Top Ivy League Schools: Harvard or Yale?

Part of the elite US group of Ivy League schools, Harvard and Yale are among the world’s most acclaimed and competitive universities. Of the eight Ivy League members, these two are among the highest-ranked in the QS World University Rankings®. In the 2024 edition, Harvard is ranked fourth in the world and Yale 16^th.

Both excel across the full spectrum of academic subjects, and both (like all the Ivy League schools) are based within the north-eastern New England region. However, while Harvard and Yale have much in common, there are also some points of difference, which may help you pick between the two if you’re fortunate enough to be faced with that choice.

It is important to remember that Harvard and Yale are not the only schools in the Ivy League. Six other schools: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University are also members of the Ivy League.

Here’s a look at how these two top Ivy League schools compare on key indicators, with an at-a-glance overview followed by a more in-depth explanation. Find out which would be best for you: Harvard or Yale?

	Harvard University	Yale University
QS World University Rankings® 2024	•       Ranked fourth worldwide in 2024 •       Ranked first in the world with both academics and graduate employers •       44th for faculty/student ratio •       First for research impact (citations per faculty member) •       210th in the world for percentage of international faculty members, and 223rd for international students	•       Ranked 16th worldwide in 2024 •       Ranked ninth in the world by academics and seventh by employers •       Third for faculty/student ratio •       293rd for research impact (citations per faculty member) •       184th in the world for percentage of international faculty members, and 169th for international students
Subject strengths*	Ranked first in the world for arts & humanities 8th for engineering & technology First for life sciences & medicine First for natural sciences First for social sciences & management	Sixth in the world for arts & humanities 71st for engineering & technology 14th for life sciences & medicine  20th for natural sciences Eighth for social sciences & management
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts Just north of Boston, on the north-east coast of the US	New Haven, Connecticut Separated from New York by the Long Island Sound
Student community	About 25,266 students 15.4 percent of all students are international.	About 11,934 students – 6,590 undergraduates and 5,344 postgraduates Around 3,296 are international (22.3 percent of students overall)
Fees and funding	For 2023/24, annual tuition fees for undergraduates are $52,659 ($76,763 including all fees). 55% of undergraduates receive need-based aid, and Harvard provides need-blind admission for all students.	For 2023/24, annual tuition fees for undergraduates are $64,700 (plus a $125 Student Activities Fee). Yale is also need-blind to all students, both domestic and international. 3,440 students received financial aid in 2023/24.

 *Based on the broad subject areas in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.

 

QS World University Rankings® 2024

When comparing Ivy League schools, both Harvard and Yale are firm fixtures at the top of the QS World University Rankings. Harvard, ranked fourth in the world, is pretty much unbeatable on most of the indicators used to create the rankings. It’s actually the top-rated university in both of QS’s huge global surveys of academics and graduate employers. Yale is ranked ninth by academics and seventh by employers.

As well as having one of the world’s strongest international reputations, Harvard also scores very well on the indicator for research citations per faculty member, the best in the world on this measure. Yale is 293^rd for research citations – not quite as influential as Harvard, but still very much part of a leading group of universities.

For student-faculty ratio (a measure of the number of academic staff employed per enrolled student), Yale is the stronger of the two. It ranks third in the world on this indicator, while Harvard is 44^th.

The last two indicators used in compiling the QS World University Rankings assess the international diversity of students and staff. Given that they’re well-known, desirable places to study and work, it’s unsurprising to find both universities score well on these indicators – though perhaps not as highly as you might expect. Harvard is ranked 210^th for international faculty members, while Yale is within the top 200 at 184^th. When assessing the percentage of international students, Harvard comes 223^rd while Yale is 169^th.

Subject strengths 

A look at the QS World University Rankings by Subject enables you to get a deeper insight into the subject strengths of both universities, with both Harvard and Yale boasting strong reputations across a broad range of subjects.

In the 2023 edition, Harvard is ranked first in the world for 12 out of the 48 subjects covered in this year’s ranking, and while Yale isn’t the world leader for any particular subject, it’s nonetheless included in the top 10 for 12 subjects.

The table below shows you how these two top Ivy League schools directly compare for each subject. If no rank is given, it’s highly likely the subject isn’t available at that particular university.

Harvard and Yale in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019
	Harvard University	Yale University
Accounting & finance	1st	13th
Agriculture & forestry	--	69th
Anthropology	2nd	15th
Archaeology	4th	13th
Architecture	6th	51-100
Art & design	--	30th
Art History	6th	13th
Biological sciences	1st	9th
Business & management	1st	25th
Chemistry	1st	20th
Classics & ancient history	7th	17th
Communication & media studies	--	27th
Computer science & information systems	8th	36th
Data Science	5th	--
Dentistry	11th	--
Development studies	5th	--
Earth & marine sciences	2nd	22nd
Economics	1st	8th
Education & training	2nd	--
Engineering (chemical)	--	25th
Engineering (electrical)	7th	70th
Engineering (mechanical)	13th	94th
English language & literature	3rd	5th
Environmental sciences	1st	14th
Geology	2nd	29th
Geophysics	2nd	31st
History	1st	4th
Law	1st	4th
Linguistics	7th	62nd
Materials science	4th	98th
Mathematics	5th	31st
Medicine	1st	11th
Modern languages	3rd	5th
Nursing	--	10th
Performing arts	24th	28th
Pharmacy	1st	31st
Philosophy	7th	15th
Physics & astronomy	2nd	25th
Politics	1st	8th
Psychology	1st	6th
Social policy & administration	1st	--
Sociology	1st	9th
Statistics	3rd	29th
Theology, divinity & religious studies	3rd	7th
See the full QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023

 

 

Location 

Both universities are located in the New England group of states on the north-east coast of the US, an area which is home to all eight Ivy League schools.

Harvard is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just to the north of Boston. Named after the UK’s Cambridge, and also home to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ranked first in the world), this university town has a longstanding tradition of scholarship and is very much a student-centered community.

Cambridge is also known for its attractive squares, tree-lined river banks, historic architecture and healthy arts and culture scene. Nearby, Boston has earned a reputation as one of the US’s leading urban centers in everything from architectural innovation to legislative change.

Yale is in New Haven, a city in the south of Connecticut on the shore of the Long Island Sound – an estuary leading to the Atlantic Ocean which separates the states of Connecticut and New York. Described by Yale president Richard C. Levin as “large enough to be interesting, yet small enough to be friendly”, the city has a diverse selection of restaurants, museums, music venues and annual festivals.

Student community 

Harvard is significantly the larger of the two; its 25,000-strong student body is almost twice the size of Yale’s 12,000.

Both offer internationally diverse student communities. At Harvard, more than 15.4 percent of students are international, and at Yale about 22 percent.

Tuition fees 

It’s no secret that higher education at prestigious US universities doesn’t come cheap – but the good news is that the Ivy League schools also tend to offer relatively high levels of financial support. At Harvard, undergraduate tuition fees for 2023/24 are set at US$52,659. When additional fees, accommodation, travel and personal expenses are considered, the annual cost of attendance is estimated at $76,763.

At Yale the figures are similar; undergraduate fees for 2023/24 are $64,700. When accommodation and other expenses are accounted for, the total is about $83,880. Students will also need to consider the extra cost of securing health insurance.

At graduate level, fees depend on which graduate school the course is offered by. At Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, full tuition fees for 2023/24 are $54,032, and students are advised to budget at least an additional $38,508 per year for living costs. Similarly, at Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, fees for 2023/24 are $48,300.

The costs for degrees such as medicine are, as is typical, a little higher. Harvard’s Medical School (graduate level only) charges tuition fees of $69,200 for 2023/24. And at Harvard Business School, an MBA program will currently cost $74,910 per year, with a total annual budget of $115,638 recommended.

 

 

Financial aid 

Those figures may seem unaffordable for most, but most students at Harvard or Yale are eligible for financial aid. At Harvard, 55 percent of undergraduate students receive need-based aid through the university’s financial aid programme. Financial aid officers work to determine your demonstrated need and your family’s expected contribution, with students from families with an annual income below $65,000 expected to pay nothing, and more than 24 percent of students’ families paying nothing.

Yale similarly offers need-based financial aid, pledging to cover 100 percent of undergraduate students’ “demonstrated financial need”. 54 percent of Yale undergraduates receive aid, with an average grant amount of $50,000 in the 2023/24 academic year.

At both universities, large numbers of graduate-level students also receive grants, loans, fellowships, scholarships and also paid employment. Whichever level you’re studying at, and whatever your subject, extensive information on the costs of study and how to apply for financial aid is provided on the universities’ and graduate schools’ websites.

These high levels of financial support are rooted in the fact that both Harvard and Yale have need-blind admission policies. This means students’ finances are not taken into account when making a decision about whether to offer them a place, and the university pledges to contribute as much as is required to enable students to attend once they’ve been accepted. This policy applies to all students, whether they come from within the US or elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

How many Ivy League Schools are there?

There are eight American universities in the Ivy League.

Why are the Ivy League schools called 'Ivy League'?

During the 1800s, it was a tradition for students at universities to plant Ivy on customary class day as part of a school ceremony. The term 'Ivy League' was initally coined to refer to older universities which were rooted in tradition and often took part in traditional, intercollegiate athletics competitions. Seven of the universities formed the official 'Ivy League' in the 1930s to consolidate their agreement to protect their athletics traditions. It has now grown to be about more than athlectics with the Ivy League schools placing a focus on not just tradition but also research and innovation.

How do I get into an Ivy League school?

Each Ivy League university has their own admissions process. You can find more information on their websites. Generally speaking, Ivy League schools value academic performance and so applicants should aim to have a GPA of 3.5-4.0 when applying. Extracurricular activities, sporting skill and work experience are all also assets to a strong application.

How much does it cost to attend an Ivy League school?

Ivy League schools tend to be more expensive in terms of their tuition fees. The exact price will differ depending on the year that you are applying, the course you are applying to study and the school that you are applying to. For an undergraduate degree in 2023/24, Harvard University charges around $54,000. Yale University charges $48,300. You can find out more about exact prices on the university's website.

What is the average SAT score needed to get into an Ivy League school?

Students hoping to be admitted into an Ivy League schools need an SAT score of at least 1455. However, given that the admission boundaries will vary from year to year, they should aim for a score of around 1555.

Can I get a scholarship to an Ivy League school?

Yes. Ivy League schools offer plenty of scholarship opportunities for students who are talented but do not have adequate financial resources. Scholarship and funding will, again, vary from school to school but more information is available on each school's website.

So, which of these top Ivy League schools gets your vote, Harvard or Yale? Let us know in the comments below!