Harvard is Harvard. The university is known for producing political, business, medical, academic, and scientific leaders, and it is one of the most iconic institutions of higher education in the world. There are a little over 7,000 undergraduate students, and twice as many graduate students. Unsurprisingly, it is exceptionally hard to get into.
When we ask high-achieving students what school they’d want to go to if they could snap their fingers and make it happen, Harvard is the most frequent response. Let’s be clear, though, this isn’t to say that Harvard is the ideal fit for everyone. Harvard is extremely competitive. It expects a lot of applicants, and even more of students. Being at Harvard doesn’t mean that you’re the smartest or will be the most successful, but rather that you can thrive in a particularly stressful and ‘high-octane’ environment. If you feel that this ability to thrive under pressure describes you, Harvard may be your perfect fit.
It is, however, very difficult to get into Harvard. Harvard delays the release of their admission data, so we won’t have Class of 2029 numbers until the fall of 2025, shortly before the REA deadline for the Class of 2030. However, we do have numbers for the Class of 2028. Harvard received nearly 57,000 applications in the 2023-2024 application cycle, and accepted only 1,965 — or only 3.45%. This is one of the lowest acceptance rates — if not the lowest — of any university in the United States.
Over the years, we’ve gained a reputation for ‘playing the Harvard game,’ and winning. We have a strong track record of working with students to develop applications that get them in, and often it takes years. From selecting courses to planning summers, it’s possible to build a profile fit for a future at Harvard, but it takes work. We’re really good at getting into Harvard.
What is Restrictive Early Action at Harvard?
When applying to Harvard, you have two options: Regular Decision or Restrictive Early Action. Restrictive Early Action, or REA, is Harvard’s alternative to Early Decision, and it’s pretty confusing so let’s shed light on what it even really is. Restrictive Early Action is, unsurprisingly, extremely restrictive. Whereas most Early Decision programs allow the student to apply to other schools Early Action, Harvard’s Restrictive Early Action program is entirely Harvard centric.
If you apply to Harvard REA, you cannot apply to any other schools early except Early Action to public state schools. You are also not permitted to apply rolling decision to a private university that offers that option, although you can use a non-binding rolling admission option for an international university or public university.
The Harvard REA program limits applicants strictly, but it doesn’t deter them. For the Fall 2023 entering class, Harvard received 9,544 REA applications and admitted only 721, or 7.6%. This is a very low acceptance rate, but it is also twice the overall acceptance rate…which makes it a good thing? Yes, yes it does. For the Class of 2028, the REA acceptance rate rose 1% to 8.74%. Again, this may sound tiny but it is actually a really good thing. At over 8%, it takes Harvard from a wild long shot for everyone to something that is feasible to envision for highly-qualified students willing to take the time to craft an exceptional application.
In this post, we are going to break down what it takes to build that exceptional application, from steps you can take years in advance to meaningful actions that can be put into place when you are down to the wire.
We don’t mess around when it comes to Harvard admissions. Reach out to learn how we help students get in.
Applying to Harvard is best tackled by the bold, the brave, and the little bit crazy. It is not, however, to be taken lightly or rushed through. You cannot assume you application will ‘speak for itself,’ or your accomplishments will measure up well against those of tens of thousands of other qualified candidates. Instead, you need to approach any Harvard application with strategy, care, and, ideally, a long lead-time before it is due. If you are applying Restricted Early Action, that means starting earlier to meet the expediated due date.
Why should I apply Restricted Early Action to harvard?
Choosing to apply REA to Harvard is tough, as you are seriously limited your options. For most Early Decision programs, you can also submit Early Action applications. If you don’t get in ED, you may get into another top choice in the early round. This takes the pressure off for Regular Decision, and many of our students who don’t ED still don’t end up applying RD anywhere because their strong EA outcomes. Harvard’s REA program takes all of these benefits away unless you strategize well.
Applying REA is your best chance of getting into Harvard, but we encourage students to pair their REA Harvard application with a handful of EA applications to public state schools, which are exempt under the REA rules.
For any of this to matter, though, you need to be a strong Harvard candidate. The chances of getting into Harvard are indeed elevated in the REA round, but that’s a bit misleading. The REA round includes high-donor legacies, recruited athletes who have already received positive feedback on their application, and other students with special considerations. So instead of saying that the REA acceptance rate is higher, it may be more accurate to say that it is skewed. Getting into Harvard is always hard, and REA is, essentially, no different.
What can you do to increase your chances of admission REA to Harvard?
Given that you’re keen to climb the mountain of Harvard admissions, you want to make sure that you are armed with every possible asset. Some of these can be gathered together in weeks, or even days, and others take years of planning. First, let’s start with the longest time commitment: your transcript.
Grades
It is impossible to get into Harvard REA if you are not already a strong applicant. That means years of hard work, and if you haven’t started already it needs to start today.
As you plan your academic trajectory towards the end of high school, it’s useful to know that there are no required courses, or even required course distribution, for applicants to get into Harvard. However, there are some recommendations. Harvard recommends that applicants take:
4 units of English, Math, Science, and Foreign Language
3 units of Social Studies
2 units of History
While you don’t need meet these course distribution recommendations to get in, it’s a good idea to treat them more like a minimum. No, a foreign language isn’t required, but if you take that as an excuse to drop foreign language, you’re getting the wrong message.
They want to see you going above and beyond, leaping over their hurdles, not finding ways to walk around them. You want to be receiving the highest grades in the hardest classes, and not only in your area of deepest interest. Remember that academic excellence is assumed for Harvard applicants, so there is really no getting around it. 94.40% of first years starting Fall 2024 were in the top 10th of their high school graduating class. 74% had a GPA of 4.0 on a 4.0 scale (meaning the highest possible is 4.0). The average GPA when weighted was 4.2.
Scores
While building a high school transcript takes, well, all of high school, standardized tests can be tackled on a shorter timescale.
The SAT or ACT is required for consideration for admission. This is to say, you have to submit a score (or more than one). And, predictably, they need to be nearly perfect. Even better if they are actually perfect, but nearly is typically good enough if everything else on your application is excellent. A 760 on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section puts you in the 50th percentile of accepted and enrolled students, while a perfect 800 on the SAT Math section is someone the 75th percentile. For the ACT, too, strong applicants score a 35 or 36 on each section. Any lower, and you’re falling off of the wrong end of the curve.
Plan to take your chosen test, the ACT or SAT, at least twice before submitting REA. This will give you a chance to build up to your strongest score, and have study time as well. It’ll also mean that you can manage your schedule such that one of the most important places to shine has room to grow.
Extracurricular Activities
Every competitive applicant to Harvard has the grades and scores, so what else is there? In the words of Harvard, they look for “strong personal qualities, special talents or excellences of all kinds, perspectives formed by unusual personal circumstances, and the ability to take advantage of available resources and opportunities.” That’s a wide spectrum for self-expression, and we love it.
The most important thing with this wide range of opportunities is to go deep, not broad. Doing a bit of everything accomplishes nothing. When we work with students who are aiming towards Harvard, we know from experience that dabbling here or there does nothing to further an application. Instead, our students identify a passion, and then we build experiences around that passion that offer opportunities for exploration and adventure, teamwork and leadership, and character development. There isn’t a certain type of experience that is the secret sauce here, as Harvard does not have an activities checklist that they measure students up against. Instead, it’s about you.
For example, if you want to be a filmmaker, make films. And don’t just make them, share them, create forums for others to share their work, support younger filmmakers, and start a videography business. Study film history; write about film.
You’ll note that we didn’t mention a paid program here. That isn’t because paid summer programs are automatically bad. Often, they are a great way to develop and interest, especially as a younger student. However, we don’t love them for rising seniors. In the lead up to senior year, make sure that you are doing things that are 100% you, and ideally self-directed, employment, or an internship. These experiences will provide important fodder for outstanding essays.
Essays
The writing part of the Harvard application is the most important place to stand out. Everyone has great grades. Everyone has great scores. Nearly everyone has great activities. But not everyone knows how to tell a story that both humanizes them and impresses the admission committee. We do!
Yes, it is possible to be a straight-A high school student and not know how to tell a story. This is because most high schools don’t teach students how to write stories. You learn to write essays and book reports, and analyze text, but most high schools don’t spend much, if any, time on crafting narrative. This is understandably frustrating given that narrative is actually the most important piece of any college essay, whether it’s a supplement or the main essay.
Every single essay for Harvard must have a story or strong narrative theme, but don’t focus on making that story or theme as impressive as you can. As you are writing, spend less time trying to be impressive and more time on being likable. If this sounds strange, we are very serious about it.
In our experience, the students who get into Harvard aren’t the ones who are the most comfortable talking about how awesome they are. Instead, they spend much of the written pieces of their application simply being a human. Writing about little things — baking cakes with your mom, a sibling relationship, the love of hearing a lens click — is hugely impactful because it humanizes you. It shows that you are more than an eye-wateringly perfect transcript, and that’s exactly what you need to do to shift application readers from knowing you’d love Harvard to them wanting Harvard to have you.
Last, Apply Early
We work with many of our students for years, but no matter how long we’ve been working together we aim to start the Harvard REA application in early summer. The supplement typically comes out in the fall, so starting the essay in early summer ensures that you have time to fully draft it before you start writing the smaller supplements.
By early fall, the calendar moves fast. It’ll feel like a blink between heading back to school and having to submit, so starting early on your REA application is critical to set yourself up for admission.
Work with Us
Getting into Harvard is an art, not a science. There is no formula for making it through the application gauntlet. This means that all the type-a students who are begging for a checklist that guarantees success are out of luck. There is no straight path to acceptance. Instead, it’s all about telling a story. And that’s where we come in. We help top students tell impactful stories that lead to acceptances. So, let’s make it happen.
We help students who are fixated on Harvard make magic happen. Learn more.