University News | March 30, 2011

Harvard College admissions rate falls to just over 6 percent for class of 2015

The College offers admission to 2,158 out of nearly 35,000 applicants.

Harvard College today announced that 2,158 students, from among 34,950 applicants, had been offered admission to the class of 2015, entering this August. The admission rate, slightly under 6.2 percent, fell from 6.9 percent last year, driven by a nearly 15 percent increase in the number of applicants (from 30,489 last year). Students have until May 1 to indicate their acceptance or rejection of the offer of admission; the visiting period for the accepted applicants, recently renamed "Visitas," this year falls on the weekend of April 16-18.

Read the full text of the news release.

Reported admissions rates at other institutions included 6.9 percent at Columbia, 7.1 percent at Stanford, 7.4 percent at Yale, 8.4 percent at Princeton, and 9.6 percent at MIT—all lower than in the prior year.

You might also like

Two men hold up a red banner with "2030" written on it in white in a wood paneled room

Due to rain, the University held dual Convocation ceremonies for the Class of 2030 in Sanders Theatre.

Man wearing a suit stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone.

President Alan M. Garber used traditional Memorial Church address to consider the unique qualities of human intelligence and learning.

Stone building with tall columns, steps leading up, and a flag atop under a cloudy sky.

The University will compensate families of those whose remains were sold and establish a scholarship to honor anatomical donors.

Most popular

White House and Harvard University buildings split diagonally with contrasting colors.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Two mounted pheasants displayed on a stand against a gray background.

Lafayette’s Unexpected Gift to George Washington: Pheasants

The two birds will be on display at Harvard this summer.

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

Students

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

A woman with long, wavy hair wearing a white suit, seated in a bright, modern room.

Politics and Law

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex.

A vase of yellow flowers on a table next to an orange and a glass.

Museums & Collections

Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.