Admission Information
Studying at Harvard is a life-changing experience
Harvard’s policy is to find the most talented students from all over world. Admission to the University is highly competitive and requires careful preparation. Each year, about 21,000 students study at Harvard and take advantage of the world’s largest academic library with an estimated 400 million manuscript items.
Harvard University is made up of 14 independent academic units consisting of:
Each school runs its own admission processes. To find out about their respective admission rules and requirements, click here.
Every year, between seventy and eighty French students are admitted. If you are one of those do let us know and don’t forget to get in touch withthe HCF On-Campus
Important Information for Prospective & Admitted Students
If you are applying to Harvard College and wish to be interviewed in France, please see this international students website.
If you are admitted at any of the Harvard programs of study and wish to apply to the Harvard French Scholarship, click here.
U.S. University “Lingo”
Harvard College: unlike in the French educational system, « College » in the US corresponds to the undergraduate system for students aged 18 years and over. Study at College lasts 4 years.
Liberal Arts: A common program of undergraduate study in American colleges, which emphasizes a continuing interest in, and study of, subjects across a spectrum of disciplines.
Financial Aid: Also known as grants or awards. Harvard’s Financial aid is awarded not on merit but on need, and your ability to pay does not influence how your application is assessed.
Harvard Houses: Originally modeled on the Oxbridge College system, Harvard’s twelve Houses offer accommodation and a social as well as academic community to most undergraduates. Between 300-500 undergrads live in each House together with some postgrads, faculty members and the House Masters.
Semester: Term. Harvard has two main semesters, in the autumn and the spring.
Concentration: The discipline you have chosen for your degree, e.g. Anthropology.
Major: Another term for concentration, used widely in the US.
Elective: Courses outside your field of concentration that do not need to fulfill any requirements and are taken for pleasure.
Transcript: Your secondary school record, with tables listing subjects taken, exam results, and other academic and extracurricular information.
Varsity: First team (sports)
Credit and thanks for these keywords go to the Harvard Club of UK