“Can I get into Harvard with a 1400 SAT score?”
“What is an average Harvard SAT Scores?”
“How hard is it to get into Harvard?”
Every student dreaming of being a Harvard graduate goes through these common questions. This is where you say goodbye to all the ifs and buts and get concrete answers to all your questions about getting into University!
Harvard University is one of the top 3 Ivy League colleges in the world. Naturally, the competition among students from every corner of the globe is tight. There are many factors considered by the admissions committee at Harvard to select the best among the best.
From knowing the average SAT score required for Harvard to a checklist for University admission requirements for Indian students in 2023 – this article covers it all! Let’s break down all this information, one question at a time.
Harvard SAT Scores Requirements – 2024
Based on ‘numbers’, there are 3 criteria that you must strive to fulfill to increase your chances of becoming a future ‘Harvard kid’. These criteria are your SAT score, GPA and the acceptance rate at University.
what is the average Harvard SAT Score 2024?
The average Harvard SAT scores required to get into it is 1530.
Additional Information for Harvard SAT Scores Requirement
Harvard SAT scores for international students are no different than that of U.S citizens. You should also consider the percentile scores for SAT to set your SAT score goal accordingly. The SAT Exam has updated its percentile scores. The new scores are:
- For the 25th percentile, the updated SAT score is 1460.
- For the 75th percentile, the updated SAT score is 1580.
This simply means that if you score 1460 on the SAT, you will be placed in the below-average group of students and if you score 1580 you will be placed in the above-average group. Please note that Harvard does not follow a strict SAT score as a benchmark to select or reject an applicant. As mentioned earlier, there are many other factors that come into play while granting admission to students.
Here is a section-wise breakdown of the updated Harvard SAT scores for you to get into it.
Section-wise Harvard SAT Scores Requirement
Section | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile | Average Score |
Reading + Writing | 720 | 780 | 750 |
Math | 740 | 800 | 770 |
Total | 1460 | 1580 | 1520 |
Does Harvard Require SAT Scores for 2025?
It is mandatory for applicants to submit their SAT or ACT scores for taking admission
to the batch of 2025 at Harvard University.
What are Harvard University’s GPA Requirements?
Your Grade Point Average or GPA is one of the strong factors determining your selection at Harvard. The admissions committee at University considers applicants with an average GPA score of 4.18.
What is Harvard University’s Acceptance Rate?
Harvard has an acceptance rate of just 3.5%. This simply means that for every 100 students who fill in their application for Harvard, only 3.5 students qualify for being admitted.
The acceptance rate of a university is the percentage of students who are selected among the total number of students who submitted their applications. The rate of acceptance does not remain common for all universities. Especially for prestigious universities such as the Ivy Leagues, the acceptance rate is highly competitive than other universities.
How Hard is It to Get Into Harvard University?
Apart from your Harvard SAT scores and above-average GPA, there are still a lot more things that can actually support your application for consideration.
Your extracurriculars, future goals, past work experiences and a portfolio of all the real-world work done by you in the professional sphere are factors that play an equally important role to make your application stand out from the rest of the world, quite literally!
Therefore, while you work effortlessly towards improving your numbers, do not miss out on getting career clarity as a teenager by gaining real-world experience to upskill yourself as per industry standards! Your holistic profile with all these ingredients will definitely put your application at the forefront of being selected at Harvard.
Prepare Your Application
Your application reflects not just your academic performance over the years but also your overall acumen as a person. Refer to the list of all the requirements you need to prepare your application.
- Fill out the application form from the official website of the university.
- Request your school to provide your transcripts for the middle school year and high school years.
- Your latest SAT (or ACT) scores should be submitted along with your application if you choose to take an SAT. You can also apply to it without your Harvard SAT scores.
- Submit your personal essay or personal statement to the admissions committee as part of your application process.
- Your updated resume and/or portfolio with all your educational qualifications, extracurricular activities, work experience (if any), community service, etc.
- 2 Teacher recommendations should be submitted by you.
- You may choose to take the English language proficiency exam of TOEFL or IELTS and submit the scores with your application. However, you are not required to take these tests mandatorily for applying to Harvard.
Letters of Recommendation
Your recommendation letters have a crucial role to play in your selection process at Harvard. So, make sure you choose teachers or professors who have a strong academic background and know you well.
- You are required to submit 2 letters of recommendation at Harvard. Although you can submit up to three letters of recommendation if your teachers are willing to do so, the more the merrier is not what works in this case.
- You should find two recommenders who know you well and with whom you maintain a good relationship. The kind of relationship you share with your recommenders will speak a lot about you in the letter.
- Since there is a lot of documentation required to complete your application process, you should notify your recommenders well in advance to give you the letters so that you can review them before sending them to the admissions office. This will give you enough time to edit your letter of recommendations, if required, and also give your teachers enough scope to make a strong recommendation for you!
Counselor Recommendation & School Documents
Your school documents mainly include your transcripts of previous years’ examinations. University requires middle school transcripts as well to be submitted by the school counselor or any other school official only. This is done to maintain the authority and credibility of your source of the transcripts.
Your transcripts should be sent by your school via any of these services:
- Parchment
- Docufide
- Scrip-Safe International
Your school reports and transcripts should be sent to Harvard University latest by the 1st of July. So make sure you notify your school officials about this deadline to meet all your application requirements on time. If you are an IB school student then you should send your school documents by mid-August.
Now that you are thorough with the general requirements for applying to University, you must also take note of these specific requirements to fulfill your application.
The Common Application
There are two types of application forms available to students from all over the world. One is the Common Application and the other is the Coalition Application.
The Coalition Application is mainly for students who represent disadvantaged backgrounds. However, anyone is free to apply for the Coalition Application form.
Supplemental Essays
Your Harvard University application is incomplete without submitting two supplemental essays. The first essay expects you to write about your experience on any one of your extracurricular activities within 150 words.
The second essay should include your intellectual interests and activities that you like to indulge in or have indulged in the past that helped in shaping your personality. This can be anything from a personal travel anecdote to your first-ever work experience!
Application Fee
The application fee to apply to Harvard University is $85. If you have economic constraints to pay the application fee, you can request Harvard to waive off your application fee. If you meet any one of the indicators for waiving off the fee or you can provide a supporting statement for the same, you can be granted exemption from paying the fee.
Application Deadlines
If you are applying for the Restrictive Early Action Admission, then the deadline to submit your application is 1st November. You will hear from Harvard sometime around mid-December.
If you are applying for the Regular Decision application form then your deadline is 1st January. You will receive an update about your application status sometime around the end of March or early April.
Harvard Application Dates & Deadlines
Type of Application | Application Date | Harvard Notification | Application Acceptance Deadline |
Restrictive Early Action | Nov 1 | Mid-December | May 1 |
Regular Decision | Nov 1 | End-March | May 1 |
Final Thoughts about Applying to Harvard
FAQs related to Harvard SAT Scores
Who should write the SAT exam?
Students who wish to seek undergraduate admission in universities of America, UK and Canada should give SAT exams.
Which subjects are included in the SAT exam?
SAT covers three subject areas. These are reading, writing, language and math.
When should we register for the SAT exam?
Ideally you should register 2-3 months prior to the date of the SAT exam. Registrations for the SAT exam close 30 days before the scheduled date.
When is the SAT exam in India?
SAT exams are conducted five times a year. In 2023, SAT exams are scheduled for 26th August, 7th October, 4th November and 2nd December as of now.
What will be the options for university after the SAT exam?
From Ivy League colleges to American public universities, your options for admission abroad are endless after giving the SAT exams.
What is the duration of the SAT exam?
The SAT exam is of a duration of 3 hours.
What is the SAT exam fee?
For all international students, including Indian students, the SAT exam fee is $104.
What is Harvard SAT scores for international students
It is no different then US students.