Admissions · United States

Harvard Acceptance Rate: Admissions Statistics and English Requirements

Harvard College admitted 2,003 of 47,893 applicants to the Class of 2029 (entering fall 2025), an acceptance rate of 4.2%.

Harvard now releases admissions data once a year, in the autumn after a class enrolls, on its Admissions Statistics page and in the Common Data Set. The Class of 2029 is the newest class published. Below are the last three cycles, the restrictive early action and international figures Harvard has published, and its English proficiency guidance.

Figures read from official sources on 3 October 2026 · LingoLeap Admissions Research

Harvard University acceptance rate by year

Harvard University applicants, admits and acceptance rate by admission cycle
Cycle	Applicants	Admitted	Acceptance rate
Class of 2029 (fall 2025)	47,893	2,003	4.2% source
Class of 2028 (fall 2024)	54,008	1,970	3.6% source
Class of 2027 (fall 2023)	56,937	1,965	3.5% source

Harvard acceptance rate by round and for international applicants

Harvard University acceptance rate by admission round, college or applicant group
Group	Cycle	Rate	Detail
Restrictive Early Action	Class of 2028	8.7%	692 admitted in December of 7,921 early applicants (Harvard Gazette) source
Restrictive Early Action	Class of 2027	7.6%	721 admitted of 9,544 early action applications source
International applicants	Class of 2028	1.9%	325 admitted of 16,760 source
International applicants	Class of 2027	1.9%	301 admitted of 15,934 source
Waiting list	Class of 2029	—	75 students admitted from the waiting list (number offered a place not reported) source
Transfer	Fall 2025	0.6%	13 admitted of 2,042 source
Transfer	Fall 2024	0.7%	16 admitted of 2,256 source

What the numbers mean

Harvard's acceptance rate rose to 4.2% for the Class of 2029, up from 3.6% and 3.5% for the two classes before, mainly because applications fell from 56,937 to 47,893 while the number admitted stayed close to 2,000. Harvard has not published figures for the Class of 2030, which entered in fall 2026; it says it will release each class's data in October or November after the University's federal reporting.

Harvard's early action is non-binding but restrictive: Harvard limits early applicants from applying to other early plans. It admits at roughly twice the overall rate: 8.7% for the Class of 2028 (692 of 7,921) and 7.6% for the Class of 2027 (721 of 9,544). Harvard stopped announcing early round results with the Class of 2029 and left the early action counts blank in its last two Common Data Sets, so there is no official early rate for the Classes of 2029 and 2030.

International applicants face the steepest odds. Harvard admitted 1.9% of international applicants for both the Class of 2028 (325 of 16,760) and the Class of 2027 (301 of 15,934); its 2025-26 Common Data Set leaves the residency split blank. By permanent address, 16% of the Class of 2029 is international.

Harvard College publishes no minimum TOEFL or IELTS score for undergraduates and reviews applications holistically. Graduate programs set their own English requirements; the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences lists a minimum of 80 on the older 0–120 TOEFL scale.

Harvard University TOEFL and IELTS requirements

Minimums for international applicants from the university's own pages. Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL iBT reports a 1–6 band score; the notes give the older 0–120 equivalent where the university states one. Convert TOEFL and IELTS scores.

Undergraduate (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: Not yet published for the 2026 test

Harvard College does not publish a minimum TOEFL score for undergraduate admissions. The process is holistic; most competitive applicants score 110+ on the legacy scale.

Official page · checked 22 March 2026

Master's (university-wide)

TOEFL iBT: 80 overall on the pre-2026 0–120 scale (no 1–6 minimum published yet)

Published minimum is 80 on the legacy 0-120 iBT scale. No 2026 band equivalent has been officially published on this page. Some programs recommend higher (e.g., PhD in Education recommends 104). IELTS minimum is 6.5. Speaking score guidance exists for TA oral proficiency post-admission.

Official page · checked 19 March 2026

Check your score against Harvard University

Take a free 2026-format TOEFL mock test for a 1–6 band estimate, then compare it with the minimum above and with other universities' requirements.

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FAQ

What's the acceptance rate at Harvard?

Harvard's acceptance rate is 4.2% for the Class of 2029, which entered in fall 2025: 2,003 admitted from 47,893 applicants, according to Harvard College's admissions statistics. Figures for the Class of 2030 have not been published yet.

What is Harvard's restrictive early action acceptance rate?

The newest published figure is for the Class of 2028: Harvard admitted 692 of 7,921 Restrictive Early Action applicants, a rate of 8.7%. For the Class of 2027 its Common Data Set reports 721 admits from 9,544 early applications (7.6%). Harvard no longer releases early round results, so later classes have no official early rate.

What is Harvard's acceptance rate for international students?

Harvard admitted 325 of 16,760 international applicants for fall 2024 (Class of 2028) and 301 of 15,934 for fall 2023, both about 1.9%, according to its Common Data Set. The 2025-26 Common Data Set does not include the residency breakdown.

Is Harvard harder to get into than MIT?

On published rates for students entering in fall 2025, Harvard admitted 4.2% (2,003 of 47,893) and MIT 4.6% (1,334 of 29,281). Harvard receives far more applications. Harvard's early action is restrictive, while MIT's is non-restrictive. See our MIT acceptance rate page for MIT's figures by round.

Has Harvard released Class of 2030 admissions statistics?

Not as of 2 October 2026. Harvard did not announce early or regular decision numbers for the Class of 2030 and says it publishes each class's figures in the October/November after the class enrolls.

Does Harvard require TOEFL?

Harvard College does not publish a minimum TOEFL score for undergraduate admission. For graduate study, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences lists a minimum of 80 on the older 0–120 TOEFL iBT scale (IELTS 6.5) and has not published a 2026 band equivalent; some programs recommend higher scores.