Harvard Acceptance Rate: How to Get Into Harvard

Harvard, the oldest of the Ivies, is also the most competitive, with an overall acceptance rate sitting at a mere 3.19% last spring, the lowest rate in the school’s history. A staggering 61,220 students applied in the 2021-22 application cycle, a significant rise from the 57,435 who applied in the 2020-21 cycle, which represented a 42.7% increase over the 40,248 students who applied in the 2019-20 cycle. For the past decade Harvard’s overall acceptance rate has sat between 4.50% and 6.38% (Class of 2016), but the 2020-21 and 2021-22 pandemic-era admission cycles saw a remarkable downshift (3.43% and 3.19%, respectively), no doubt the result of surging applicant volume brought on by the school’s test-optional admissions policy.

Let’s dig into the data.

DRIVING FORCES BEHIND HARVARD’S LOW ACCEPTANCE RATES

Pandemic-era test-optional policies account for the highly competitive 2021-22 admissions cycle. The 2021-22 cycle was the second year of Harvard’s test-optional policy, and they’ve since renewed the policy for the Classes of ’27- ’30, one of the more far-reaching announcements from the Ivies. (Princeton, by contrast, has not yet extended its policy past the 2022-23 admissions cycle.)

Harvard saw an applicant influx of 42.70% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 admission cycles, exceeded only by Columbia (51.06% surge) among the Ivies. Volume remained elevated in the 2021-22 cycle: Harvard saw yet another 6.59% increase in applicant volume, compared with Cornell’s 5.37% and Brown’s 8.76%. No Ivy saw a notable decrease in application volume between these two pandemic years: Columbia, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania all experienced a decrease, but only -0.29%, -0.07%, and -2.36% respectively.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ODDS AT HARVARD

KNOW WHAT MAKES HARVARD UNIQUE

When you’re applying to an Ivy League school, it’s critical that you know what differentiates one from the other. They’re not all the same – in fact, the cultures of each Ivy can be quite distinct! So, what makes Harvard, Harvard?

The mission of Harvard is “to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society. We do this through our commitment to the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education.” Indeed, undergraduates at Harvard can choose from over 50 concentrations (majors) and have the opportunity to cross-register at a number of Harvard’s graduate schools, at MIT, and at the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. There is also a rigorous scientific curriculum, unparalleled by most higher education institutions: Harvard students have received over $7 million in research support from academic departments and scientific research initiatives over the past few years alone. Plus, there are also over 450 student organizations and over 100 community service programs for students to engage with, and Harvard’s “urban campus” in Cambridge, Massachusetts offers countless opportunities for additional, off-campus engagement.

The fact is, Harvard wants its students to be well-rounded “citizen-leaders” and has the resources to make it happen. When you apply to Harvard, it will be worth your while to consider how you serve this role (along with showing achievements in a specific area of academic interest). As you prepare to write Harvard’s (optional) supplemental essays, you may wish to respond to this question in a way that feels honest and true to yourself: The mission of Harvard College is to educate our students to be citizens and citizen-leaders for society. What would you do to contribute to the lives of your classmates in advancing this mission?

UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS

Early versus Regular Decision Acceptance Rates

Harvard’s Single-Choice Early Action program is a great way to increase your odds of acceptance. The EA acceptance rate for the Class of 2026 was 7.87%, compared with the regular decision acceptance rate of 2.34%. In recent years, the EA acceptance rate remained high compared with the regular decision acceptance rate: 7.56% in 2021-22, 7.37% in 2020-21 and 13.93% in 2019-20. It’s clear that EA applicants have the advantage.

Harvard’s Early Action program is nonbinding. The only stipulation is that students may not apply early to any other private college or university. (They may, however, apply early to a public or foreign institution.) The point is, if Harvard is your top choice and your data points are in range of Harvard, AND you want to increase your odds, you should apply early. You can always change your mind later (which is not the case with binding Early Decision programs).

The Data on Hooks

Of the admitted Class of 2026, 15.2% of the class self-identify as Black or African American, 12.6% as Hispanic or Latino, 2.9% Native American, and 0.8% Native Hawaiian. These underrepresented minority (URM) students have an admissions “hook”: they’ll have a competitive advantage if their test scores, GPA, and class rank are in range of a school.

In the Class of 2026, 20.3% of admitted students were the first in their families to go to college. (Note that we do not know the overlap between hooks, meaning it is unclear how many URMs are also first-gen.)

Additionally, 20.5% of admitted students are eligible for federal Pell Grants, awarded to low-income students. Harvard’s generous financial aid program also recently announced that it will now cover the full cost of tuition, room and board, and all fees for students whose families make under $75,000.

Academic Profile of Admitted Students

What about geographic diversity? 16.6% of the admitted students to the Class of 2026 come from New England, 22.3% from the Middle Atlantic, 17.8% from the South, 13.4% from the west coast, 9.8% from the Midwest, 2.0% from the central U.S., and 3.2% from Mountain. 14.8% of admitted students are international.

Even though Harvard is test-optional, students continued to submit highly-competitive scores as part of their admissions packages. In the Class of 2025, for example, 54% of matriculated students, or 1,049 students, submitted SAT scores and 31%, or 604 students, submitted ACT scores. The middle 50% of the Class of 2025 scored 1480-1580 on the SAT and 33-36 on the ACT composite.

What They’re Studying

When deciding where to go for college, you should consider how students on campus spend their time. Of the admitted students to the Class of 2026, 28.8% indicated that they intend to concentrate in the Social Sciences, 18.2% in the Biological Sciences, 15.7% in the Humanities, 9.0% in Engineering, 8.3% in Computer Science, 7.2% in Math, and 5.9% in Physical Sciences. 6.8% were undecided. Still deciding if Harvard’s for you? Read up on Harvard’s course offerings and concentrations to see if there’s a place where you feel you will thrive.

CAPITALIZE ON YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SUMMERS

So, how do you get into Harvard? Do your research, get to know the school, and cultivate experiences that not only align with your personal goals but that demonstrate to the admissions committee why you’re the perfect fit. At Top Tier Admissions, our students dig deep to understand and then cultivate their own authentic academic interests and how, within their learning, they can become active community members. The summer provides a great opportunity for our students to put their love of learning to action!

Take credit-bearing college courses. Volunteer. Submit your work to contests. But most important, be you! If you are a good fit for a school, the admissions committee will recognize it. We will guide you in determining whether Harvard is indeed a strong match for you, and work with you to develop a competitive application that helps the admissions committee see the many unique qualities you will bring to their campus.