First-Year Applicants (2024)

All first-year applicants—both international and U.S. candidates—must complete the Common Applicationor Coalition Application by Scoir,along with the required supplements. You will need to submit:

• Common Application or apply Coalition, Powered by Scoir
  • This includes subsets of questions, an activities list, and a personal essay (Common Application prompts, Coalition Application prompts)
• Harvard College Questions for the Common Application orCoalition Application Harvard supplement
  • There are five required short-answer questions with 200 word limits for each
• $85 fee (or request a fee waiver)
• SAT or ACT (with or without writing) - test-optional for 2022-2026 application cycles
  • AP or other examination results are not required, but may be submitted
• School Report (which includesa counselor letter) and high school transcript
• Teacher Recommendations (2)
• Midyear School Report (after your first semester grades)
• Final School Report (for admitted students only)

View detailed application requirements

You may apply to Harvard under either our Restrictive Early Actionor our Regular Decision program, both of which allow you to compare admission and financial aid offers from other institutions and to wait until May 1 to make a final college choice.

Your materials are due by the deadline for whichever round you choose; high school counselors may submit supporting materials up to a week after the deadline if necessary.

• Restrictive Early Action candidates apply byNovember 1and receive notification by mid-December.
• Regular Decision candidates apply byJanuary 1and receive notification by theend of March.

You are welcome to apply to Harvard using the Common Application which opens August 1, or the Coalition Application, Powered by Scoir, which opens August 15.

First-year Timeline Questions

• Spring (prior to the year you apply)
  Consider taking the followingtests, if you wish (note: Harvard is currently test-optional):

  • SAT or ACT - check whether these are required or optional

  Fall (of the year you apply)
  As early in the fall as possible, pleasesubmit:

  • Your online application to Harvard, via theCommon Application or theCoalition Application, Powered by Scoir. This is needed to open your admissions file, track your documents, and set up a possible alumniinterview.
  • The $85 application fee or a fee waiverrequest.
  • You may send the application supplements at a laterdate, preferably no later than 2 weeks after the application deadline

  October 31
  Restrictive Early Action applicants: If you are submitting test scores, we request that you submit themby the end of October. However, you are still eligible to apply using the November series as they should reach us in time forconsideration.

  November 1
  Restrictive Early Action applicants: Your portions of the application are due by November 1 at 11:59pm (your local time); high school counselors may submit supporting materials up to one week later if necessary.

  Also submit yourfinancial aid applicationso that if you are admitted, we will be able to send you financial aid information in mid-December when decisions arereleased.

  Early November
  If you are applying Regular Decision and submitting standardized test scores, we recommend that you submit scores from the November series or earlier, though you may submit December scores (SAT) or February scores (ACT).

  Mid-December
  Restrictive Early Action applicants: Decisionsreleased.

  January 1
  Your portions of the application are due by January 1 at 11:59pm (your local time); high school counselors may submit supporting materials up to one week later if necessary.

  February 1
  Notify the Admissions Office (fileroom@fas.harvard.edu) if you have not received your application confirmation email.

  Submit yourfinancial aid application(if still pending), so that if you are admitted, we will be able to send you financial aid information in late March when decisions arereleased.

  Mid-February
  Request that your school submit your Midyear School Report forms with your most recentgrades.

  End of March
  First-year admission decisions released.

  Early May
  Reply deadline for admitted students. No deposit required.

• For those students who would like standardized test scores considered as part of their application materials, students may submit the SAT or ACT (with or without writing). You may self report your SAT and ACT test scores as well as Advanced Placement or other scores. Admitted students who decide to enroll at Harvard College and have submitted self-reported test scores will be required to submit official test scores at the time of enrollment.

  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. As soon as you receive the results of those tests, you may submit them via the Applicant Portal or request a score report, without the need or expense of "rush reporting.”

  For Regular Decision, although it is possible to submit scores from tests taken as late as the December SAT and the February ACT, we recommend that you submit testing as early as possible. Scores submitted before the end of November will allow us to begin our evaluation process for those submitting applications by December 15.

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Applying to Harvard under the Restrictive Early Action program empowers you to make a college choice early. Early applicants apply by November 1 and hear from us bymid-December.

If your record and accomplishments have been consistently strong over time, Restrictive Early Action may be an attractive choice. You don’t have to commit to coming to Harvard, but you will learn earlier if it is an option foryou.

Consider if Restrictive Early Action is Right forYou

• Harvard welcomes interested applicants to apply under our Restrictive Early Action plan by November 1 in order to be notified of a decision in mid-December. Restrictive Early Action is a non-binding early program, signifying that if admitted, you are not obligated to attend, and have until May 1 to reply to our offer of admission.

  IMPORTANT:

  • If you are applying to Harvard under Restrictive Early Action, you may not apply to any other private institution under an Early Decision, Early Action, or Restrictive Early Action plan, or to a binding early program at a public university.
  • You are welcome to apply early to any public university, military academy, or university outside of the United States under a non-binding program.
  • Additionally, you are able to apply to other universities under their Regular Decision or Early Decision II programs.
  • If your application is deferred in the early action round, you may apply to a binding early decision program at another college (i.e. Early Decision II).
  • You may apply for scholarships or special academic programs with an early deadline at another institution, public or private, if the timing is proven to be a necessary aspect for consideration, and the outcome is non-binding.
  • Harvard will meet the full financial need of admitted students regardless of whether they apply Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision.

• Harvard does not offer an advantage to students who apply early. While admit rates tend to be higher in Restrictive Early Action, this reflects the remarkable strength of the applicant pool rather than a benefit of application timing. For any individual student, the final decision likely would be comparable whether the student applies Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision.

• Regular Decision offers important practical advantages.

  1. You will have more time to edit and proofread your portions of the application, and more time for your teachers and counselors to become familiar with you before they write on your behalf.
  2. Your application may be strengthened by senior year extracurricular achievements, course selections, academic performance, or other important factors.

Applications that are received in the mail will be treated equally by the Admissions Committee. However, applications submitted online are processed faster and allow your school officials to submit their part of your application online as well. Please choose one option only: either apply online or send an application through themail.*

*All application materials sentbecome the property of the Office of Admissions & Financial Aid. We will not be able to return any application materials as a result.Please do not mail valuable, personal, or original materials as a part of your application if you wish to keep your work.

• Click the links below to access the PDF application forms.

  • First YearApplication
  • Teacher Evaluation
  • Counselor Recommendation
  • Other Recommendation
  • MidyearReport
  • School Report
  • Homeschool Supplement to the School Report
  • International Supplement to the School Report
  • FinalReport
  • Optional Report
  • HarvardSupplement
  • Fee Waiver

• Please mail your entire application to:

  Harvard College Admissions
  86 Brattle Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

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