Application Requirements

Quickview

(A more detailed list can be found below.)

Application
$75 Application Fee or Waiver
Harvard Supplement
SAT or ACT
2 SAT Subject Tests
Secondary School Report and Mid-year School Report
Two Teacher Evaluations

Detailed View

Application

Harvard accepts the Common Application and the Universal College Application for Transfers. Both are treated equally by the Admissions Committee. Please choose one.

For Students Applying Online through the Common Application Website:

Important: If you plan to/expect to submit an online application through the Common Application website, you should complete and submit your online materials as soon as possible. The Common Application requires the submission of your application (or supplement) before releasing to a college your supporting application materials (SSR, Teacher Reports, etc.) To ensure full and timely consideration of your application you should submit your own application materials at the earliest possible time. Until you do so, your application will not be transmitted to the Harvard Admissions Office.

Please note that this does not apply if you are applying through the Universal College Application.

For Students Applying Using a Paper Application (Mailed):

If you are completing a paper copy of the application, you may choose to send your Personal Statement and Short Answer on a separate piece of paper. If you choose to do so, please write your full name, address, date of birth and high school on each page. If you are submitting an electronic copy of the application, you will need to complete these sections before your application will be transmitted to us.

Acknowledgement of Receipt of Your Application

If you do not receive acknowledgement of your application within two weeks of submitting your application, please use this form, with "Confirm Receipt of Application" as the subject line, or call (617) 495-1551. This is very important, because applications can get lost in the mail.

Please note, we will not begin processing applications until late October so the earliest acknowledgements will be sent in mid-October.

Application Fee

Please attach the check or money order to the first page of the application and ensure that the applicant’s name appears on the payment. You may also pay your application fee online with a credit card via the Common Application or the Universal College Application websites.

If paying the application fee would cause a hardship for your family, please request a fee waiver. You or your guidance counselor may use one of the official forms or may simply write a short letter asking us to waive your fee.

Harvard Supplement

The supplement can be filled out on-line while submitting the Common Application or Universal College Application. Or you can print a copy and mail it to the Admissions Office.

School Report and Mid-Year School Report

Please give these forms to your school counselor or other school adviser and ask that the School Report form be completed and returned to our office as soon as possible. The Mid-Year Report should be returned in February with your latest grades.

If you have attended more than one high school in the past two years, give a second copy of the School Report to your former counselor(s) or school official to complete.

Teacher Evaluations

Ask two teachers in different academic subjects who know you well to complete the Teacher Evaluation forms.

Standardized Testing

We require the SAT Reasoning Test or ACT Test with Writing, as well as two SAT Subject Tests. Students should not submit two Subject Tests in mathematics to meet this requirement. Candidates whose first language is not English should ordinarily not use a Subject Test in their first language to meet the two Subject Tests requirement.

Students are free to use the College Board Score Choice option or the similar option offer by the ACT. Our official codes are 3434 for the College Board SAT Reasoning and Subject Tests and 1840 for the ACT. Directions for sending your official scores to the admissions office can be found at http://sat.collegeboard.com/student/scores/send-sat-scores.html for the SAT and SAT Subject Tests and www.actstudent.org/scores/send/ for the ACT.

When registering for tests, please use your name as it will appear on your Harvard application. Using a nickname may prevent your scores from matching the rest of your application in our database.

In order for your application to be considered complete, we must have official test scores submitted directly to Harvard by the testing agency on your behalf. If we do not receive your official scores from the testing agency, we will be unable to make an admission decision. Please plan accordingly.

Misrepresentation of Credentials

Occasionally, a candidate for admission will make inaccurate statements or submit false material in connection with his or her application. In most cases, these misrepresentations are discovered during the admission process and the applicant is denied admission. If a misrepresentation is discovered after a candidate has been admitted, the offer of admission normally will be withdrawn.

If a misrepresentation is discovered after a student has registered, the offer of admission normally will be revoked and the student will be required to leave the College. If the discovery occurs after a degree has been awarded, the degree normally will be rescinded.

The determination that an application is inaccurate or contains misrepresentations rests solely with the Admissions Office and will be resolved outside the student disciplinary process.

Updates

Please do not resend your application in order to make updates. If you need to make changes to your identification or contact information please write to us using this form, and select "Personal/Contact Info Change" from the drop down list. If you need to send updates, additional information or corrections to the content of your application, please select "Additions to Application" from the drop down list.