What is the most important thing to get into Harvard?
Asked by: Helene Ortiz | Last update: December 24, 2025Score: 4.4/5 (40 votes)
You must earn the best grades possible while taking the most rigorous classes your high school offers if you want to get into Harvard. According to information from Harvard's 2023-2024 Common Data Set, 74.02% of its admitted and enrolled students in the class of 2027 had an unweighted high school GPA of 4.0.
What is the most important thing for Harvard?
With a GPA of 4.2, Harvard requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes - AP or IB courses - to show that college-level academics is a breeze.
What are Harvard top 3 majors?
Sociology, Biology, and Economics make up the Top 3 majors of the Harvard majors list.
What is the secret to getting into Harvard?
Generally speaking, the baseline for admission to Harvard is easy to describe: a good GPA that will land you in the top 10% of your class, an SAT score at least in their 25%-75% percentile range, strong recommendations, a coherent essay, well-developed extracurricular interests (or academic ones).
How can I increase my chances of getting into Harvard?
To improve your chances of getting into Harvard, it's essential to focus on a few key aspects: academics, extracurriculars, and essays. 1. Academics: Aim for a high GPA and take a rigorous course load, which should include AP or IB classes if your school offers them. This demonstrates your ability to handle cha.
Harvard 101: What you need to know about applying to Harvard
Does Harvard prefer IB or AP?
Harvard does not explicitly state a preference for IB or AP courses. To receive credit for IB classes, accepted students must earn an IB diploma. Incoming students must earn a score of 5 on at least four AP exams to earn college credit at Harvard.
What's the hardest college to get into?
The Harvard acceptance rate is 3%, tied with Caltech for the #1 spot on our list of hardest colleges to get into. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard is a quintessential New England school globally recognized for its rigorous academic programs and influential alumni.
Does Harvard accept AP credit?
Harvard College. Credit toward graduation is granted for Advanced Placement examinations only if the student activates Advanced Standing, but advanced placement work is acknowledged in a variety of other ways.
What is Harvard really looking for?
In the end, Harvard is looking for students who have genuine passions and interests, and the ways in which they can contribute to Harvard community.
What's the hardest major in Harvard?
1. Physics: Known for being a challenging major in any university, at Harvard the program goes even more in-depth. There's a strong emphasis on fundamental laws and substantial math and computational work, which can be quite rigorous.
What is the minimum GPA for Harvard?
Harvard needs you to be at the top of your class with a GPA of 4.18. To compete with other applications, you'll need to receive almost all A's. You should also enroll in challenging classes, such as AP® or IB courses, to demonstrate that college-level coursework is simple.
Is Harvard the #1 college?
Harvard University Rankings
Harvard University is ranked #3 out of 436 National Universities.
Does Harvard care about grades?
We recognize that schools vary by size, academic program, and grading policies, so we do not have rigid grade requirements.
How many AP classes should I take for Harvard?
Freshman year you might take one or two AP classes if they're available. Sophomore year you can ramp it up to two or three. Junior year, if you're hoping to attend an Ivy League school, you should consider taking three to five AP classes in core subject areas.
What is the number 1 major of Harvard?
The most popular majors at Harvard University include: Social Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Mathematics and Statistics; Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services; History; Physical Sciences; Psychology; Engineering; Visual and Performing Arts; and English Language and Literature/Letters.
Does Harvard require SAT?
Harvard requires the SAT or ACT to meet its standardized testing requirement. In exceptional cases, when those are not accessible for a student, one of the following can meet the requirement: AP exam results. IB Actual or Predicted Scores.
Should I submit a 3 AP score to Harvard?
In short, all scores of 5 on AP exams should be reported to elite colleges. However, for scores of 4 or 3, submitting the scores is dependent on the student's coursework and other AP results. Scores of 2 or 1 should never be shared.
What AP score does MIT accept?
MIT does not accept AP or transfer credit for all subjects. No credit is awarded for scores lower than 5.
Is a 6.0 GPA good for Harvard?
What GPA should I have? Applicants should be between 3.9 and 4.0 to be strong candidates for admission to this school.
What's the lowest GPA Yale accepted?
We do not set a minimum GPA, nor do we attempt to re-weight GPA's to any standard other than what a school provides.
Will Harvard accept a 5.0 GPA?
Harvard is highly competitive, and the average unweighted GPA of successful applicants is around 3.9, with most admitted students having an unweighted GPA of 4.0. Likewise, the average weighted GPAs tend to be in the 4.5 to 4.8 range.
Is Princeton harder than Harvard?
This number shows that the acceptance rates for Harvard and Princeton are nearly identical, with Harvard maintaining the smallest edge when it comes to selectivity.