Ivy League / Common Data Set

Ivy League Admit GPA Medians

Updated 26 September 2026

Only four of the eight Ivies publish a high school GPA distribution at all. Where they do, in Common Data Set item C11, between 91% and 96% of enrolled first-year students sit in the 3.75-4.0 band. Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth leave the item blank and Brown has not published a current CDS, so for those four there is no Ivy GPA figure to cite. Each school is sourced individually below.

Direct answer / average weighted GPA for Ivy League

There is no published "average weighted GPA" for the Ivy League, and no Ivy-wide GPA figure of any kind. Four of the eight report a GPA distribution in CDS item C11; the other four report nothing. Where it is reported, 91% to 96% of enrolled first-year students sit in the 3.75-4.0 band.

Ivies publishing CDS C114 of 8

On a 5.0 weighted scale~4.3-4.8 typical

Highest published C12 average4.25 (Columbia)

Benchmark that transfers3.9+ unweighted + max rigour

The ~4.3-4.8 range is an illustration, not an Ivy statistic: on the common 5.0 scale (AP and IB courses graded to 5.0, honors to ~4.5), a student earning near-straight-A's across a heavy AP/IB load lands there arithmetically. Note that the CDS figures are not cleanly unweighted either: Harvard reports an average of 4.22 and Columbia 4.25, both impossible on an unweighted 4.0 scale. Admissions readers recalculate to their own rubric regardless, so the portable target is a near-4.0 unweighted GPA paired with the most rigorous course load your school offers. See weighted vs unweighted GPA for the mechanics.

What the Common Data Set tells us

The Common Data Set is a voluntary disclosure standard maintained by College Board, Peterson's, and US News for higher education institutions. Most US universities publish their CDS annually on their institutional research website. Getting the item numbers right matters, because they are widely misquoted:

C1 is the applied / admitted / enrolled counts. An admit rate is derived from C1; the CDS does not state one.
C7 is the relative importance of each admission factor (rigour of record, GPA, essays, recommendations and so on). It is not a GPA distribution.
C10 is the high school class rank distribution.
C11 is the high school GPA distribution, in bands on a 4.0 scale.
C12 is the average high school GPA.

Two properties of C11 and C12 are routinely lost in secondary summaries. First, both describe enrolled first-year students, not admitted applicants: the CDS wording is "all enrolled, degree-seeking, first-time, first-year students". The admitted pool is larger and its GPA profile is not published by any Ivy. Second, the GPA reported is whatever the high school put on the transcript, so it is often weighted. Harvard's C12 average is 4.22 and Columbia's is 4.25, both above the top of a 4.0 scale, which is only possible with weighting.

The bigger limitation is coverage. Of the eight Ivies, only four fill in C11 at all: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Penn. Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth leave every band blank, and Brown has not published a 2025-2026 CDS. So there is no Ivy-wide GPA distribution to quote, and any source that gives you one for all eight has constructed it. Among the four that do report, between 91% and 96% of enrolled students sit in the 3.75-4.0 band, with Penn the least concentrated at 91%.

What each Ivy actually publishes

Ivy	CDS C11 GPA distribution (enrolled)	C12 avg	Admitted
HarvardHarvard University	74.7% at 4.0, 20.4% at 3.75-3.99	4.22	2,003 of 47,8934.2%
YaleYale University	Not reported	Not reported	2,387 of 50,2644.8%
PrincetonPrinceton University	72% at 4.0, 24% at 3.75-3.99	3.96	1,868 of 42,3034.4%
ColumbiaColumbia University	74.9% at 4.0, 20.8% at 3.75-3.99	4.25	2,946 of 59,6114.9%
PennUniversity of Pennsylvania	59% at 4.0, 32% at 3.75-3.99	3.9	3,570 of 72,5444.9%
CornellCornell University	Not reported	Not reported	6,077 of 72,5238.4%
BrownBrown University	Not reported	Not reported	2,418 of 42,7655.7%
DartmouthDartmouth College	Not reported	Not reported	1,699 of 28,2306.0%

All figures from each school's own Common Data Set 2025-2026, covering the fall 2025 entering cohort (Class of 2029), except Brown, which has not published a 2025-2026 edition. Admit percentages shown under the counts are calculated by us from the published applied and admitted numbers; several of these schools publish no admit rate themselves. Verify the current cycle directly against the school's own CDS.

Harvard: C12 average of 4.22 is above 4.0, so Harvard's reported GPAs are weighted, not unweighted. Harvard released Class of 2029 data in October 2025 and states no admit rate itself; 4.2% is ours, derived from its published counts.

Yale: Yale leaves C11 and C12 blank, so it publishes no GPA data at all. Counts here are from the CDS; Yale's March 2025 announcement gave 2,308 of 50,228 (4.6%) before later waitlist admits.

Princeton: Princeton has stopped reporting an annual admit rate on its website and directs enquiries to the CDS. The 4.4% is ours, derived from the CDS counts.

Columbia: Columbia notes only 72.2% of the class had GPAs recorded on a 4.0 scale, and that subset is the basis for C11 and C12. Its own March 2025 announcement gave 2,557 offers of 59,616 (4.3%); the CDS count includes later admits. Figures cover Columbia College and Columbia Engineering.

Penn: Penn reports the least concentrated distribution of the four that publish one. Penn itself rounds the rate to 5 percent.

Cornell: C11 and C12 are blank. Counts are the CDS totals, which exceed Cornell's March 2025 announcement of 5,824 admitted. Admit standards vary across Cornell's undergraduate colleges.

Brown: Brown has not published a 2025-2026 CDS; its last published edition (2024-2025) left C11 blank and marked C12 n/a. Counts here are from Brown's own March 2025 admission announcement, which states no rate; 5.7% is ours.

Dartmouth: C11 and C12 are blank. The 1,699 figure is from Dartmouth's final Class of 2029 profile and its CDS; its March 2025 press release gave the earlier figure of 1,702.

Recalculated GPA vs reported GPA

Ivy admissions readers do not use the GPA value printed on the applicant's transcript directly. Each school recalculates the GPA using an internal rubric. The recalculation typically strips electives (PE, art, study hall) and other non-academic courses, normalises weighting systems across districts, and applies course-rigour adjustments. The recalculated GPA may be materially different from the transcript GPA in either direction.

For an applicant with mostly regular-track courses and a high unweighted GPA, the recalculation can yield a lower effective figure because the rigour signal is missing. For an applicant with mostly AP / IB courses and a slightly lower unweighted GPA (because AP courses are graded harder), the recalculation can yield a higher effective figure because the rigour signal is strong.

The published CDS C7 figure is the recalculated GPA where the school reports it that way, or the unweighted GPA in the form the school chose to report. The Ivies are not uniform in how they report; some report unweighted only, some report both unweighted and weighted. Always check the CDS notes for the specific school.

Holistic review caveat

Every Ivy uses holistic review. This means the GPA, however calculated, is one factor among many: essays, letters of recommendation, extracurricular leadership, demonstrated interest, demographic context, and individual circumstances all contribute. The published CDS C11 bands tell you what the students who ultimately enrolled presented as GPA, not what GPA value would have guaranteed their admission. Many applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs are rejected each cycle at every Ivy; many applicants with sub-3.9 GPAs are admitted with strong compensating factors.

The functional implication for applicants: a 3.9+ unweighted GPA places the applicant in the academically competitive pool at the Ivy tier. It does not guarantee admission. It is necessary, not sufficient. Conversely, a sub-3.9 GPA does not automatically disqualify an applicant; it does mean the rest of the application has to carry more weight. The most common rejected-applicant profile at the Ivy tier is a 4.0 GPA with strong test scores but unremarkable extracurriculars or unmemorable essays; the most common admitted-with-lower-GPA profile is a strong personal narrative, distinctive achievements, or significant institutional priority (recruited athlete, first-generation, geographic balance).

Differences across the Ivy League

The Ivies are similar in admit-GPA concentration but differ in some structural details. Cornell has the largest admit rate (around 8%) and the most internal variation across its constituent colleges (Engineering, ILR, CALS, Architecture, A&S each have somewhat different admit profiles). Penn has school-by-school variation as well: Wharton admit GPA medians sit higher than College of Arts and Sciences in some cycles. Dartmouth has the smallest cohort and reports the most concentrated admit-GPA distribution. Yale and Stanford (often grouped with the Ivies in "HYPSM" conversations even though Stanford is not formally Ivy) are the most selective at the GPA level.

The strategic implication for applicants: targeting the Ivy with the largest internal variation that matches your strengths can improve outcome odds. Cornell's Industrial and Labor Relations school admits different applicants than Cornell's College of Engineering; choosing the right college within Cornell can matter as much as choosing among Ivies.

Beyond the Ivy

Several non-Ivy institutions have similar or higher admit-GPA medians: Stanford, MIT, Caltech, the University of Chicago, Duke, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Rice. These schools are often grouped with the Ivies as "Top 20" for admissions difficulty. Their admit GPA distributions are functionally similar to the Ivies': 90%+ of admits in the 3.75-4.0 band per CDS C7.

For the analogous public-school tier, see the top public flagships page. For the liberal-arts-college equivalent, see the top LAC admit GPA page. Each tier has different admit GPA dynamics and different recalculation conventions.

Educational reference. Not admissions advice. Verify each school's current Common Data Set directly at the school's institutional research office.

Common Questions

What is the average weighted GPA for Ivy League admits?

No Ivy publishes an average GPA for admitted students. Four of the eight publish an average for ENROLLED students in Common Data Set item C12: Columbia 4.25, Harvard 4.22, Princeton 3.96 and Penn 3.9. The two figures above 4.0 show these are weighted GPAs as reported by each applicant's high school, not a common unweighted scale, which is exactly why they are not comparable across applicants. Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth leave C12 blank and Brown has not published a current Common Data Set, so for those four no figure exists. As an illustration, on the common 5.0 weighted scale a student earning near-straight-A's across a heavy AP/IB load presents a weighted GPA in roughly the 4.3-4.8 range, but that is a function of the school's scale, not an admissions target. The benchmark that transfers is a near-4.0 unweighted GPA paired with the most rigorous course load available, since admissions readers recalculate GPA to their own rubric regardless.

What GPA do you need for Ivy League?

The honest answer is that the Ivies do not publish the figure most people are looking for. None publishes a GPA distribution for ADMITTED students, and only four of the eight publish one for ENROLLED students, in Common Data Set item C11. Among those four, the share of enrolled first-year students in the 3.75-4.0 band runs from 91% at Penn to 96% at Princeton, with Harvard at 95% and Columbia at 96%. Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth report nothing, and Brown has no current CDS. A near-4.0 unweighted GPA with the most rigorous available course load, strong test scores and distinctive extracurriculars is the baseline competitive profile, but no published number defines a threshold.

Where is the Ivy GPA data published?

Each Ivy publishes its Common Data Set annually on its institutional research website. CDS is a voluntary disclosure standard maintained by College Board, Peterson's, and US News. The item numbers are widely misquoted, so to be precise: C1 gives the applied, admitted and enrolled counts, from which an admit rate can be derived; C7 is the relative importance of each admission factor, not a GPA table; C10 is the high school class rank distribution; C11 is the high school GPA distribution; and C12 is the average high school GPA. Search 'Harvard Common Data Set' (or equivalent for any school) to find the current cycle's published report, and note that several schools leave C11 and C12 blank.

Do Ivies use weighted or unweighted GPA?

Both are reported on transcripts but the Ivies recalculate using their own rubric for admissions purposes. The recalculated GPA strips electives, normalises weighting systems, and applies course-rigour adjustments. The published CDS C11 bands report whatever GPA the applicant's high school recorded, weighted or not. The internal recalculation is not published and varies by institution. Course rigour (number of AP / IB / honors courses) is reported separately in CDS and weights heavily.

Is a 4.0 GPA enough for Harvard?

It is the table-stakes baseline at the Ivy tier but not sufficient on its own. Harvard rejects more 4.0-GPA applicants each cycle than it admits, because admits are evaluated holistically on essays, recommendations, extracurriculars, demonstrated interest, and personal context. A 4.0 unweighted with maximum AP / IB course load and strong test scores puts the applicant in the academically competitive cohort; the rest of the application determines the outcome.

Do legacy admits have lower GPA requirements at Ivies?

The published CDS data does not separate legacy admits from non-legacy admits, and several Ivies have phased out legacy preference (Johns Hopkins, MIT, Caltech have no legacy preference; Harvard reaffirmed its consideration during recent admissions cycles per public statements). Legacy applicants at schools that still consider legacy receive a modest admissions advantage, but no Ivy publishes a median admit GPA of any kind, for legacy or non-legacy applicants, so there is no published figure to compare.

Do Ivies do GPA-only auto-admit?

No. None of the Ivies has any auto-admit or auto-reject GPA threshold. Every application receives holistic review. This contrasts with many state flagship publics that publish auto-admit GPA thresholds (Texas top-6%, California UC eligibility minimums). The Ivy admissions process is by design contextual; no single number determines outcome.