Harvard University is renowned for its high academic standards and selective admissions process. Many believe that only students with perfect grades and test scores can gain acceptance to this prestigious institution. However, the reality is that Harvard does accept students with GPAs as low as 3.0, as long as they have something unique and compelling to offer.
In addition to a GPA of at least 3.0, Harvard also looks for students who excel in other areas, such as extracurricular activities, community service, and leadership roles. The university values students who are passionate about their interests and have a strong sense of purpose. While academic achievements are important, they are not the only factor considered in the admissions process.
The admissions process at Harvard is highly competitive, with a low acceptance rate of around 5%. In addition to submitting a strong GPA, students must also provide letters of recommendation, standardized test scores (such as the SAT or ACT), essays, and possibly attend an interview. Harvard looks for well-rounded individuals who will contribute to the campus community and make a positive impact on the world.
| GPA Requirement | Harvard’s Acceptance Criteria |
|---|---|
| At least a 3.0 GPA | Stand out with a compelling story or passion |
| Harvard rejects people with 4.0 unweighted GPA’s | Perfect SAT scores are not always a guarantee |
Lowest GPA Accepted to Ivy League
Harvard University is one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, and it’s not hard to see why. The school was founded in 1636 by Puritan settlers, and it has a long and rich history.
It wasn’t until 1869 that Harvard began accepting women into their undergraduate program. In 2016, Harvard’s acceptance rate was 5.2%. As of 2019, Harvard is ranked #1 among all universities in the world according to U.S. News & World Report.
There are many reasons why Harvard stands out among all other schools: they have more than 1,000 faculty members (including Nobel Laureates), over 75% of students receive financial aid, and they offer some of the best athletic facilities (including an Olympic-sized swimming pool).
There’s a lot of talk about Harvard University. Some people know it as one of the top schools in the world, while others don’t see what all the fuss is about. However, what most people don’t know is that Harvard has the lowest GPA requirements for admission out of any other university in the U.S. Read on to find out how low this GPA is, and to learn more about this college.
There are many reasons why the acceptance rate of Harvard is only 6 percent. The admissions officers say that they do not just accept anyone and take GPA’s very seriously. The essays, interviews and references also play a huge role in the decision.
Harvard University’s average GPA is 4.18. Harvard University does require GPA. This average GPA means Harvard University is brutally selective – the most competitive applicants in the world are already applying to the school, in hopes of taking up residence in Cambridge, and, somehow, you need to be better. Generally speaking, if your GPA is not at least equal to 4.18 then Harvard University may not be a reach. However, Harvard University considers the ENTIRE application – we can make up for a weak GPA with more factors that we’ll discuss below. If your GPA is equal to or greater than 4.18, you’re sitting right in the sweetspot.
Is your high school GPA good enough for Harvard University? The average high school GPA for admitted students at Harvard University is 4.18 on a 4.0 scale. This is a very competitive GPA, and Harvard University is clearly accepting students at the top of their high school class.
AVG. HIGH SCHOOL GPA
4.04
TYPICAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADES
Lowest GPA Accepted To Harvard
You will need exceptionally good grades to get into Harvard University. The average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at Harvard University was 4.04 on the 4.0 scale indicating that primarily A students are accepted and ultimately attend. The school ranks #1 in Massachusetts for highest average GPA. Given the school’s very highly selective admissions, acceptance at Harvard extremely difficult and unlikely even with a 4.04 GPA. The school should be considered a reach even if you have a 4.04 GPA.
| HIGH SCHOOL GPA | FRESHMEN WITHIN RANGE | COMPETITIVENESS |
|---|---|---|
| 3.75+ | 87% | Good |
| 3.50 to 3.75 | 9% | Reach |
| 3.25 to 3.50 | 2% | Reach |
| 3.00 to 3.25 | 1% | Reach |
| 2.75 to 3.00 | 1% | Reach |
| 2.50 to 2.75 | N/A% | Low |
| 2.25 to 2.50 | N/A% | Low |
| 2.00 to 2.25 | N/A% | Low |
lowest gpa accepted to mit
The lowest grade-point average (GPA) ever accepted at MIT was a 2.26, which is equivalent to a C+ average. The student who earned it was not only accepted into the program, but also went on to graduate with honors.
MIT has a standard GPA requirement of 3.2 or higher. They do have some programs that have lower GPA requirements, but those are more competitive overall and require additional testing to apply.
Because this school is extremely selective, getting a high SAT/ACT score and GPA is vital to having a chance at getting in. If you don’t pass their SAT/ACT and GPA requirements, they’ll likely reject you without much consideration.
To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1570 SAT or a 36 ACT. 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 MIT, you’ll also need to impress them with the rest of your application. We’ll cover those details next.
But if you apply with a score below a 1570 SAT or a 36 ACT, you unfortunately start out with the odds against you and have a tiny chance of getting in. There are just too many students with high SAT/ACT scores and strong applications, and you need to compete against them.
The lowest GPA accepted to Harvard is 3.4. This means that if you have a GPA lower than 3.4, then you will not be accepted into Harvard College.
However, it is important to note that this number is the average GPA of all applicants who are accepted. This means that some students with a lower GPA may be accepted and some students with a higher GPA may be denied.
There are many things that can affect your chances of being admitted to Harvard College, including extracurricular activities and personal recommendations from teachers and other mentors.
Lowest GPA Accepted to Yale
Four hundred seventeen books and a portrait of King George: since Elihu Yale’s original donation of funds and materials, Yale University has grown into one of the great intellectual centers of the world.
But in the midst of groundbreaking research, technological innovation, and imaginative creation, the school retains a sense of the past, a legacy that sets it apart even from other Ivy League institutions.
Yale’s campus traditions, its system of Residential Colleges, its libraries and museums – even its iconic architecture – serve as a beacon of intellectual light to students around the world, who come to the campus for structure, for camaraderie, for inspiration, and for a singular kind of academic challenge.
One of the most selective schools in the country, Ivy League university Yale is ranked not only the 4th best school in the nation, but also the 4th best value among U.S. schools. It’s tied for 12th best in undergraduate teaching, with stellar company: Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Harvard.
Located in New Haven, Connecticut, a small city on the shore of the Long Island Sound, Yale’s tree-lined campus and Gothic architecture are the portrait of a traditional American education. Throughout the years, Yale’s faculty has represented the elite in every field of study, guiding lights of each discipline.
Yale University Acceptance Rate
Yale met with a record-breaking 46,905 applications for the Class of 2025, a 33% jump from the previous year. The school admitted 2,169 – that’s a 4.62 admissions rate – and waitlisted 1,030 candidates.
This flood of prospective students swept the entire Ivy League in the wake of the pandemic, and it’s still unclear which factors led to it.
Many schools suspended their standardized test requirements, possibly making the application process more welcoming to some students.
Some factors are harder to track.
One theory about the tremendous sudden increase in applications to Ivy League schools points to increased student autonomy after a year of adversity.
Navigating a year of online classes and various kinds of unexpected turns, students fresh from overcoming extraordinary obstacles may be more willing to take a chance on a dream school.
Isolation could have left students outside the pressure of competition with peers, or less likely to suffer anxiety at the thought of public failure. Whatever the reason, many students last year hit “submit” on applications to universities they may once have believed beyond their reach.
As a result, Ivy league acceptance rates stand at an all-time low. Not because Yale or any other Ivy League school has become more exclusive, but because more students than ever reached for an Ivy League education.
GPA
There’s not much getting around the fact that you need nearly a 4.0 unweighted GPA to clear the admissions process at Yale.
Yale does not provide data about its admitted students’ exact GPAs, but Yale students tend to place in the top 10% of their home high school classes.
According to data from Yale students who provided their application GPA scores, the average high school GPA for a Yale student is most often reported as 3.95 on an unweighted scale. It is safe to say that students with nearly all A’s on their transcript have the most success in applying to Yale.
Yale professes that it does not, like many colleges, reweight or refigure transcript GPAs in order to compare students.
Instead, the university’s Admissions Department promises a holistic evaluation of each applicant’s transcript, including GPA as reported by the home high school, the rigor of the student’s high school course work, and any other data in the transcript (honors, awards, certificates) representing academic success.
Yale does look to see that students have maximized their school’s offerings, taking the most challenging courses available to them, especially in their stated areas of interest.
SAT & ACT Requirements
Test scores for Yale’s accepted applicants represent the highest range in all platforms. Depending on the rest of the applicant’s folder, successful candidates tend to score 1460-1570 on the SAT.
Sixty-eight percent of Yale’s Class of 2024 had a math score between 760 and 800; verbal scores were slightly lower, but comparable.
ACT scores for admitted students typically span the highest range, 33 – 35, or the 99th percentile of test-takers.
Advanced Placement courses can accelerate a student’s access to higher level coursework at Yale. In a few cases, Yale does grant credit for a score of 4 or 5 on specific AP exams, but it’s essential to check the school’s policy before investing a lot of time in taking many AP tests.
Beginning with the Class of 2025, standardized tests are optional for admission to Yale. The decision to remove the requirement – a response to COVID-19 and the problems with test administration – may be temporary, but no reinstatement of standardized test application requirements has been announced.
Requirements & Admission Tips
Deciding to apply to Yale doesn’t have to be intimidating. When defining their own selection process, Yale identifies the ideal Yale student as people who want to make the world better, people who are willing to put in the work it takes to become future leaders.
Yale wants to know from applicants that they have done their research. They want students to arrive on campus knowing what they signed up for, ready to maximize their time in a place with access to so many resources of all kinds.
One of the most critical parts of a pitch to Yale is the candidate’s understanding of Yale itself and how that knowledge is featured in the application.
Once an applicant communicates a sincere desire to attend Yale, not only clearly but rationally, with layers of evidence detailing Yale’s essential role in the student’s development, the applicant can focus on the attributes he or she can bring to Yale’s community.
All schools want to know how prospective new students can enrich their campuses; schools with smaller student bodies pay even more particular attention to what each new candidate can bring.
Yale creates a particular environment for students; any Yalie-in-the-making must express how they can participate actively in Yale’s campus life.
Successful applicants highlight any projects, activities, or service that demonstrate not only their academic prowess, but their ability to be a vital member of a community.
There are a few practical measures that earnest Yale applicants can take that can increase their chances.
Applying during the Early Action period demonstrates a serious interest in attending Yale. There is a slightly higher chance of admission for early applicants, though that advantage does seem to be diminishing in recent years.
Students with financial need can join Questbridge, the National College Match scholarship program that works with over 45 excellent undergraduate programs nationally. Yale accepted 72 students to the Class of 2025 through the Questbridge program.
Essays
Yale Admissions takes the essays and recommendations parts of the application very seriously.
These facets of the process are not perfunctory in any way; the school isn’t checking to see if students can write, and it’s less likely to be impressed with superficial letters from teachers who never interacted with a student outside class.
Any student with intentions of applying to a selective school of any kind, let alone one as exclusive as Yale, should cultivate strong relationships with instructors, especially in their fields of interest.
When it’s time to write letters of recommendation, those instructors will be able to provide the critical, personal narratives that bring a candidate to life for the committee.
The same kind of personal detail and dynamic writing helps student essays stand out for the committee.
There are helpful guides and courses geared toward creating an engaging college essay, but students should not try to follow a popular formula or scaffolding since readers will certainly see that technique repeated endlessly.
Notable Alumni
Five Presidents.
Supreme Court Justices.
Inventors of Morse Code and the cotton gin.
CEOs of Pepsi and IBM. Pioneers of aviation and brain surgery.
Revolutionaries, Olympic Medalists, film stars, and Nobel Prize Winners. Three hundred years of higher thought provides incredible momentum.
Yale’s list of famous alumni reads like a summary of American history, scientific history, the history of business, mechanical innovation, of thought in general.
American author Thornton Wilder, the playwright of Our Town, graduated in 1920.
Groundbreaking pediatrician and activist Benjamin Spock received his B.A. a few years after.
On another end of the political and social spectrum, writer/commentator William F. Buckley also enrolled at Yale in the late 1940s.
Billionaire magnate Wilbur Ross, Watergate journalist Bob Woodward, leader of the Human Genome Project Francis Collins, and Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman went on from Yale to change the world.
Icon Meryl Streep completed her MFA., and Hillary Rodham Clinton earned her law degree.
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