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Harvard University Comprehensive Profile

209 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
4% Acceptance Rate

If you want to know more about Harvard University, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

If you’re interested in learning more about a particular stat, just click on its tile to go to a new page that covers the topic more in-depth. Also, you can jump to any section of this page by clicking one of the links below.

* Rankings

How Does Harvard University Stack Up?

#32 Best Colleges in Nation
#3 Best Colleges in MA
Harvard University ranking badge

2026 Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Harvard University was awarded 209 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Quality

Harvard is ranked #32 out of 3,449 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

Harvard also holds the #3 spot on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.

See all of the rankings for Harvard University.

What Are the Admission Requirements for Harvard University?

4% Acceptance Rate
4% Of Accepted Are Women
54% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

Harvard University has a very low acceptance rate of 4%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to Harvard just in case you don’t make the cut.

Average Test Scores

About 54% of students accepted to Harvard submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 740 and 780. Math scores were between 770 and 800.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Harvard University  ( 740 to 780 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Harvard University  ( 770 to 800 )
200
800

Harvard received ACT scores from 19% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 36.

ACT Composite Scores for Harvard University  ( 34 to 36 )
1
36

Learn more about Harvard University admissions.

Teaching Staff at Harvard University

7 to 1 Student to Faculty
87% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at Harvard is an impressive 7 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Full-Time Faculty Share

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Harvard University is 87%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  87 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Harvard University

99% Freshmen Retention
97% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

Harvard University has a freshmen retention rate of 99%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  99 out of 100
0
100

Academic Completion

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Harvard the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 97%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  97 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Harvard University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Harvard University

7,755 Undergraduate Students
48.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
52.6% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 7,755 undergraduates at Harvard.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Harvard University.

How Much Does Harvard University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
4% Take Out Loans
$31,704 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Harvard is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Harvard

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$2,895 $2,496 $2,167 $13,937 $53,571

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Harvard, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Harvard, approximately 4% of students took out student loans averaging $7,926 a year. That adds up to $31,704 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.4%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Harvard University.

Post-Graduation Earnings for Harvard University

$101,817 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University make about $101,817 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for Harvard University students since it is 107% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Harvard University make the most money.

Location of Harvard University

Massachusetts State
7,755 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

Harvard University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Harvard University.

Location of Harvard University

Contact details for Harvard University are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 6174951000
Website: www.harvard.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/harvard
Twitter: twitter.com/harvard

Harvard University Academic Programs

28 Majors With Completions
22,286 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 28 majors graduated from Harvard University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 11,143 NA
Management Sciences & Methods 1,077 NA
Law 622 $184,307
Educational Assessment 581 NA
Economics 423 $89,515
Public Health 422 $123,090
Sustainability Science 379 NA
Business Administration & Management 308 $76,078
General Social Sciences 302 $42,926
Computer Science 290 $140,072

Learn more about the majors offered at Harvard University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Distance Learning at Harvard

18% Take At Least One Class Online
14% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

1,373 students took at least one online class at Harvard University.

Learn more about online learning at Harvard University.

Comparable CollegesInterested in comparing Harvard? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

References and Footnotes

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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