Harvard vs. UT Austin vs. Cornell vs. NYU

Harvard University vs. The University of Texas at Austin vs. Cornell University vs. New York University comparison

	Harvard University	The University of Texas at Austin	Cornell University	New York University
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Location	Cambridge, MA	Austin, TX	Ithaca, NY	New York, NY
Setting	Midsize City	Large City	Small City	Large City
Enrollment	30,386	53,082	26,264	57,335
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#4	#105	#19	#39
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	harvard.edu	utexas.edu	cornell.edu	nyu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Tuition (In State)	$54,269	$11,678	$65,204	$60,438
Tuition (Out of State)	$54,269	$42,778	$65,204	$60,438
Room & Board	$20,374	$14,136	$18,554	$22,786
Avg Net Price	$17,900	$18,036	$26,455	$30,730
Avg Grant Aid	$64,942	$12,060	$56,741	$48,269
% Receiving Grant Aid	57%	47%	51%	41%

Admission	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Applied	56,937	66,109	65,635	113,578
Admitted	1,965	19,253	5,358	10,693
Acceptance Rate	3.5%	29.1%	8.2%	16.3%
Enrolled %	83.7%	48.7%	66%	108.6%
Avg High School GPA	4.0	3.8	3.9	3.79
Typical High School Grades	A/A+	A-	A-	A-
Admissions Standards	Elite	Exceptional	Elite	Elite
Applicant Competition	Extreme	High	Extreme	Extreme
ACT Range	34/36	27/33	33/35	33/35
SAT Range	1500/1580	1230/1490	1480/1560	1480/1570
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Jan 1, 2026	Dec 1, 2025	Jan 2, 2026

Academics	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Student to Faculty Ratio	7:1	18:1	9:1	8:1
Popular Majors	Social Sciences (32%) Biology (12%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (9%) History (9%) Mathematics (6%)	Social Sciences (13%) Communication (13%) Business (12%) Engineering (11%) Biology (9%)	Engineering (17%) Agriculture (13%) Business (13%) Biology (12%) Social Sciences (12%)	Business (34%) Visual and Performing Arts (32%) Social Sciences (25%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (18%) Communication (15%)
Outcomes	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Graduation Rate	97%	81%	93%	86%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$136,700	$68,600	$98,400	$76,000
Making Student Loan Payments	70%	77%	87%	77%
Median Student Loan Debt	$6,500	$22,250	$12,000	$23,250
Median Loan Payment	$67	$230	$124	$240

Diversity	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
% Men	32%	10%	19%	20%
% Women	38%	10%	20%	28%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	Very High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	44%	44%	41%	34%
% Black	6%	4%	6%	5%
% Hispanic	10%	22%	12%	12%
% Native American	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	6%	4%	4%	4%
% International	11%	5%	10%	17%
% Unknown Race	3%	1%	8%	8%

Students	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
% In-State	15%	88%	32%	23%
% Out-of-State	70%	9%	55%	50%
Campus	Harvard	UT Austin	Cornell	NYU
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	Yes	No	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No	No	No
Daycare Facility	Yes	Yes	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• The University of Texas at Austin is larger than than Harvard based on total student enrollment (53,082 students vs. 30,386 students)

Harvard vs. UT Austin Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Harvard or UT Austin?

• Harvard University is 364.7% more expensive to attend than UT Austin for in-state tuition ($54,269.00 vs. $11,678.00)
• Out of state tuition is 26.9% higher at Harvard than The University of Texas at Austin ($54,269.00 vs. $42,778.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Harvard University than UT Austin ($17,900 vs. $18,036)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at The University of Texas at Austin are 44.1% lower than costs at Harvard University ($14,136 vs. $20,374)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Harvard University than The University of Texas at Austin (57% vs. 47%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Harvard University students is 438.5% larger than aid received The University of Texas at Austin ($64,942 vs. $12,060)

Harvard vs. UT Austin Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Harvard or UT Austin? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between UT Austin or Harvard .

• The average SAT score at Harvard University (1497) is 200 points higher than at UT Austin (1297)
• Incoming Harvard students have a 5 point higher average ACT score (34) than students at UT Austin (29)
• Accepted freshman Harvard students have a 0.2 point higher average high school GPA (4.0) than students at UT Austin (3.8)
• UT Austin has a higher acceptance rate (29.1%) than Harvard (3.5%)

Harvard vs. UT Austin Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Harvard or UT Austin? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between UT Austin and Harvard.

• The graduation rate at Harvard is higher than The University of Texas at Austin (97% vs. 81%)
• Graduates from Harvard University earn on average $68,100 more per year than UT Austin graduates after ten years. ($136,700 vs. $68,600)
• Harvard University students graduate with a $15,750 lower median federal student loan debt than UT Austin graduates. ($6,500 vs. $22,250)
• Harvard graduates are paying $163 less per month on federal student loans than UT Austin graduates. ($67 vs. $230)
• More UT Austin graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Harvard students, three years after graduation. (77% vs. 70%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/