Getting in
For Fall 2025, 47,893 first-year students applied to Harvard, 2,003 were admitted and 1,675 enrolled: an acceptance rate of 4.2%.
Source: Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1. Read Sep 30, 2026.
By school or major. Harvard's Common Data Set reports one first-year acceptance rate for Harvard College, with no rate by concentration.
Source: Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Restrictive early action. Harvard has no early decision plan, and the Common Data Set does not report how many applied or were admitted in early action, so it gives no early acceptance rate.
Source: Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), sections C21 and C22. Read Sep 30, 2026.
Majors
50 majors across 1 school. Every Harvard College concentration (Harvard's word for a major) on the College's official Concentrations page, with the degree it leads to. Secondary fields and graduate programs are left out.
Harvard College concentrations50
- African and African American Studies (B.A.)
- Anthropology (B.A.)
- Applied Math (B.A.)
- Art, Film, and Visual Studies (B.A.)
- Astrophysics (B.A.)
- Biomedical Engineering (B.A.)
- Chemical and Physical Biology (B.A.)
- Chemistry (B.A.)
- Chemistry and Physics (B.A.)
- Classics (B.A.)
- Comparative Literature (B.A.)
- Comparative Study of Religion (B.A.)
- Computer Science (B.A.)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (B.A.)
- East Asian Studies (B.A.)
- Economics (B.A.)
- Electrical Engineering (B.A. or B.S.)
- Energy, Climate, and the Environment (B.A.)
- Engineering Sciences (B.A. or B.S.)
- English (B.A.)
- Environmental Science and Engineering (B.A.)
- Environmental Science and Public Policy (B.A.)
- Folklore and Mythology (B.A.)
- Germanic Languages and Literature (B.A.)
- Government (B.A.)
- History (B.A.)
- History and Literature (B.A.)
- History and Science (B.A.)
- History of Art and Architecture (B.A.)
- Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology (B.A.)
- Human Evolutionary Biology (B.A.)
- Integrative Biology (B.A.)
- Linguistics (B.A.)
- Mathematics (B.A.)
- Mechanical Engineering (B.S.)
- Molecular and Cellular Biology (B.A.)
- Music (B.A.)
- Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (B.A.)
- Neuroscience (B.A.)
- Philosophy (B.A.)
- Physics (B.A.)
- Psychology (B.A.)
- Romance Languages and Literature (B.A.)
- Slavic Literatures and Cultures (B.A.)
- Social Studies (B.A.)
- Sociology (B.A.)
- South Asian Studies (B.A.)
- Statistics (B.A.)
- Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (B.A.)
- Theater, Dance & Media (B.A.)
Source: Harvard College, Concentrations (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Deadlines for Fall 2027
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
| Plan | Apply by | Decision | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restrictive Early Action | November 1 | Mid-December | No |
| Regular Decision | January 1 | End of March | No |
Your parts of the application are due at 11:59 pm in your local time. Your counselor may send supporting materials up to a week later. In either round, you have until May 1 to decide.
Source: Harvard College Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Restrictive Early Action is not binding: if admitted, you do not have to attend. While you apply this way, you may not apply to any other private college under Early Decision, Early Action or Restrictive Early Action, or to a binding early program at a public university. You may apply early to a public university, a military academy or a university outside the United States under a nonbinding program, and you may apply elsewhere in Regular Decision or Early Decision II.
Source: Harvard College Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Testing
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
Harvard requires the SAT or ACT. Only in exceptional cases, when those tests are not accessible, can AP results, IB scores, GCSE or A-Level results, or national leaving exam results meet the requirement instead. You may self-report scores; if you enroll, you send official scores.
Source: Harvard College Admissions, Application Requirements (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
The Common Data Set marks the SAT or ACT as required to be considered for fall 2027 admission.
Source: Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C8. Read Sep 30, 2026.
Applying next year?
For students applying in fall 2027, entering fall 2028
Not announced yet. When we checked Harvard's admission pages on September 30, 2026, we found no announced changes for fall 2028 entry. The deadlines and rules above are for fall 2027 entry.
Source: Harvard College Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Cost, and what families paid after aid
The published cost of a year at Harvard, 2026-2027:
| Tuition | $62,226 |
|---|---|
| Fees | $6,216 |
| Housing | $14,250 |
| Food | $8,942 |
| Personal expenses (estimated) | $2,500 |
| Books (estimated) | $1,000 |
| Transportation | not published |
| Total | $95,134 |
Harvard estimates transportation at $0 to $5,000 depending on where you live, so it gives the full cost as $95,134 to $100,134. Health insurance ($4,954 for 2026-27) is also required unless your family plan covers you.
Source: Harvard College Financial Aid, How Aid Works (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Average net price per year, by family income, 2023-24:
| Family income | Paid after grants |
|---|---|
| $0 to $30,000 | $8,697 |
| $30,001 to $48,000 | $2,991 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $2,091 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $9,941 |
| Over $110,000 | $53,337 |
| All incomes | $19,066 |
What first-year, full-time students who received federal aid paid after grants and scholarships, by family income, in 2023-24, the latest year the Department of Education publishes. Your own price comes from Harvard's aid offer.
Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Similar schools
Chosen for how close each is to Harvard University on acceptance rate, public or private, location and majors offered.
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private4.6% admitted$20,111 average net price
Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private4.7% admitted$23,777 average net price
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private4.4% admitted$6,128 average net price
Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private3.8% admitted$13,807 average net price
California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA · Private3.8% admitted$16,075 average net price
Admitted: each school's latest first-year acceptance rate, so the year can differ from school to school; each school's page names its year and source. Average net price: what federal aid recipients paid per year after grants, 2023-24, and the in-state figure for a public university.