Harvard University Ivy League
Cambridge, MA · Official website ↗
International students should also budget for health insurance, visa and travel costs not shown here.
Quick summary
| Cost per year | about $89,279 per year (tuition, housing, food, books — U.S. Department of Education figure) + flights and visa. Four years cost roughly four times this if prices stay the same; colleges usually raise prices every year. |
|---|---|
| Money from the college | Need-based aid: yes, and asking for it does not hurt the application. Merit scholarships: none. No named scholarship is confirmed open to international students yet. |
| Chances of admission | extremely selective: about 1 in 27 applicants is admitted. Middle half of admitted students scored SAT 1510–1580. |
| Application deadlines | not yet determined |
| Where and how students live | Cambridge, MA · Midsize city · summer highs about 28°C, winter lows about -5°C · 9 km from BOS airport |
| Housing | not yet determined |
| Working while studying | not yet determined |
| After graduation | not yet determined |
Plain-language summary of the verified details below. Where it says “not yet determined”, we have not found it on an official page yet.
Financial aid & requirements for international students
| Aid & admission for international applicants | Need-blind for international applicants Applying for financial aid does not reduce an international applicant's chance of admission. Sources (1)“Furthermore, admissions decisions are made without regard to whether an applicant has applied for financial aid, even if the applicant is a foreign citizen.”college.harvard.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-10 |
|---|---|
| Meets full financial need | Yes — meets the full demonstrated need of admitted studentsSources (1)“Our financial aid policies are the same for all applicants, regardless of nationality or citizenship. All aid is based on financial need, and admissions decisions are made without regard to whether an applicant has applied for financial assistance. Harvard meets each student’s demonstrated need.”college.harvard.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-10 |
| Merit scholarships | No — aid is based on need, not meritSources (1)“There are no merit-based awards, and we have no preferential policies that give some students more attractive awards than others.”college.harvard.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-10 |
| Forms for international aid applicants | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| Must request aid when applying? | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
| SAT / ACT policy | SAT or ACT requiredSources (1)“Harvard requires the SAT or ACT to meet its standardized testing requirement.”college.harvard.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-10 |
| English proficiency | English proficiency test not requiredSources (1)“First-year and transfer applicants are not required to take an English proficiency exam, but you may submit scores if you wish to do so.”college.harvard.edu ↗ · checked 2026-11-10 |
| Conditional admission / English pathway | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Deadlines (fall 2027 entry)
| Application deadlines | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
|---|---|
| Financial aid deadline | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Dates as published by the college; check the official page for time zones and supporting-document deadlines.
Costs for international students
| Student health insurance | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
|---|---|
| Proof of funds for the I-20 | Not yet determined — check the college site ↗ |
Earnings by field of study
| Field | After 1 year | After 4 years |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | — | $230,876 |
| Computer Science | $171,540 | $203,169 |
| Applied Mathematics | $145,554 | $170,689 |
| Economics | $120,683 | $155,592 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | $48,738 | $117,816 |
| Political Science and Government | $71,819 | $95,838 |
| Natural Sciences | — | $95,507 |
| Social Sciences, General | $55,717 | $78,996 |
| History | $54,630 | $70,679 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | $54,924 | $70,167 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | $60,764 | — |
| Sociology | $52,477 | — |
Median yearly earnings of graduates of this college's bachelor's programme in each field, 1 and 4 years after finishing. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (retrieved 2026-11-11). Only graduates who received U.S. federal student aid are counted, so international students are not included.
Location
| City / state | Cambridge, MA |
|---|---|
| Setting | Midsize city |
| Nearest major airport | Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), about 9 km in a straight line |
| Map | View on OpenStreetMap ↗ |
Setting from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard); airport from OurAirports (public-domain data).
Climate
| Warmest month (Jul) | average high 28°C (82°F) |
|---|---|
| Coldest month (Jan) | average low -5°C (23°F) |
| Precipitation per year | 1,107 mm |
| Snowfall per year | 125 cm |
Month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 3° | 4° | 8° | 14° | 19° | 25° | 28° | 27° | 23° | 17° | 11° | 6° |
| Low °C | -5° | -4° | 0° | 5° | 10° | 15° | 19° | 18° | 15° | 9° | 3° | -2° |
| Rain mm | 86 | 82 | 106 | 92 | 82 | 99 | 83 | 82 | 90 | 102 | 93 | 109 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at the Boston Logan Intl Ap, Ma Us weather station, about 9 km from campus. Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals.
Cost, admission rate, test-score ranges and earnings come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (retrieved 2026-11-11). SAT range adds the 25th/75th-percentile section scores, so it is approximate. Scorecard earnings are for federal-aid recipients.