The average GPA for admitted Harvard students is exceptionally high, typically around a 4.2 weighted average, with most successful applicants having near-perfect grades (3.9-4.0 unweighted) and taking rigorous courses like AP/IB to demonstrate college readiness. For the Class of 2028, a significant majority (over 70%) had perfect 4.0 unweighted GPAs, showing that admission requires top academic performance within the context of a student's challenging high school curriculum.
Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City as a junior, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and in English literature and lived off-campus on West 109th Street. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and a 3.7 GPA.
GPA Requirements for Harvard
Harvard does not publish a strict minimum GPA requirement, but successful applicants typically have GPAs between 3.9 and 4.0 (unweighted) or 4.1 to 4.5 (weighted) on a 5.0 scale.
Harvard does not publish an official GPA cutoff. However, data from admitted students and counselors suggests: Average Unweighted GPA: 3.9 – 4.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Average Weighted GPA: 4.15 – 4.25 (on a 5.0 scale, depending on high school)
Can I Get into Harvard with a Low GPA? While it's certainly possible to get into Harvard with a low GPA, as the numbers bear out, it's improbable. For the Class of 2028, a mere 1.28% of admitted students to Harvard had GPAs below 3.5.
Magna cum laude: “With great distinction,” typically 3.7–3.8 GPA or top 6-15% of class. Summa cum laude: “With highest honor,” typically 3.9–4.0 GPA or top 1-5% of class.
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.
SAT Score Percentiles
You should also have a 4.17 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score. For a school as selective as Yale, you'll also need to impress them with the rest of your application.
🧠 Mark Zuckerberg – Also achieved 1590/1600 (so close to perfect!) 🧠 Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) – Claimed to have scored a perfect 1600.
These ranges are what you want to pay attention to. Harvard and Yale report the highest SAT scores, with very similar ranges; Harvard's middle range is between 1480 and 1580, while Yale's is between 1470 and 1580.
Is a 4.3 GPA good? This GPA is above a 4.0, which means it's weighted (it takes into account the difficulty of your classes in conjunction with your grades). This is a very good GPA. It most likely means you're taking high level classes and are earning As and Bs.
Eight Presidents of the United States have graduated from Harvard University: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Born into a wealthy family in New York City, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Students with a 3.5 GPA can easily find a merit based scholarship that they qualify for. It's better to apply for scholarships that limit eligible applicants as a smaller applicant pool can increase one's chances of being awarded the scholarship.
If that's the goal, to have tons of options for higher education, a 2.0 GPA won't result in that. Unofficially, 2.0 is the lowest GPA accepted into a standard college, so while there's a chance that college admission is possible, it's not likely at more than a few institutions.
Harvard typically ranks slightly higher in global rankings, particularly for its graduate programs. Many recognize Yale, on the other hand, for its undergraduate teaching excellence and close-knit college system.
The national average SAT score for the class of 2024 was 1024. This means your 1540 is roughly 490 points above the mean. This places you solidly in the 99th percentile, outperforming the vast majority of test-takers. For competitive universities, such a score signals academic excellence and strong college readiness.
The best foundation for an IQ estimate for Elon Musk comes from his biography, written by Walter Isaacson. In it, Isaacson states (on p. 45) that Musk scored 670 on the verbal portion of the SAT and 730 on the math portion, for a total score of 1400.
Bill Clinton
The 42nd president of the United States scored a 1032—12 points above average—on his SAT. Still, Clinton excelled at Georgetown University, where he majored in Foreign Service and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Later, Clinton attended Yale Law School and earned a Juris Doctor in 1973.
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.
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.