Harvard University

What Harvard University Is

Harvard University, established in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is ranked 4th in the world by the QS World University Rankings 2025 and 4th by Times Higher Education. Harvard is not a single school but a constellation of graduate and professional schools built around a central undergraduate college.

The university’s structure is important for applicants to understand. Harvard College admits undergraduates and confers the AB (Bachelor of Arts) or SB (Bachelor of Science) degree. The graduate and professional schools each conduct their own admissions separately.

These include: Harvard Business School (HBS), Harvard Law School (HLS), Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) for public policy, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) for academic master’s and doctoral programmes, Harvard Medical School (HMS), the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Divinity School, the Graduate School of Design, and the Graduate School of Education.

The undergraduate College is the institution most Indian and international students think of when they say “Harvard.” It enrolled approximately 6,900 students in recent years. Harvard’s endowment stands at US$56.9 billion — the largest in the world for any educational institution — which is the primary engine of its financial aid capacity.

Harvard alumni include eight US presidents, as well as dozens of heads of government, Supreme Court justices, Nobel laureates, and founders of major corporations. The institution’s network effect is widely documented, though its career outcomes data reflects a combination of institutional selectivity and post-enrolment resources.

Who It’s For

Harvard College is one of the most selective undergraduate institutions in the world. In the most recent published admissions cycle (Class of 2028), Harvard received 54,008 applications and admitted 1,937 students — an overall acceptance rate of approximately 3.59%, per Harvard Magazine. Early Action applicants saw a higher acceptance rate of 8.74% (692 admitted from 7,921 EA applicants).

Harvard’s undergraduate profile skews strongly toward students who have demonstrated academic excellence alongside significant achievement in extracurricular areas: research, athletic excellence, arts, or leadership. The Harvard admissions process places weight on essays and recommendations as tools to understand context, motivation, and character — not just academic metrics.

The graduate and professional schools are each independently competitive. HBS’s MBA programme admitted approximately 13–14% of applicants in recent cycles, with a median GMAT score around 740 and median GRE scores of V163/Q163.

HLS is among the most selective law schools in the world by LSAT median score, at 174 for the JD programme. The Kennedy School MPA/MPP programmes are more accessible than HBS or HLS but still highly selective.

Programs Offered

Undergraduate (Harvard College)

Harvard College offers approximately 50 concentrations (the Harvard term for majors) across the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and engineering. Unlike MIT or Caltech, Harvard offers a genuine liberal arts curriculum: undergraduates fulfil distributional requirements across sciences, arts and humanities, and social sciences before declaring a concentration in the second year.

The most popular concentrations by enrolment include Economics, Computer Science, Government (Political Science), Social Studies, History, Mathematics, and Psychology. Harvard does not offer a dedicated Business concentration at the undergraduate level — students interested in business typically concentrate in Economics or Applied Mathematics.

Harvard undergraduates receive an AB (Bachelor of Arts) in their concentration. A small number of students pursue joint concentrations or receive an SB (Bachelor of Science) in applied mathematics and computer science or in engineering.

Harvard Business School (HBS)

The HBS MBA is a two-year, full-time programme based on the case method. It is one of the most recognised MBA programmes in the world. Admissions accept the GMAT or GRE. HBS also runs the 2+2 programme, which allows current undergraduates to defer MBA admission while they gain two years of work experience. See also: MBA.

Harvard Law School (HLS)

The JD programme at HLS is a three-year degree. Admissions require the LSAT; HLS does not accept GRE as a substitute for LSAT at the JD level. The LLM is a one-year graduate law programme; it accepts GRE in lieu of LSAT. International applicants make up a significant portion of the LLM intake. See also: LLM.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

HKS offers the Master in Public Administration (MPA), the Master in Public Policy (MPP), and the Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID). It is a major destination for students interested in public service, international development, and governance. The GRE is the standard admissions test. See also: MA Public Policy.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS)

GSAS administers Harvard’s AM (Master of Arts) and PhD programmes across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Applicants to GSAS programmes typically submit GRE scores. Programmes include doctoral tracks in Economics, History, Psychology, Sociology, English, Mathematics, and dozens of other fields.

Harvard Medical School (HMS)

HMS offers the MD programme for students who have completed relevant pre-medical coursework. It is one of the most selective medical schools in the United States. HMS is on a separate campus in Longwood, a medical and academic district in Boston, distinct from the main Harvard campus in Cambridge.

Campus and Infrastructure

Harvard’s main campus in Cambridge is approximately 209 acres, centred on Harvard Yard — a historic green space surrounded by undergraduate dormitories and the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library. The university also operates significant facilities in Allston (across the Charles River, where HBS is located), in Longwood (the medical campus), and at other sites.

Houses: After freshman year, Harvard College students are assigned to one of 12 undergraduate Houses, which function similarly to Oxford and Cambridge colleges: they provide accommodation, dining, academic tutoring, and social life. The freshman dormitories are arranged around Harvard Yard; upper-class Houses are spread across the adjacent streets. The rooming lottery system (Visitas matching from 2024) assigns friends groups to Houses.

Libraries: The Harvard Library system is the largest academic library system in the world, with over 20 million volumes across 73 libraries. The Widener Library is the central research library; the Harvard Law School library is a separate specialist collection.

Athletics: Harvard competes in NCAA Division I athletics and is a member of the Ivy League. 42 varsity sports are offered. Harvard’s athletic programme is relevant to admissions: recruited athletes represent a meaningful fraction of the admitted class.

Research facilities: Harvard’s research infrastructure spans medicine, law, public policy, computing, and the natural sciences. The Broad Institute (jointly with MIT) is a major genomics and biomedical research centre. The Center for Government and International Studies houses political science and international relations research.

Cost of living in Cambridge: Cambridge and Boston are expensive. Off-campus housing costs US$1,800–3,000+ per month for shared accommodation. Harvard guarantees on-campus housing for all four undergraduate years, which materially reduces the cost burden relative to living off-campus.

Financial Aid

Harvard’s financial aid programme is need-based only at the undergraduate level; there are no merit scholarships. The Harvard Financial Aid Office states that 55% of undergraduates receive need-based scholarships. Families with incomes below US$85,000 typically pay nothing; families with incomes up to US$150,000 typically pay no more than 10% of their income per year.

Harvard tuition for 2025–26 is US$59,320 per Harvard Registrar. Room and board and other fees bring total cost of attendance to approximately US$82,000–85,000 per year before aid. The university meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, including international students.

Graduate and professional school financial aid varies by school. GSAS doctoral students typically receive full funding including tuition, stipend, and health insurance for the duration of the programme. HBS MBA students typically finance via loans; some fellowships are available. HLS JD students have access to significant loan assistance and debt management programmes.

Things to Verify Before Applying

Harvard accepts the Common Application and the Coalition Application: Applications submitted through either platform are treated equally. The Restrictive Early Action deadline is November 1; Regular Decision is January 1.

The SAT/ACT is required, with exceptions: Harvard requires the SAT or ACT for most applicants. Limited exceptions exist for students who genuinely cannot access testing (financial barriers, lack of test sites). Students with access to AP, IB, GCSE, or other standardised exams are still expected to submit SAT/ACT if they are able. Harvard does not specify a minimum score, but median admitted student SAT scores are around 1550–1580 combined.

Early Action at Harvard is Restrictive (REA): Harvard’s early programme is Restrictive Early Action, not Regular Early Action. Students who apply REA to Harvard cannot simultaneously apply Early Decision to other private institutions, though they can apply to state university early programmes and non-restrictive EA programmes at other universities.

The admission process is genuinely holistic: Harvard reads applications with significant attention to context, character, and contribution. Essays and letters of recommendation carry substantial weight. A perfect GPA and test score do not guarantee admission; conversely, Harvard has admitted students with non-typical profiles when other dimensions of the application are particularly compelling.

HBS and HLS have separate and highly competitive admissions processes: The HBS MBA and HLS JD are entirely separate from Harvard College. A degree from Harvard College confers no automatic advantage in applying to HBS or HLS. Harvard College graduates are regularly rejected from both programmes.

Tuition changes annually: The 2025–26 undergraduate tuition of US$59,320 will increase. Always verify the current figure at registrar.fas.harvard.edu.

Endowment and costs: Harvard’s large endowment supports its financial aid capacity. However, international students should verify their aid eligibility carefully, as the most generous aid formulas are structured around US family income and asset reporting conventions. International students from families with high incomes outside the US may find aid calculations work differently than expected.

Where to Go Next on This Site

• GRE — for GSAS and Kennedy School graduate admissions
• GMAT — for HBS MBA admissions
• MBA — comparing HBS MBA with peer programmes
• LLM — graduate law degree options
• MA Economics — postgraduate economics pathways
• MA Public Policy — Kennedy School and peer programmes

Sources Used

• Harvard College Admissions — Application Requirements
• Harvard FAS Registrar — Tuition and Fees
• Harvard Financial Aid Office — Cost of Attendance
• Harvard Business School — MBA Admissions
• Harvard Magazine — Class of 2028 Acceptance Rate
• QS World University Rankings 2025