Harvard University
Private Research University in Cambridge, MA. Six-year graduation rate 98%. Median 10-year earnings $101,817.
A decade after enrolling, the median Harvard University student earns $101,817 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 98% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $14,000, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.14 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 98% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 4% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 4% of applicants receive an offer. The applicant pool is large — 54,008 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is high — 84% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 740–780 | 892 (54%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–36 | 321 (19%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Harvard University →Academics
98% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 98%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 7:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 9,095 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,755 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,525 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $8,697 while those at $110k+ pay $53,337. About 58% get grants averaging $59,539, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 5% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,644 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $8,697 |
| $30–48k | $2,991 |
| $48–75k | $2,091 |
| $75–110k | $9,941 |
| $110k+ | $53,337 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 404 of these 7,755 students, totalling $3,202,134 — an average of $7,926 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Middlesex County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Payment Method Changed); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)