| Location: | Northeast |
| Setting: | Mid-size City Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Size: | Large (5,000 to 10,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Crimson |
Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in North America.
Initially called "New College" or "the college at New Towne", the institution was named Harvard College on March 13, 1639, after a young clergyman named John Harvard, a graduate of England's Emmanuel College, Cambridge (a college of the University of Cambridge) and St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington in the UK, bequeathed the College his library of four hundred books and half his personal wealth, $1,500 (or £750). The earliest known official reference to Harvard as a "university" occurs in the new Massachusetts Constitution of 1780.
During his 40-year tenure as Harvard president (1869-1909), Charles William Eliot radically transformed Harvard into the pattern of the modern research university. Eliot's reforms included elective courses, small classes, and entrance examinations. The Harvard model influenced American education nationally, at both college and secondary levels. Eliot also was responsible for publication of the now-famous "Harvard Classics", a collection of "great books" from multiple disciplines published by P. F. Collier and Sons beginning in 1909 that offered a college education "in fifteen minutes a day of reading"; the collection soon became known as "Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf". During his unprecedentedly influential presidency, Eliot, a prolific book and magazine writer and widely traveled speaker in the pre-radio age, became so widely recognized a public figure that by his death in 1926 his name (and, not coincidentally, Harvard's) had become synonymous with the universal aspirations of American higher education.
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Top States for Incoming Freshman
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| Percent of Students International: | 15% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 60% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Ivy Group) Basketball (Ivy Group) Baseball (Ivy Group) Track (Ivy Group) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 32,097 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 28,752 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 3,345 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 4,158 | 24% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,809 | 4% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 21,702 | 49% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 2,709 | 26% | |
Any Aid: |
84% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 9% (Most Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 99% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 700, Math: 700 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 790, Math: 790 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 18% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 30, Verbal: 31, Math: 30 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 34, Verbal: 35, Math: 35 |
| Application Fee: | $ 65.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Recommended |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Not Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
College Advice |
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Question:
Am I on the right track?
I will be going into the high school this fall. I would like to know if I am on the right track for getting into Harvard University.
.So far through middle school, I have had eather a 4.0 or a 3.8 GPA (Sometimes I will get a B+ in math, 88 or 89%)
.I play travel ice hockey, I've played travel ever since I was old enough. I have been playing hockey since I was 4, skating since I was 2 and a half.
.The clubs I plan to join are the History Club, the Military History club, and The Abraham Lincoln Civil War Round Table of michigan, (a community club, not school related) I already belong to the History Channel Club, and I was in the National Junior Honor society in Middle school.
.I have a summer job working at saftey town, a thing where we help little kids learn about basic saftey things.( Don't stick your fingers in outlets, etc.)
.I will volunteer at the local historical museum in the summers, and help WWII vets write biographies on the weekend.
I think that is all. Thanks in advance.
Oh, I forgot, in my free time I like to conduct my own historical reaserch. I am reaserching Benjamin Franklin at the moment.
12 months ago
Best Answer
You would be a good candidate for Harvard. The only thing that might not be status quo would be your gpa. Make sure you keep it at least at 3.8. High school is more difficult than middle school. Take all the APs. Study for SATs and maybe take the ACTs. You should be confident in your abilities. Good luck.
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Best Answer
I go to Harvard University - I'm at what they call Harvard College, or the undergraduate branch of the University. The other branches are the law school, med school, etc.
The best way to get into Harvard is good grades, high test scores, but above all, passion. Harvard's admission policy is one of the most ambiguous among the Ivy Leagues: they accept a bunch of perfect-testing students, but also a lot of students you would think are "stupid." What Harvard really looks for is not grades, but the belief that you might be the best in what you do - in school, and in life. The best way to show this is to do what you love doing - and do it well. This generally means commitment and leadership. Remember, Harvard would rather have you be #1 at just one thing than just "pretty good" at everything.
To get into Harvard, there is no "set" SAT score, like I said before - it's not all about tests and GPA. However, you should still score pretty high: there are some people who score under the 2000 mark and still get in, but most people would score at least 2200-2300. And a quarter of the freshman class will have perfect scores. But don't let this worry you too much.
The best way to look at this is to take US News and World Report's listing of the best colleges. There'll be a 25-75th percentile range for SAT scores. For any school, if you're at the low end, you should think of it as a "dream school." If you're in the middle, then it's a "target school." And if you're at the high end, then you should think of it as a "buffer school." Not true for Harvard though (or any of the Ivies) - no one can ever call it a buffer school. =)
As for me, I had a good resume: perfect SATs, 7 perfect APs, founded a club, officers of a few, started a volunteer group, internationally piano guild member, black belt in tae kwon do, did research with a published paper. But I know students who got in with the equivalent of 1700/2400 on their SAT I, but got in because they were the leaders in their community or the best in what they did, even if it wasn't schoolwork. So show passion, and do something the BEST: I won't even say do something "well" because that's not good enough.
Good luck!
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