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Harvard College

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

Massachusetts Hall at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts – a historic building on the university campus.

Harvard College is the undergraduate college within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. It offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs. The college is highly selective, admitting only 3.5 percent of applicants as of 2023. Students at Harvard College can join over 450 extracurricular organizations and most students live on campus. First-year students stay in or near Harvard Yard, while older students live in other campus housing.

History

Main article: History of Harvard University

Harvard College's first building, as imagined by historian Samuel Eliot Morison

Harvard College was started in 1636 by leaders from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was named after a minister named John Harvard, who gave the school his books and money. The school’s first teacher was Nathaniel Eaton, but he was let go because he was too strict.

Harvard has grown over the years. In the late 1700s, it began giving higher-level degrees and was officially called a university. Today, Harvard College handles things like admitting students, housing, and sports for students, while teaching is done by the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Admissions

Admission to Harvard College depends on a student’s schoolwork, activities, and personal qualities. For the class starting in 2025, Harvard received 57,435 applications and accepted 1,968 students, which is a 3.4% acceptance rate. Students who joined in 2023 had middle scores between 710 and 770 on the reading and writing parts of the SAT, and between 750 and 800 on the math part. On the ACT, their middle scores were between 33 and 35. The average high school grade point average (GPA) was 4.18.

Massachusetts Hall, built in 1720, is the oldest surviving building on the Harvard campus.

Harvard stopped an early admissions program in 2007 but brought back an early action program for students starting in 2016. The class that began in fall 2017 was the first where more than half of the students were from nonwhite backgrounds.

Harvard works hard to make college affordable for everyone. Families earning less than $85,000 a year pay nothing to send their child to Harvard. Families earning up to $150,000 pay no more than 10% of their yearly income. This help is based only on what a family needs, not on grades or sports skills.

Academics

Harvard College offers a four-year program focused on learning many different subjects. Students usually take four classes each semester and graduate after four years.

During their second year, most students choose a main subject to study, called a major, and some also pick a smaller focus called a minor. They can also combine two majors or design their own special major. Many majors lead to a Bachelor of Arts degree, while some lead to a Bachelor of Science degree. Students can also work towards a special five-year program that leads to both a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and a Master of Music from a music school.

All students must take classes in many different areas, like art, ethics, history, and science, as well as classes in languages, writing, and math. This helps them learn a little about everything while studying one subject in depth. Some classes have many students, but most classes are small, with about 12 students each. Students can also get help and support from teachers for their research projects.

Student life

House system

Harvard College's freshman dormitories in Harvard Yard

Most students at Harvard College live on campus. In their first year, they stay in dorms near Harvard Yard. After that, they move into special buildings called houses. These houses are not just places to live—they help students feel connected and part of a community.

Each house has special adults called faculty deans who help look after the students. There are also other helpful people, like tutors and graduate students, who work with the students. The houses were created a long time ago to make sure all students could live together on campus and build friendships.

Student government

Main article: Harvard Undergraduate Council

Lowell House

Harvard used to have a student government called the Harvard Undergraduate Council. But in 2022, students voted to change it, and now it is called the Harvard Undergraduate Association.

Athletics

Main article: Harvard Crimson

The Cornell–Harvard hockey rivalry match in 2006

Harvard has many sports teams that compete in the Ivy League. They have 42 different teams! Every two years, Harvard and Yale have a special track and field competition against Oxford and Cambridge. Harvard and Yale also have a big football game each year called “The Game.” Harvard is known for its strong rowing, ice hockey, squash, and fencing teams.

The school color is crimson, and this is also the name of the sports teams and the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.

Fight songs

Harvard Stadium, home of Harvard Crimson and the Boston Cannons

Harvard has several songs that students sing at sports games. Two popular ones are “Ten Thousand Men of Harvard” and “Harvardiana”. The Harvard University Band plays these songs at games.

Student organizations

Main article: List of Harvard College undergraduate organizations

Harvard has over 450 groups that students can join. One group, the Phillips Brooks House Association, helps connect all these different student groups.

Notable alumni

See also: List of Harvard University people

Harvard College has many famous graduates. Some well-known people who studied there include:

Images

Historic buildings of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Rowing team from Harvard University competing at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2004.
Portrait of Reverend Cotton Mather, an important historical American religious leader.
Portrait of John Adams, painted by Gilbert Stuart. A famous American president from the 18th century.
Portrait of Henry David Thoreau, the famous author and naturalist, taken in 1856.
Portrait of Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. from the 1930s.
Portrait of Charles Sanders Peirce, an American philosopher and scientist from the 19th century.
Portrait of John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of the United States.
Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American writer, taken in 1857.

Related articles

Harvard Yard
College
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
University

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