Every Harvard College applicant has to complete an application for admission. The school accepts two nationally recognized applications, the Common Application and the Universal College Application. These applications provide basic biographical information about the applicant, such as contact information and educational history. Students can submit applications online or by mail; Harvard encourages students to submit online applications early in the admissions process. The school charges a $75 application fee, as of January 2011.
Students have to submit high-school transcripts as part of their Harvard College application package. Depending on when the student applies, this transcript will reflect only partial grades from her senior year. Therefore, schools have to submit a mid-year in February to reflect their most recent grades. Though Harvard College does not release statistics on admitted students' academic profiles, students should work through a rigorous high-school curriculum that includes honors, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses to enhance their profile.
Harvard College requires its applicants to present SAT or ACT scores. While the school does not have score cutoffs, the middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between a 700 and 790 on the SAT critical reading section and between a 690 to 790 on the SAT math section. Students also must submit scores from any two SAT II subject tests.
Harvard College expects applicants to complete their application package by submitting three teacher evaluations. These evaluations should come from high-school teachers who know the applicant well. Harvard requests that these three teachers teach different academic subjects. Teachers should submit the evaluations directly to Harvard's Office of Admissions, not to the student.