 15)

  Regular decision: Jan. 1 (Decisions made by late March)

  Admissions Information

  Freshmen Admissions
  Number of 2016 (Class of 2020) applicants: 39,041
  Enrolled: 1,665
  Yield: 79.2%
  Acceptance rate: 5.2%

  Early Action Admissions
  Number of 2016 (Class of 2020) EA applicants: 6,173
  Enrolled: 918
  Acceptance rate: 14.9%

  Waitlist Admission Statistics
  75 students were admitted off the waitlist for the Class of 2020.

  Transfer Admissions
  According to the school’s website, Harvard generally admits about 12 applicants a year from a pool of over 1,600!

  Middle SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
  SAT Critical Reading: 700-800
  SAT Math: 700-800
  SAT Writing: 710-790

  Middle ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
  ACT Composite: 32-35
  ACT English: 33-35
  ACT Math: 31-35
  ACT Writing: 8-10

  Standardized Test Requirements
  SAT/ACT required

  Writing portion required

  SAT Subject Tests required

• • Graduation Rates

    

  • Loan Defaults and Rhodes Scholars

    

  • Salary After Attending

  • Campus Safety

  Score Card Information

  Graduation Rates
  4 years: 86%
  6 years: 98%

  Loan default rate: 0.9%

  Total Rhodes Scholars: 354

  Salary after attending: $87,200

  Campus Safety
  Sex offenses: 39
  Robberies: 1
  Aggravated assaults: 1
  Burglaries: 40
  Car thefts: 1

• • Total Cost and Total Expected Cost of Attendance

    

  • Average Net Price By Income

    

  • Student Debt

    

  Additional Information

  Tuition, room and board (2016-2017): $59,231

  Total estimated cost of attendance: $69,500

  Net Cost
  Average: $15,742

  By income:
  $0 to $30,000:	$6,603
  $30,001 to $48,000:	$4,836
  $48,001 to $75,000:	$12,167
  $75,001 to $110,000:	$28,440
  $110,001 and more:	$52,074

  Graduates with student debt: 26%

  Average student debt at graduation: $15,117

• • Student Residence

    

  • Undergraduate Class Sizes

    

  • Student to Faculty Ratio

    

  • Student Population

    

  Additional Information

  Student to Faculty Ratio: 7 to 1

  Women: 49%

  Undergraduate Class Sizes
  Under 20:	76%
  20 to 39:	11%
  40 to 99:	9%
  100+:	4%

  Student Population
  Total: 29,652
  Undergraduate: 10,255

  

  Student Residence
  In State: 14%
  Out of State: 73%
  International: 13%

• 

  Contact Information

  Harvard University
  Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
  Harvard College
  
86 Brattle Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138

  Phone: (617) 495 – 1000

  Email: college@fas.harvard.edu

This page was last updated in July 2016.