Harvard University Data & Information Overview
Want the scoop on Harvard University? We’ve put together a comprehensive report on the school that covers what majors Harvard offers, how the school ranks, how diverse it is, and much more. All you need to do to learn more about a stat is click on its tile, and you’ll be taken to another page that analyzes that data more closely. Also, you can use the links below to scroll to any section of this page.- Rankings
- Admission and Acceptance
- Faculty
- Retention and Graduation Rates
- Diversity
- Cost
- Student Debt
- Average Earnings
- Location
- Majors
- Online Learning
- Related Schools
How Well Is Harvard University Ranked?
2023 Rankings
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Harvard University was awarded 3,479 badges in the 2023 rankings.
Overall Quality
College Factual ranked Harvard as #12 out of 2,241 colleges and universities in the country on its 2023 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Harvard also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
See all of the rankings for Harvard University.
Is It Hard to Get Into Harvard?
Acceptance Rate
Even if you have the best grades and high test scores, that may not be enough to get into Harvard since the school has one of the most selective in the country. Its acceptance rate is a mere 5%, so there's no shame if you don't get in. Be sure to apply to other schools just in case.
Average Test Scores
About 72% of students accepted to Harvard submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 720 and 780. Math scores were between 740 and 800.
Learn more about Harvard University admissions.
Harvard University Faculty
Student to Faculty Ratio
The student to faculty ratio at Harvard is an impressive 5 to 1. That's quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Percent of Full-Time Faculty
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Harvard University is 87%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Retention and Graduation Rates at Harvard University
Freshmen Retention Rate
The freshmen retention rate of 76% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Harvard University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That's certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Graduation Rate
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at Harvard for first-time, full-time students is 87%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Harvard University.
Harvard University Undergraduate Student Diversity
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 8,527 undergraduates at Harvard with 5,699 being full-time and 2,828 being part-time.
How Much Does Harvard University Cost?
The overall average net price of Harvard is $13,872. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.Net Price by Income Group for Harvard
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,564 | $1,396 | $2,669 | $20,059 | $42,312 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Harvard, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Harvard, approximately 7% of students took out student loans averaging $10,464 a year. That adds up to $41,856 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Harvard is 0.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Get more details about paying for Harvard University.
How Much Money Do Harvard Graduates Make?
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor's degree from Harvard make about $84,918 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That's great news for Harvard students since it is 100% more than the average college graduate's salary of $42,485 per year.
See which majors at Harvard University make the most money.
Location of Harvard University
Harvard University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.Get more details about the location of Harvard University.
Contact details for Harvard are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138 |
| Phone: | 617-495-1000 |
| Website: | www.harvard.edu/ |
| Facebook: | http://facebook.com/harvard |
| Twitter: | http://twitter.com/harvard |
Harvard University Majors
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 114 majors graduated from Harvard University. Of these students, 1,619 received undergraduate degrees and 6,114 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.| Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| General Social Sciences | 186 | $42,926 |
| Economics | 154 | $89,515 |
| Computer Science | 138 | $140,072 |
| History | 118 | $50,411 |
| Applied Mathematics | 84 | $102,707 |
| Political Science & Government | 78 | $58,808 |
| Neurobiology & Neurosciences | 73 | $36,334 |
| Mathematics | 66 | NA |
| Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences | 64 | $43,328 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 60 | $53,927 |
Online Learning at Harvard
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
In 2019-2020, 29,581 students took at least one online class at Harvard University. This is an increase from the 5,815 students who took online classes the previous year.
| Year | Took at Least One Online Class | Took All Classes Online |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 29,581 | 27,933 |
| 2018-2019 | 5,815 | 4,185 |
| 2017-2018 | 5,681 | 4,087 |
| 2016-2017 | 4,600 | 3,244 |
| 2015-2016 | 3,885 | 2,698 |
Learn more about online learning at Harvard University.
Find Out More About Harvard University
Related Schools
If you’re considering Harvard University, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
Curious on how these schools stack up against Harvard? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!
Notes and References
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
- National Center for Education Statistics
- College Scorecard
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
- Image Credit: By Elisa.rolle under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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