Article

When reading an application, the Admissions Committee reviews test scores, along with all other aspects of the application, to get to know the person behind the numbers. Harvard has found that SAT and ACT scores are  the best predictors of Harvard grades. The Committee also understands that SAT and ACT tests are one aspect of a student’s application.

Admissions officers take into consideration 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. Each application to Harvard is read with great care, keeping in mind the context of a student’s high school and community and in recognition that talent is everywhere, but opportunity and access are not.