No, truly "average" students rarely get into Harvard; admitted students are academically exceptional, with high GPAs (around 4.2 weighted), top SAT/ACT scores (often 1500+ SAT/34+ ACT), and standout extracurriculars, though some "average" individuals with unique backgrounds or major hooks (like recruited athletes or legacies) may be admitted. The admissions process is extremely selective, focusing on extraordinary achievement and potential beyond just good grades, making an "average" profile insufficient for admission.
There isn't one single #1 hardest school, as rankings fluctuate, but Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) consistently appear at the very top of lists for lowest acceptance rates (often below 4-5%), requiring exceptional academic performance and unique qualifications from applicants. Caltech is often noted for its intense focus on STEM and tiny class sizes, while Harvard remains the most famous symbol of extreme selectivity.
In brief: starting in the 2025-26 academic year, Harvard College will be free for students from families with incomes of $100,000 or less and tuition-free for students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less. Many students from families with incomes over $200,000 will also qualify for financial aid.
Cornell is considered the “easiest” Ivy League to get into because it has the highest Ivy League acceptance rate.
1. Princeton University: Princeton's campus is renowned for its beautiful, spacious, and well-maintained grounds. Gothic and collegiate architecture dominate the landscape. Their eating clubs also add to the uniqueness of campus life.
Harvard University announced that tuition will be free for families earning under $200,000 a year, with housing and health insurance also covered for those earning under $100,000—dramatically expanding access and making the elite institution far more attainable for middle- and low-income families.
How much does a four-year undergraduate degree at Harvard cost? A four-year undergraduate degree at Harvard University is estimated to cost approximately $226,200. This figure is derived from an annual tuition fee of $56,550 for the academic year 2024-2025, combined with various fees, housing, and living expenses.
Strong Extracurriculars
Extracurricular activities can consist of community service, athletics, music, theater, or any other passions and commitments that students pursue outside of school. High school students who get into Harvard tend to have leadership positions when applicable.
Harvard's top feeder schools include the nearby Boston Latin School, Phillips Academy, Stuyvesant, and Phillips Exeter, with each sending over 100 students to Harvard between 2009-2024. The schools are a mix of private and public magnets, supporting the theory that feeder schools play a prominent role in admissions.
Scholarships & Grants
Because Harvard is committed to affordability, our scholarships are designed to cover 100% of your demonstrated financial need. Here is our process: First we determine your award by establishing your parent contribution. Then we factor in student employment and any outside awards you've received.
Objectively speaking, neither the University of Oxford nor the Ivy League is “harder”. The admission rate of the University of Oxford is relatively higher than that of many Ivy League schools, it has a highly challenging interview process and the restriction that one can only apply to one university in the UK.
1. Harvard University. The most challenging Ivy League school to get into is Harvard, established in 1636 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to Harvard Admissions (Class of 2029), only 2,418 (including Regular Decision and Early Action) out of 42,765 candidates were accepted to the college.
He dropped out of Harvard University in 2004 during his sophomore year to focus on developing Facebook, which rapidly grew into a global phenomenon. By 2008, at the age of 23, Zuckerberg had already become a billionaire, all without completing his college education.
Billionaire children often attend elite universities like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. They also attend other prestigious schools or top liberal arts colleges. These universities favor the children of the ultra-wealthy.
Mark Zuckerberg: The co-founder and CEO of Facebook famously dropped out of Harvard University to focus on building the social media platform, which has made him one of the wealthiest people in the world.
We've created a financial aid program to help ensure that admitted students can afford their Harvard education. Our financial aid officers will work closely with your family to understand your financial situation, then create a comprehensive financial aid package that accounts for the full cost of attendance.
The most popular majors overall in Harvard are Political Science and Government, Economics, Social Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, and Psychology. Both men and women tend to lean towards those fields of study, but a majority of men are found in Physics, Math, Computer Science, Natural Sciences, and Statistics.
In 1985, Harvard's tuition was $9,500. With room and board, the total cost to attend Harvard was $14,100.
Yale and Harvard have been football rivals since 1875, playing 140 times. An enormous crowd is expected at Yale Bowl to see ...
Depends on the social environment your student is looking for. Brown and Yale tend to have the happiest students, if you trust the surveys. And Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton are reputed to have the strongest school spirit.
There's no single #1 college; it depends on the ranking system, but Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) often ranks #1 globally (QS, Forbes 2026) and in the U.S. (Forbes 2025), while Princeton University leads U.S. News' National Universities (2026), and University of Oxford is #1 globally by Times Higher Education (2026) for its strong research.