Even if you’re applying to Harvard as an international student who lives outside of the United States, it’s an institution, a school, and a brand that really needs no introduction. That said, we’ll give it one. Harvard is a university in Cambridge, Massachusetts right alongside Boston that is a member of the vaunted Ivy League. It has 7,240 undergraduate students and about 1,000 international undergrads. The on-campus community as a whole represents 151 countries. In this post, we’re going to talk about how you can increase your chances of making it into the 3% of students, out of over 60,000 applications, who are offered a seat in the first-year class.
It’s so hard to get into Harvard, many deem it impossible. We don’t agree because our track record says otherwise. We help students from around the world gain admission into the best colleges in the country. Below, we share some crucial ‘big picture’ advice. For personalized guidance on getting into Harvard, send us an email.
What is Harvard looking for in International Students?
First things first, Harvard is unique compared to most other top colleges because the Harvard admissions process is, they say, “the same for all applicants – regardless of nationality or citizenship.” So, it doesn’t matter where you are coming from or what country you are currently attending school in — you’ll be considered in the same pool of applicants and have the same opportunity to admission for everyone else.
That sounds deceptively simple, though. And it’s certainly not everything you need to know to get into Harvard. Getting into Harvard as an international student requires setting yourself apart and going above and beyond — often transcending what opportunities are put in front of you. It’s a hustle, but you can do it.
So, let’s break it down a bit more.
Courses + Grades
Harvard wants students with focus and passion, but you also need to be well-rounded when it comes to your courses and to excel across the board. They want to see (although they don’t require):
4 years of English/literature
4 years of mathematics
4 years of science
4 years of foreign language
And at least three years of social studies and two years of history. While taking all these classes, you need to be getting top grades in the toughest classes you can take. The average GPA of first-year students (when reported) is 4.2. That’s more than perfect.
Simply being at the top of your class really doesn’t matter. In fact, they don’t even take class rank into consideration. You have to transcend the rankings (real or perceived) at your school to be a truly exceptional applicant regardless of background. Which is to say, you need to be so far at the top of your class that class rank is sort of irrelevant. It’s worth noting, though, that of students who submit class rank (which, again, isn’t considered in and of itself), only 0.2% of accepted students were in the bottom half of their class. You must excel in the hardest courses you can take. This is the Harvard standard.
Extracurriculars
While Harvard is looking for breadth of your academics, they really want to see extracurriculars — or what you do outside of classes — that are focused on what you’re truly inspired by. The Harvard admissions team wants to see you follow your passion as far as you can. They expect to see students who are exceptional, not simply existing and paddling around in the high school pool.
Pay-to-play activities, like elite sports teams and summer educational programs, aren’t bad to do, but they aren’t activities that will earn you an acceptance to Harvard on their own. Harvard wants to see you charting a path for yourself that feels like it’s building to something bigger and for which the trajectory is clearly visible. You could create a club and be building it into a meaningful community. You could captain a team (athletic or academic) that is super successful. You could gain external notice for your work by publishing if you’re a writer or by getting a film into film festivals if you’re a filmmaker, or by landing a long-term impressive internship if you’re an aspiring scientist or engineer.
Harvard knows that different school systems in different countries provide access to different opportunities, but they want to see you pushing beyond the opportunities that are immediately and easily available to you. They want to see something that shows that you are taking initiative outside of the structure of high school to make your dreams come true.
Standardized Tests
Another tool that Harvard uses to assess if you are potentially a strong fit are standardized tests. Namely, the SAT or ACT. Most recently, these tests are considered but not required. That said, 83% of accepted and enrolled students submitted the SAT or the ACT, and twice as many accepted and enrolled students submitted the SAT.
With all this in mind, we highly recommend acing the test — like literally getting a nearly perfect or perfect score — as part of your application package.
And what if standardized tests aren’t your thing? Standardized tests are useful ways to show a particular perspective on what you can do academically, and to potentially make up for a blip in your record. If you don’t send your scores, you don’t have that additional cover. But if you send less-than-perfect scores, that won’t help you either.
Not submitting SAT or ACT scores doesn’t mean you won’t get into Harvard, but you need to be a truly exceptional applicant with a compelling life story and inspiring level of passion plus an outstanding academic record to pull off an acceptance.
There’s one other test you can take as an international applicant, but Harvard doesn’t require it. International first-year applicants are not required to submit an English proficiency test like TOEFL, but you can submit your results if you feel it will help your application.
Final Thoughts
Harvard is unique in many ways that we’ve already hit on, but another one that is particularly applicable to international students is financial aid. If the application fee is a burden for you, you can apply for a waiver, and 20% of Harvard students end up paying no tuition at all. On top of that, if you receive significant financial aid, you will be given a travel stipend to help you get to and from Cambridge for school. Harvard wants the best students in the world, and they are willing to pay for them — and that could include you.
Being an international applicant comes with all the same expectations as a domestic (US-based) applicant, but there are clearly additional hurdles. The Harvard International Office will be an important resource for you once you’re on campus, but getting there takes a different type of expertise.
We help exceptional students get into equally outstanding colleges, so send us an email to learn more.