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Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts · Private, a midsize city · 7,601 undergraduates

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Is it hard to get into Harvard?

The middle half of admitted students scored in these ranges: a quarter scored lower, a quarter higher. Fall 2024 admissions, from the College Scorecard.

Acceptance rate
3.6%
56,937 applied
SAT, middle half
1510 to 1580
Reading plus math, out of 1600
ACT, middle half
34 to 36
Composite, out of 36
Test scores this year
Required
In exceptional cases where the SAT/ACT is not accessible, AP, IB, GCSE/A-Level or national leaving exam results can meet the requirement.
What they look at
  • High school GPAConsidered
  • Class rankConsidered
  • Courses takenRequired
  • College-prep programConsidered
  • RecommendationsRequired
  • EssayRequired
  • PortfolioConsidered

How much does Harvard cost?

Sticker prices and what students actually paid after grants, by family income. A year means tuition, fees, room, board, books and other costs.

Tuition and fees
$64,796
A full year, sticker price
$89,279
Living on campus
Average price after grants
$19,148
Students who got federal aid

What a year cost, by family income

Family incomeAverage paid after grants
Under $30,000$2,542
$30,001 to $48,000$2,070
$48,001 to $75,000$4,126
$75,001 to $110,000$9,995
Over $110,000$51,128
Room and board on campus
$22,130 a year
Books and supplies
$1,000 a year
The school's own grants
57% of full-time first-years get one, averaging $62,073

Tuition over the years

Tuition and fees for a year, as reported to the federal government.

$0K$19K$38K$57K$76K201220142016201820202022Harvard

How much do Harvard students borrow?

Federal student loans only, for students who borrowed.

Typical debt at graduation
$17,559
About $200 a month over ten years
Students who borrow
7.9%
Get a Pell Grant
19.9%
Federal grant for lower-income families
Over 25 when they start
16.6%

What do Harvard graduates earn?

Typical yearly pay of everyone who started here with federal aid, whatever they studied and whether or not they finished.

Six years after starting
$97,143
Ten years after starting
$121,957
Middle half: $73,582 to $219,708
Best-paid program, five years out
$225,414
Applied Mathematics
Lowest-paid program, five years out
$73,026
English Language and Literature, General

Do Harvard students finish?

Of the students who started full time, first time.

Back for second year
98.3%
Graduate in six years
97.1%
The four-year figure is for a later, smaller group, so it is not shown
After eight years
98% graduated
0% transferred, 0% still enrolled

Who goes to Harvard?

Women
53.8%
First in their family at college
25.7%
Part-time
6.4%
Students per teacher
7
Background
White 31%, Hispanic 12%, Black 9%, Asian 22%, Two or more 7%, International 15%
Housing
Campus housing, 14,344 beds

What do Harvard graduates earn, by program?

Every bachelor's program the school awards, with what its graduates earn and owe. The government hides pay for small programs, so some rows have no figure.

Computer science

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Computer Science391$171,540$208,886$13,000
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management0HiddenHiddenHidden

Engineering

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Biomedical/Medical Engineering30HiddenHiddenHidden
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering18HiddenHiddenHidden
Engineering Science83HiddenHiddenHidden
Mechanical Engineering53HiddenHiddenHidden

Business and commerce

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Business Administration, Management and Operations0HiddenHiddenHidden
Business/Corporate Communications0HiddenHiddenHidden
Human Resources Management and Services0HiddenHiddenHidden
Marketing0HiddenHiddenHidden

Health sciences and kinesiology

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Public Health0HiddenHiddenHidden

Life sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology0HiddenHiddenHidden
Biology, General0HiddenHiddenHidden
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences164$48,738$94,751Hidden
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology136$50,250HiddenHidden
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology0HiddenHiddenHidden
Natural Resources Conservation and Research33HiddenHiddenHidden
Neurobiology and Neurosciences194$45,001$94,667$7,500

Math and physical sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Applied Mathematics248$145,554$225,414Hidden
Astronomy and Astrophysics38HiddenHiddenHidden
Chemistry130HiddenHiddenHidden
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences0HiddenHiddenHidden
Mathematics156HiddenHiddenHidden
Physics111HiddenHiddenHidden
Statistics117Hidden$169,916Hidden

Social sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Anthropology43HiddenHiddenHidden
Archeology0HiddenHiddenHidden
Area Studies54HiddenHiddenHidden
Economics518$120,683$181,244$14,000
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies64$60,764HiddenHidden
Political Science and Government321$71,819$98,714$7,500
Psychology, General0HiddenHiddenHidden
Research and Experimental Psychology178$54,924$120,527Hidden
Social Sciences, General352$55,717$78,299$25,000
Sociology75$52,477$126,624Hidden

Arts and humanities

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Celtic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics29HiddenHiddenHidden
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
English Language and Literature, General82$43,559$73,026Hidden
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics4HiddenHiddenHidden
History313$54,630$80,018Hidden
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services46HiddenHiddenHidden
Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Philosophy63HiddenHiddenHidden
Religion/Religious Studies12HiddenHiddenHidden
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics12HiddenHiddenHidden
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics9HiddenHiddenHidden
South Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Southeast Asian and Australasian/Pacific Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Theological and Ministerial Studies0HiddenHiddenHidden
Turkic, Uralic-Altaic, Caucasian, and Central Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics0HiddenHiddenHidden

Education (teaching)

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Education, General0HiddenHiddenHidden

Fine and performing arts

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft0HiddenHiddenHidden
Film/Video and Photographic Arts0HiddenHiddenHidden
Fine and Studio Arts37HiddenHiddenHidden
Music18HiddenHiddenHidden
Visual and Performing Arts, General53HiddenHiddenHidden

General arts and science (major chosen later)

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Behavioral Sciences0HiddenHiddenHidden
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis0HiddenHiddenHidden
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities47HiddenHiddenHidden
Medieval and Renaissance Studies0HiddenHiddenHidden
Natural Sciences75HiddenHidden$25,000
Sustainability Studies0HiddenHiddenHidden

Other programs

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations0HiddenHiddenHidden
Leisure and Recreational Activities0HiddenHiddenHidden

Compare Harvard with other universities

Side by side: acceptance rates, scores, costs and pay.

Or the list of every university, by state.

Where these numbers come from

College Scorecard release 10152026, Most Recent Cohorts files, fetched 2026-10-20. Test policy: the school's page (opens in a new tab). Tuition history, housing and the school's own grants: the federal IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) survey.

How every figure in this part of the site is sourced, and the check of every link.

Careerhelp is not affiliated with Harvard University. Figures describe past students; check the school's own pages before you apply.

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