Harvard acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Harvard admitted 2,003 of 47,893 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 4.2%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into Harvard counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
Harvard acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 47,893 | 2,003 | 4.2% | 1,675 | 83.6% |
| 2024-25 | 54,008 | 1,970 | 3.6% | 1,647 | 83.6% |
| 2023-24 | 56,937 | 1,965 | 3.5% | 1,645 | 83.7% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at Harvard
Early decision counts: Not published. Harvard’s Common Data Set prints no early decision applicant or admit counts (section C21) for any year shown.
Harvard waitlist
Harvard SAT and ACT scores
| CDS year | Composite SAT 25th to 75th | EBRW 25th to 75th | Math 25th to 75th | ACT 25th to 75th | Submitted an SAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Not published | 720 to 770 | 730 to 790 | 33 to 35 | 79.0% |
| 2024-25 | Not published | 740 to 780 | 770 to 800 | 34 to 36 | 54.0% |
| 2023-24 | Not published | 740 to 780 | 760 to 800 | 34 to 36 | 52.0% |
What Harvard says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors Harvard rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: None recorded
- Important: None recorded
- 2024-25
- Very important: None recorded
- Important: None recorded
- 2023-24
- Very important: None recorded
- Important: None recorded
Harvard testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test required. Harvard requires the SAT or ACT to meet its standardized testing requirement. Admitted students who enroll submit official scores.
From Harvard’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
In every year shown, Harvard's C9 prints EBRW and Math ranges but no composite SAT range, so the SAT table gives the two section ranges and the composite reads Not published. C2 does not print the number offered or accepting a waitlist place, and 2024-25 and 2023-24 do not print the number admitted from it. Harvard offers Restrictive Early Action rather than early decision.
Harvard acceptance rate questions
- What is the Harvard acceptance rate?
- Harvard's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 47,893 first-year applicants and 2,003 admitted, an acceptance rate of 4.2%. It was 3.6% in 2024-25 and 3.5% in 2023-24.
- What SAT scores do Harvard students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 720 to 770 on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 730 to 790 on Math, and ACT submitters scored 33 to 35. The Common Data Set prints no composite SAT range for that year. 79.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the Harvard waitlist?
- In 2025-26, Harvard offered an unpublished number of applicants a place on the waitlist; the number who accepted is not published, and 75 were admitted from it.
- Does Harvard require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test required. Harvard requires the SAT or ACT to meet its standardized testing requirement. Admitted students who enroll submit official scores.
Applying to Harvard?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what Harvard says it weighs.
Source: Harvard Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Harvard. All official acceptance rates