Submitting Your Application

• Receiving confirmation of your application

  After you submit your application, we will send an email confirmation with a PIN to access the Applicant Portal. We begin sending these daily application confirmation emails in mid-September each year. Most applicants receive their confirmation email the day after they submit their application online. Applications sent in the mail will take up to two weeks to process.

  If you have not received your confirmation email, please check your spam/junk folder for messages from college@fas.harvard.edu or fileroom@fas.harvard.edu. 

  If you have searched your inbox and still cannot find your confirmation email, we encourage you to check the application system you used to ensure you clicked "Submit" and not just "Save".

  If you still cannot locate your application confirmation email, please contact us. Choose the category “Admissions” and then the subject “Applicant Questions (if you've already submitted your application)” in the drop-down menu, or call 617-495-1551.

• Paying the application fee or requesting a fee waiver

  You may pay your application fee online with a credit card via the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir websites.

  You may also send a check or money order to Harvard College Admissions, 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Please include the applicant’s name with the payment.

  Fee waivers: We are committed to making the application process accessible for all students. If the admissions application fee presents a hardship for you or your family and you plan on applying for financial aid, the fee will be waived. Please follow these instructions to request your fee waiver. Requesting a fee waiver will not disadvantage your application in any way.

• Completing the Harvard supplement questions

  Complete the Harvard Questions with the Common Application or Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir*. This includes the following five required short-answer questions, each with a 150 word limit. 

  1. Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?
  2. Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?
  3. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.
  4. How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?
  5. Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. 

  *Please note that the Harvard supplement is separate for the Coalition Application, so you must submit both the application AND supplement for your application to be considered complete. 

Additional application questions

• What if I am homeschooled?

  Each applicant to Harvard College is considered with great care and homeschooled applicants are treated the same as all other applicants. There is no special process, but all relevant information about your educational and personal background is welcome. In addition to the application, all applicants are required to submit a transcript (which can be created by the family member or agency overseeing your schooling), and recommendations. If the application fee presents a hardship for your family, simply request a fee waiver.

  Hear from Harvard students who were homeschooled, in the Harvard Gazette article ‘Homeschooled en route to Harvard.’

• What if I need to make updates to my application after I submit it?

  Do not resend your application in order to make updates. If you need to update your identification or contact information, or send updates, additional information, or corrections, please do so via the Applicant Portal.

• Misrepresentation of Credentials

  Be completely accurate in your application materials. If we discover a misrepresentation during the admissions process, you will be denied admission. If you have already been admitted, your offer will typically be withdrawn. If you have already registered, your admission will normally be revoked, and we will require you to leave the College. Harvard rescinds degrees if misrepresentations in application materials are discovered.

  The determination that an application is inaccurate or contains misrepresentations rests solely with the Admissions Office and will be resolved outside the student disciplinary process.

Midyear School Report FAQs

• What if I'm applying Restrictive Early Action and I don't have my midyear grades yet?

  Restrictive Early Action applicants are not required to submit the midyear report by the November 1 deadline. If you applied Restrictive Early Action and are deferred to Regular Decision, please submit the midyear report and transcript in February, or as soon as your midyear grades are available.

• I'm an international student and my academic year is different. Do I still need to submit the midyear report?

  If you study the IB curriculum or the A-level curriculum, then we expect that your school will send predicted grades, based on your current classroom work and the results of any internal or mock exams you have taken up to that point. If your school does not issue official or predicted midyear grades for your final year of school, then you do not need to submit the midyear report form, although the item may remain on your checklist.

• What if I have already graduated from high school?

  If you have already graduated from high school, you should ignore the midyear report requirement (though the item may remain on your Checklist in the Applicant Portal) and simply ask your school to send a final school report if you have not already done so.

• What courses should I take to prepare for applying to Harvard?

  There is no “one size fits all” rule about which curriculum to study during secondary school years. Students should challenge themselves by taking courses deemed appropriate by their teachers and counselors. But some students believe that “more is always better” when it comes to AP, IB or other advanced courses.

  While some students prosper academically and personally by taking large numbers of such courses, others benefit from a more balanced approach that allows them additional time for extracurricular and personal development. Even the best students can be negatively affected by taking too many courses at once, and might benefit instead from writing, reading or research projects on subjects of great interest to them.

  To learn more, read our Guide to Preparing for College. To avoid the “burnout” often seen among secondary school students, please refer to our article, Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation.

• Is there a specific math requirement?

  Applicants to Harvard should excel in a challenging high school math sequence corresponding to their educational interests and aspirations. We recommend that applicants take four years of math courses in high school. Ideally, these math courses will focus on conceptual understanding, promote higher-order thinking, and encourage students to use mathematical reasoning to critically examine the world. Examples include rigorous and relevant courses in computer science, statistics and its subfields, mathematical modeling, calculus, and other advanced math subjects.

  Students’ math records are viewed holistically, and no specific course is required. Specifically, calculus is not a requirement for admission to Harvard. We understand that applicants do not have the same opportunities and course offerings in their high schools. Moreover, many programs of study at Harvard do not require knowledge of calculus. We encourage applicants to take the courses that are available to them and aligned with their interests and goals.

  Students intending to study engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, statistics or other fields where calculus is needed may benefit from taking calculus in high school. However, students at Harvard can still pursue such fields by starting with one of our introductory calculus classes that has no high school calculus prerequisite. On balance, we encourage all students to master foundational mathematical material instead of rushing through any of the more advanced courses.

Standardized Testing FAQs

• Can I self-report my test scores?

  Yes. Applicants may provide self-reported SAT and ACT test scores (including Subject Tests, Advanced Placement, IB, etc.). Admitted students who decide to enroll at Harvard College will be required to submit official test scores.

• How do I send my official test scores?

  You are free to use the College Board Score Choice option or the similar option offered by the ACT. Our official codes are 3434 for the College Board SAT Reasoning Tests and 1840 for the ACT.

  • How to send your SAT scores
  • How to send your ACT scores

• Are there test score "cutoffs"?

  There are no score cutoffs, and we do not admit “by the numbers.” For the ACT, we will evaluate your highest composite score and any other scores you choose to share with us. We take into account your educational background when reviewing your scores.

• When do I need to take standardized tests?

  If you are applying Restrictive Early Action, we would like your testing results by the end of October; however, you may submit the November series if needed.

  For Regular Decision, although it is possible to submit scores from tests taken as late as the February, we recommend that you submit testing as early as possible.

• How should I prepare for standardized tests?

  Our admissions committee understands that opportunities to prepare for standardized tests vary greatly for students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. You may find it helpful to utilize free-test prep from Khan Academy or join a free SAT bootcamp on Schoolhouse.world. The ACT provides sample tests to practice.  Such free programs could help students from under-resourced schools by providing the academic tools that will serve them well on standardized tests and also in college. Students can also do well by studying widely and deeply  on their own with the help of family, school, or community organizations.

• What do standardized tests and grades indicate about academic preparation for college?

  SAT and ACT tests are better predictors of Harvard grades than high school grades. However, admission officers understand that not all students attend well-resourced schools throughout their lives, and that those who come from modest economic backgrounds or first-generation college families may have had fewer opportunities to prepare for standardized tests.

  High school grades in a rigorous academic program can also be helpful in assessing readiness for college courses, but the thousands of secondary schools around the country and the world employ various high school curricula and a wide range of grading systems - and some have no grades at all. Other students have been homeschooled or prepared for college by taking part in multiple schooling opportunities both in person and electronic.

  Given the wide variation in how students prepare for Harvard – as well as the fact that most applicants and admitted students have outstanding academic records – it is difficult for high school grades to differentiate individual applications. That does not mean that high school grades are unimportant. Students who come to Harvard have done well day to day in their high school studies, providing a crucial foundation for academic success in college, including a 97% - 98% graduation rate.

  Each application to Harvard is read with great care, keeping in mind that talent is everywhere, but opportunity and access are not.

• What if it would be a financial hardship to register for the test?

  If the cost of taking the SAT or ACT is of concern, keep in mind that both the College Board and ACT provide fee waivers to some domestic students from low-income families. Students who are non-US citizens attending secondary schools outside the US are not typically eligible for SAT or ACT fee waivers. If applicants are ineligible for fee waivers, but still face financial hardship in paying for a SAT or ACT, the Admissions Committee still encourages these students to apply. We encourage students in this situation to take and submit results from other standardized tests to which they have greater access. For instance, students lacking access to the SAT or ACT may submit AP results or IB/GCSE/A-level/other national leaving exam predictions or results.

• How will Harvard evaluate the new digital SAT?

  The College Board's shift to a digital delivery of the SAT will not impact the way in which Harvard reviews test scores within applications. Please visit the College Board FAQs for more information.  

Material Types

• How to submit documents and articles

  Scholarly articles, research, creative writing or other documents of which you are the primary author should be submitted in the Upload Materials section of the Applicant Portal. This is the most efficient and direct method of submitting these materials, because they will be added directly to your official application. All submissions should include a list of any individuals with whom you collaborated in the production of the work. If appropriate, please identify your research sponsor, mentor, and/or laboratory or research group leader and provide a short description of your particular contribution to the work.

• How to submit media (video, audio, or images)

  You may submit optional supplementary media materials (e.g. videos, audio recordings, or images) electronically via Slideroom. Details for submissions in art, dance or choreography, musical performance or composition, will be found on the Slideroom website. There is a small submission fee, but if this fee causes you economic hardship, you may request a fee waiver at the point of submission. You may also contact us to request a fee waiver.

  If you encounter technical difficulties on Slideroom, you may submit a document via your portal with YouTube video links. Our team may follow up to request a Slideroom submission at a later time. 

• Should I submit other academic materials?

  Harvard accepts other standardized tests or other academic credentials if you choose to submit them. In any admissions process, additional information can be helpful. For example, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, A-levels, national leaving examinations, national or international contests, early high school assessment scores such as the PSAT or pre-ACT, or courses taken outside your school during the school year or summer are just some examples of information that could be submitted. Subject Tests and the essay portion of the SAT have been terminated, except in certain special circumstances. Harvard admission officers review all materials that an applicant submits, so if you’ve already taken Subject Tests or the essay portion of the SAT, you may still submit them along with your other application materials.