Harvard is quite possibly the strongest brand in the world of college admissions. It’s also a top-tier university that attracts students from around the globe. A Harvard degree doesn’t guarantee a successful career post-college, but the cultural fixation on the university makes it seem like it may — and it does give students a major leg up when they enter the workforce. Getting in is, unsurprisingly, difficult. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was , and they receive over 40,000 applicants annually. The number Harvard admissions is most obsessed with, though, is actually the yield, or the percentage of accepted students who commit to the university. For the , 83% of accepted students joined the class and 90% of international students.
The yield rate at Harvard is particularly impressive because they don’t have an Early Decision round to lean on and lock students in. If you really want to go to Harvard, you need to take a risk.
What Are My Application Options?
Harvard has two different avenues to admission for the majority of first-year applicants. Unless you are applying through the , you get to pick between Regular Admissions and Restrictive Early Action. Regular Admissions is totally regular. It’s the standard winter deadline, and non-binding. You can apply anywhere as you submit your Harvard regular cycle application, as that application route does not limit your options. The Restrictive Early Action route, though, is full of restrictions with limited upside.
Harvard adopted to, they say, highlight students who are deeply interested in the university without locking them into a future path. This is a bit misleading of a pitch, though. Whereas they say the REA option offers something valuable to the students applying, it’s hard to really see the upside. Applicants through REA are not permitted to apply to any other private universities Early Decision, Early Action, or REA. REA applicants to Harvard can apply to public universities, military academics, and international schools, but only through non-binding programs. That’s a lot of limitations.
At the same time, if you don’t apply to Harvard REA, you drastically decrease your odds of getting in. A higher percentage of Harvard applicants get in REA than through Regular Decision. So, if Harvard is your dream, REA is the route.
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Note that we said, “if Harvard is your dream,” not if the Ivy League is your true goal. There are much better ways into the Ivy League than through Harvard. There are higher acceptance rates and schools that offer a more substantial boost for binding early application options. But if you are truly set on Harvard, applying through the REA path is your best chance.
Why Should I Apply Restrictive Early Action To Harvard?
Harvard has delayed the release of their admissions data for the past two years, and there is some data that they decline to share at all. What we do know about the REA pathway to admissions at Harvard is that the acceptance rate is significantly higher. It’s been that, for the Class of 2028, the REA acceptance rate was nearly 9%. That same year, the overall acceptance rate was . Less than 1 in 10 in still harsh odds, but it’s a massive boost when you compare it to the overall acceptance rate.
So, the reason for why you should apply to Harvard Restrictive Early Action is pretty self-evident, as long as you are okay with giving up your best possible chance of getting into another top school — with a bigger early boost.
Students qualified for Harvard don’t need the extra two months or so to prepare their applications, so there isn’t a strong argument for needing the extra time to be a strong candidate. Plus, if you don’t apply to Harvard REA, and instead go the regular decision route, they know one of two things to be the case. Either you applied somewhere else Early Decision and didn’t get in, so Harvard isn’t actually your first choice, or you don’t have a strong application strategy. In the era of the information economy, lacking a strategy can’t be chocked up to not having information. It’s literally all online and, like this post, free.
What Can You Do?
Once you’ve decided to apply to Harvard REA, there are some pieces that you get to get in place well ahead of the application deadline. Time is your friend here, so the earlier you can begin the prepare the better. We often start working with students as early as sophomore year to ensure that the application will be strong when it’s time to press submit.
Grades
Anything lower than an A after, and even including, freshman year of high school basically excludes all but students with exceptional circumstances from Harvard. Unless you are a top athletic recruit or otherwise considered on terms other than the educational bar for entry, Harvard expects to see transcripts that are basically spotless from strong applicants. When preparing for Harvard, this does mean that you can’t bet on senior year to ‘fix’ something that happened earlier in your high school experience.
As you push hard academically to excel at the level Harvard expects to see, remember that they need more than grades, though, to be able to offer you a spot in the first-year class.
Scores
After pausing the standardized testing requirements for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvard reinstated the requirement for the Class of 2029. Now, all applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. For students who truly do not have access to the SAT or ACT, .
If you are going to take the SAT or ACT, we advise planning to take either test at least twice. Some students even benefit from taking the test three times, and that doesn’t mean they are struggling. Rather, it’s a process. So, schedule your first SAT or ACT (or try both) during Junior year such that you can plan for additional test dates in the summer or fall.
The importance of a standardized test score for REA applicants is so high because Harvard doesn’t get to see your full senior fall grades. The standardized test scores, which they expect to be nearly perfect, provide them with confidence that you can perform at the level they want to see when you first arrive on campus. To make this expectation work in your favor, create a study plan and practice test protocol to ensure expertise in the test before you sit it for the first time.
Extracurriculars
When you are applying to Harvard REA, any leadership roles you stepped into at the beginning of senior year are dulled by the lack of time to show outcome. They see you got the position, which is great, but there isn’t much for them to see beyond that when you press submit in the fall. The same goes for any internships, research roles, or other impressive additions to your resume during senior fall. You can put it on, but the experience won’t be long-term enough yet to show your impact.
For this reason, we work with our students to ensure that they will have strong evidence of leadership well before senior year. Whether this is in a club, on a team, or through an independent activity, it can’t be something you started yourself and so are the de facto leader of. Yes, starting things is awesome — and Harvard does like to see that sort of initiative — but having external validation of your leadership skills through an organized activity where you’ve been elected to lead is massively important. If the only things that you are a leader in you created, that is a major red flag.
Instead, you want to be building towards becoming a captain, head, or co-anything of a group as a junior. Then, during your senior year you can focus on deepening into that role further and transitioning your efforts towards mentoring the next ‘generation’ of leaders.
Essays
Once it is time to work on your application, all the pieces should already be in place for exceptional essay. You have the chops, you have the resume, and now you simply need to tell your story. Of course, this isn’t really as simple as we are making it sound. Writing acceptance-winning essays is an art, not a science, and it’s one we’ve been honing for over a decade (we brag about this a lot—one year we had a 100% acceptance rate REA to Harvard, and multiple kids got personal comments on their essays!). We know what it takes to get into great schools, including Harvard, and story truly is at the center of it. If you can’t make the application readers feel deeply for you, they don’t have much reason to give your application a second look.
As you are writing, though, remember that you are applying to college, not for a popularity contest. It is as important that you present as a strong and passionate leader, as it is that you tie yourself to Harvard academically. They want to see that there is a specific program you are aiming for, not simply the brand name of the university on your college swag.
Apply Early
This whole post is about applying early, but we’re going to risk redundancy and state that you truly do need to submit your application to Harvard REA if you want to go. Yes, it is possible to get into Harvard in the Regular Decision round. We help students do it every year, but it is more than twice as hard to get in RD so why torture yourself if Harvard is, indeed, the goal.
When we work with students, the more time we have together the better. The real application work starts soon after summer break starts before senior year. That’s when we begin drafting, honing, and revising ahead of supplements coming out (typically in August but generally in the early fall for Harvard). Then it’s off to the races with supplements, final testing opportunities, and communicating with your recommenders so they know best to advocate for you.
Since Harvard REA does allow you to apply to public universities, you should absolutely be submitting EA applications to a handful of public schools. If you don’t get into Harvard but get into some of your other earlies, this offers a meaningful safety net so you can approach the Regular Decision or Early Decision II round with confidence.
Getting into Harvard REA is possible with a clear strategy and the determination to see it through. Perhaps the most crucial piece is to commit to the plan, and that means applying REA if you really want to get in.
Our track record of getting kids into their dream schools speaks for itself. Contact us to learn how we pull it off.