Harvard University: Admissions Deadlines & Class of '26 Stats

Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest university in the United States. Harvard has three campuses, with the main campus located in Cambridge Massachusetts. The university’s endowment is $53.2 billion, making it the wealthiest institution in the world. 

Note: Harvard does not have an Early Decision (ED) round. Instead, they have what is called Single Choice Early Action (SCEA). Like ED, this means that you are only able to apply to one school during this round. So only apply if this is your first-choice school and it’s likely that you’ll be accepted. However, unlike ED, SCEA is not binding which means even if you get in during this round, you are still free to look at other offers. 

SCEA Deadline: November 1
Regular Decision Deadline: January 1

Class of 2026 Statistics

Early Decision Applicants: 9,406
Early Decision Acceptances: 740
Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 7.87%

Regular Decision Applicants: 51,814
Regular Decision Acceptances: 1,213
Regular Decision Acceptance Rate: 2.34%

Overall Applicants: 61,220
Overall Acceptances: 1,953
Overall Acceptance Rate: 3.19%