• What we look for in a VUS applicant

  Your Visiting Undergraduate Student application should demonstrate strong educational reasons for studying at Harvard College. Our committee considers:

  • Evidence of academic strength and personal integrity
  • Your academic preparation for your proposed plan of study
  • Approval of your current college or university
  • Breadth of interest both in and beyond the classroom
  • Availability of space in the types of courses you wish to undertake

  Typically, you will apply during your second or third year of undergraduate study. 

Detailed VUS Application Steps

• Step 1: Submit the student portion of the Visiting Undergraduate Application.

  As you fill out the student portion of the Visiting Undergraduate Application, you will need to:

  - Prepare a Tentative Course Plan. This plan, considered part of your application, is an indication of the kinds of courses you would like to undertake at Harvard. It is not binding. Please consult our course catalog in preparing your plan, selecting courses in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Consider both the General Education section and departmental listings. With a few exceptions noted on the application, most courses are open to visiting students. Because some courses are limited in enrollment, require the instructor’s permission, or have prerequisites, adjustments to your course selection are to be expected during registration week. Admission to our program does not guarantee your enrollment in any particular course. Course schedules and information about limited enrollment for each academic year are not available until late summer. Many courses remain the same from year to year and any course not being offered is usually identified. However, if your course plan is dependent on a particular course, please contact the department to ensure it is being offered during the term for which you are applying and to determine the likelihood of being able to enroll in it. In addition, if you need a detailed course syllabus you will have to contact the department directly.

  - Write a brief Statement of Purpose (approximately 500 words). We want you to explain your purpose in studying at Harvard as a Visiting Undergraduate Student and how your background and experiences have brought you to this point in your education. In addition, we would like to know your current non-academic interests and activities and how you might benefit from and contribute to Harvard in ways outside of the classroom. You should feel free to include any additional information about yourself that would be helpful to the Committee.

  - Submit an updated Resume or Curriculum Vitae. Please be sure this provides an accurate time-line of your pursuits from leaving secondary school to the present, including any gap year(s) you may have taken.

  - Pay your $75 (USD) application fee.

  When your application has been submitted successfully and received by Harvard, you will receive an email confirmation along with a PIN to access the Applicant Portal where you can check to see which materials have been received by our office. If you have not received this email a week after you have submitted your application, please contact [email protected] to make sure there were no issues with your email delivery. You will also receive a link that allows you to upload additional materials to your application. You may forward this link to other people to upload additional documents directly to your application.

  Please note: We do not begin downloading applications and support materials until about a month before the deadline.

  As soon as you receive this email, please set up your account immediately and check this site regularly to monitor the status of your application. Many students submit materials both by mail and online. This is perfectly acceptable. All documents, regardless of how they were submitted will show up in your Applicant Portal. Please make sure to check this site before contacting our office.

  Our office cannot confirm the receipt of supporting documents until your application has been submitted.

• Step 2: Submit two faculty recommendations.

  Original letters of recommendation on university letterhead are also acceptable if they are attached to the VUS Faculty Recommendation form. Printed letters must be mailed directly to our office or submitted in signed, sealed envelopes. We cannot accept emailed documents in lieu of the mailed forms.

  Faculty letters should come from your university professors or teachers who have taught you in the classroom. If you wish to send supplemental letters from others who know you well, in addition to the two faculty recommendations, they should be submitted by mail or though the Applicant Portal.

  Please note: If you submit any recommendations by mail, they will not be reflected in the Checklist Legend of the online system. They will only show up in your Harvard Applicant Portal.

• Step 3: Submit a Dean’s Letter of Permission form

  The Dean's Letter of Permission certifies that:

  • You have the permission of your current university to study at Harvard
  • You are in good academic and personal standing
  • Upon satisfactory completion of the courses taken at Harvard, you will be granted degree credit

  The Dean’s Letter of Permission form must be filled out completely by the administrator at your university who determines your academic credits and is aware of any academic or disciplinary issues. This may be two different people/offices depending on the structure of your particular university. If that is the case, it is your responsibility to ensure that each section is completed appropriately. In addition, your Dean may choose to write a supporting letter but he or she must also check the boxes on the form. As with faculty recommendations, printed letters must be mailed directly to our office by your dean or submitted in signed, sealed, envelopes. We cannot accept emailed documents in lieu of the mailed forms.

  Please note: If you submit this form by mail, it will not be reflected in the Checklist Legend of the online system. It will only show up in your Harvard Applicant Portal.

• Step 4: Send an Official Secondary School Transcript

  Have an official secondary school transcript sent directly to the VUS Admissions Office by your registrar or dean, either by mail, through the online application, through Parchment/Docufide or Scrip-safe International. If you are from an international school system in which promotion is based upon standardized exams, you should also send a certified copy of your exam results. For example: British A levels, French Baccalaureate, Gaokao Results, International Baccalaureate, etc. Credentials must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation. Transcripts will be verified.

  Please note: If you submit a transcript by mail, it will not be reflected in the Checklist Legend of the online system. It will only show up in your Harvard Applicant Portal.

• Step 5: Send an Official University Transcript

  Have an official university transcript sent directly to the VUS Admissions Office by your registrar or dean either by mail, through the online application, through Parchment/Docufide or Scrip-safe International. Credentials must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation. You should submit a transcript from all universities you have attended. Transcripts will be verified.

  Please note: If you submit a transcript by mail, it will not be reflected in the Checklist Legend of the online system. It will only show up in your Harvard Applicant Portal.

• Step 6: Submit a TOEFL Score (for non-native English speakers only)

  Students whose native language is not English ARE REQUIRED to submit a TOEFL score not more than two years old. Official tests results must be submitted directly to the Admissions Office from ETS (code #3434). We will not accept any other language proficiency tests in lieu of the TOEFL. While not required, candidates who have taken SAT I, SAT II, or ACT tests are encouraged to submit their results, reported directly from the College Board (code #3434) or the American College Testing Service (code #1840)

  Once we have received all of your materials, all of the check marks on your Checklist in the Applicant Portal will be green.

Other Application Requirements

• VUS Application Fee

  The required application fee is $75 USD. You can pay this during the application process, or send a check or money order, made payable to Harvard University, to:

  Visiting Undergraduate Students Admissions
  Harvard College
  86 Brattle Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138

  Please include your full name and “VUS” in the memo section.

• Printable Application Forms

  If you prefer to apply by mailing a paper application, you may download and print the following forms. Do not fill out these forms if you also applied online. Please send your materials to: Visiting Undergraduate Students Admissions, 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

  • Application PDF
  • Dean’s Letter PDF
  • Faculty Recommendation PDF