Stanford vs. Harvard vs. Yale vs. Princeton

Stanford University vs. Harvard University vs. Yale University vs. Princeton University comparison

	Stanford University	Harvard University	Yale University	Princeton University
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	Stanford	Harvard	Yale	Princeton
Location	Stanford, CA	Cambridge, MA	New Haven, CT	Princeton, NJ
Setting	Large Suburban	Midsize City	Midsize City	Large Suburban
Enrollment	18,283	30,631	14,776	8,842
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#2	#4	#6	#1
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	stanford.edu	harvard.edu	yale.edu	princeton.edu
Team Colors

Comparable Facts

• Harvard University is larger than than Stanford based on total student enrollment (30,631 students vs. 18,283 students)

Stanford vs. Harvard Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Stanford or Harvard?

• Stanford University is 9.6% more expensive to attend than Harvard for in-state tuition ($57,693.00 vs. $52,659.00)
• Out of state tuition is 9.6% higher at Stanford than Harvard University ($57,693.00 vs. $52,659.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Stanford University than Harvard ($18,279 vs. $19,491)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Stanford University are 4.7% lower than costs at Harvard University ($18,619 vs. $19,502)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Harvard University than Stanford University (56% vs. 53%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Harvard University students is 1.9% larger than aid received Stanford University ($61,801 vs. $60,619)

Stanford vs. Harvard Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at Harvard University (1497) is 18 points higher than at Stanford (1479)
• Incoming Harvard students have a 1 point higher average ACT score (34) than students at Stanford (33)
• Accepted freshman Harvard students have a 0.04 point higher average high school GPA (4.0) than students at Stanford (3.96)
• Stanford has a higher acceptance rate (3.7%) than Harvard (3.2%)

Stanford vs. Harvard Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Stanford or Harvard? 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 Harvard and Stanford.

• The graduation rate at Harvard is higher than Stanford University (97% vs. 96%)
• Graduates from Harvard University earn on average $13,800 more per year than Stanford graduates after ten years. ($136,700 vs. $122,900)
• Harvard University students graduate with a $5,975 lower median federal student loan debt than Stanford graduates. ($6,500 vs. $12,475)
• Harvard graduates are paying $61 less per month on federal student loans than Stanford graduates. ($67 vs. $128)
• More Stanford graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Harvard students, three years after graduation. (88% vs. 70%)

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