Admitted Pre-College Program Students

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Pre-College Overview & Expectations

• Pre-College courses meet in person for three hours each weekday and you can expect two to four hours of homework each day.
• Courses cover nearly a semester of material in 2-weeks and focus on learning for learning’s sake.
• You must attend and participate in every class in its entirety, submit all assignments on time, and perform at a satisfactory level to receive a passing grade of “Met all requirements” (AR).
• Learning happens inside and outside of the classroom through our Pre-College Passport Program. You have the opportunity to select from dozens of co-curricular activities to ensure you have a well-rounded experience.
• To stay focused in this academic residential program, please refrain from participating in any outside activities or responsibilities.

Upcoming Deadlines

Please see the full Pre-College Program Calendar for all important deadlines.

Materials	Deadline
Course registration opens for admitted students	Thursday, February 27 at 9 a.m. ET
Course registration deadline for admitted financial aid recipients Your award will be rescinded if you are not registered for classes by this date.	Friday, March 14 (Early Applicants) Friday, March 28 (Regular Applicants)
Full payment deadline Pay your balance in full by this date. If you do not, you risk being dropped from all courses and waitlists. Registration with immediate full payment remains open through the course registration deadline.	Monday, April 14
Submit immunization documents You may be dropped from courses, even after classes begin, if you do not upload your documentation.	Submit proof to HUHS within 14 days of registering
Submit medical history and consent form	Submit proof to HUHS within 14 days of registering
Course registration deadline Last day to register for courses and pay your balance in full. Late registration is not permitted after this date.	Monday, June 2 Payment due at time of registration
Student and Family Orientation This virtual orientation is for all Pre-College sessions and will be recorded. Students are required to attend or view the recording afterward. Zoom information will be emailed to students closer to June 11.	Wednesday, June 11, 7 – 8 p.m. ET
Course changes deadline Course changes require Pre-College staff approval after April 14.	Session I: Thursday, June 12 Session II: Thursday, June 26 Session III: Thursday, July 10

Next Steps for Admitted Students

Enroll in Pre-College Program

Accept your admission to the program at the bottom of your admission letter. Once you respond “yes” to our offer, an email will be sent to you with next steps.

Approximately one hour after accepting your offer, you will be able to log into your MyDCE account to register and pay for your course(s).

If you plan to join us, please accept your admittance by one of the following deadlines in correspondence with your early, regular, or late application acceptance.

• Early Admission: Tuesday, February 18
• Regular Admission: Tuesday, March 25
• Late Admission: Within two weeks of offer of admission

Log into your MyDCE Portal

MyDCE is the student portal where you will complete all of your post-acceptance requirements. You can access MyDCE by logging in using your DCEKey or HarvardKey login credentials. You should be able to access MyDCE one hour after you’ve accepted your admissions offer and received your “Complete Your Harvard Pre-College Program Next Steps” email.

Register for course(s) and submit payment

You must accept your offer of admission before registering. Pre-College Program students are only permitted to register (or waitlist) themselves for ONE COURSE PER SESSION.

Visit Course Registration for detailed instructions on registration, including pre-registration and payment. You will be required to complete pre-registration (available in late February), which will confirm that your student and contact information are up-to-date prior to registering for your course(s). The Pre-College Program session you attend is based on your course registration. Please view the “Meeting Info.” section of each course description to determine the session it’s being offered during.

• Confirming your registration: To confirm that your registration submitted successfully, log into your MyDCE account and view the “My Courses” box on your dashboard. Any courses that you’ve successfully registered or waitlisted yourself for will appear here.

• Payment: Log in and pay in the Student Finance Portal in your MyDCE account with a credit card. Once you have selected your course(s), you will submit full payment for the program fee of $5,800. Please note you can designate an authorized user who can access your financial account information online — to view your student account details and submit a payment directly to your account via credit card or electronic check (U.S. bank accounts only). If you would like more payment information, please visit the payment options page.

Please note: You must pay for all courses for which you have registered or placed yourself on the course waitlist prior to the payment deadline. Harvard Summer School reserves the right to remove you from courses for nonpayment. If you intend to only attend one course, please drop yourself from all other courses and waitlists prior to the payment deadline (April 14). Following the payment deadline, all courses must be paid in full at the time of registration.

Choosing the Right Course

Pre-College Program courses are an extraordinary opportunity for you to stretch yourself academically and intellectually. 

Newly admitted students can register for a new course until the session deadlines via MyDCE.

To select the best course for you, we encourage you to:

• Consider your interests, goals, and previous experiences. What have you already studied? Is there a subject that you do not have the opportunity to learn about in high school? What might you want to study in college? Keep in mind that all courses will be academically rigorous.
• Consider course availability for each session. If the course you are interested in is full in one session, check to see if it is offered during another session. If you can’t decide between two courses, you may have the opportunity to take both courses by attending multiple sessions.
• Check the course meeting time and session dates. All courses are held on campus, Monday – Friday, for three hours each day. You should expect to have two to four hours of coursework to complete outside of class each day. Please note: You must attend all of your classes in their entirety to receive a passing grade of AR. Be sure to plan your travel so that you arrive on the Sunday before the session begins and depart on Friday after your class ends.
• Check the prerequisites. Be sure that you meet the requirements to register for the course that interests you.
• Create a list of several courses that excite you — and register early. Most courses are limited to 12 to 18 students and fill up quickly. Be sure to register as soon as possible and have several alternative courses in mind in case your top choice is not available.
• Consider attending more than one session. If more than one course appeals to you, you may register in multiple sessions. Housing, meals, and activities are provided for students enrolled in consecutive sessions.

Waitlists

Pre-College Program students are only permitted to register (or waitlist) themselves for ONE COURSE PER SESSION. We are unable to predict if/when a student will be moved off of the waitlist for their course.

All Pre-College Program courses are designed to be engaging and have limited enrollment. Once a course is full, you may be able to sign up for the same course in another session or choose to add yourself to the course’s waitlist. To ensure you will be able to join us this summer, we strongly encourage you to register for courses with open spaces, as there is no guarantee a space will open up.

Students on waitlists must also meet the immunization requirements and pay in full for their course(s) by the payment deadlines noted at the top of this page.

Immunization Requirement

All Pre-College Program students are required to provide documentation to Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) that they are fully vaccinated against certain communicable diseases. Students who are unable to provide this proof risk being unable to participate in on-campus activities/courses for Summer 2025. Please refer to the HUHS Immunization Form for more information about this requirement.

Check In/Out and Orientation

Pre-College Student and Family Orientation for all sessions will be held on Zoom and recorded on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 – 8 p.m. ET. You can join live or watch the recording later if you’re unable to join live. The Zoom link for this session will be emailed out to students closer to June 11.

Pre-College Check-in is on the Sunday before courses begin (June 22, July 6, and July 20) between 2 and 3:30 p.m. ET. In an effort to keep all our students healthy and safe, only students will have access to campus buildings. We encourage you to pack lightly, as you will need to move your own belongings into the Houses. On-campus student orientation events, including campus tours, proctor-led activities, and first floor meetings, will begin at 4 p.m. ET.

Pre-College Check-out is no later than 8 p.m. ET on the final Friday of your session (Thursday, July 3; Friday, July 18, and Friday, August 1). As noted above, you must attend and participate in every class in its entirety, including the last one. Please plan travel accordingly, as construction may delay your arrival at Logan Airport.

We do not provide airport shuttles, but transportation information is available along with directions to campus.

Activities Beyond the Classroom

The Pre-College Passport: The Guide to Life Outside the Classroom helps you make the most out of your two weeks on campus. You will have opportunities to engage with faculty, develop critical college skills, and explore sights around New England.

These events will be offered in-person and virtually for Summer 2025.

Co-Curricular Activities Registration Information:

Two weeks prior to your arrival you will receive an email to go into MyDCE and complete an assigned task to register for activities. We encourage you to review available activities in MyDCE before registering to ensure there are no course conflicts.

Passport Co-curricular Activities Sign-Up Periods:

• Session I: Wednesday, June 11 – Wednesday, June 18, 2025
• Session II: Wednesday, June 25 – Wednesday, July 2, 2025
• Session III: Wednesday, July 9 – Wednesday, July 16, 2025

It is your responsibility to successfully sign up, attend, engage, and get your “passport” stamped at two events in each of the following categories: Academic Exploration, College Readiness, Social and Residential Activities, and Trips and Recreation.

Academic Exploration: Lectures and discussions with Harvard scholars to give you a taste of the questions that drive various academic disciplines.

College Readiness: Workshops to help you develop and practice critical academic skills to support transition and success in college.

Social and Residential: Events hosted on campus and in residential spaces by proctors to create a sense of belonging for you and other participants in the program. Past events include talent shows, trivia, recently released films, and arts and crafts.

Trips and Recreation: Outings on and off campus to give you an opportunity to explore Cambridge, Boston, and Southern New England. You must attend at least one event/trip on Saturday and Sunday during your session.

Virtual Admissions Sessions: We are pleased to offer a variety of online panel presentations, some by Harvard staff and others in cooperation with a number of selective universities. Please note that admissions events are optional, but one event can be used to meet your two College Readiness requirements.

You have the freedom to choose the events you attend, but also the responsibility to challenge yourself by learning new skills and engaging with new ideas. We hope that each opportunity is a rich and rewarding one for you.

What To Bring

You will participate in a variety of events both on and off campus. Here is some advice to consider when packing:

• You may dress casually for class. You are sometimes required to give presentations, so you may prefer to bring a business casual outfit for these occasions.
• Some classes include a lab visit, so please bring long pants and closed-toe shoes, which are often required to enter the space.
• Bring a laptop with a camera and headphones to campus with you. In some cases, courses and Pre-College Passport activities may be held online and guest speakers may require the use of a computer.
• For some courses, a laptop is required to participate in person as well, so check specific course prerequisites. Please refer to the technology requirements for courses for computer specifications.
• During each session, we typically plan a trip to the beach, so be sure to pack sunscreen, a bathing suit, and a towel.
• You will need Twin XL linens. We suggest a flat sheet, fitted sheet, pillow, and blanket for your comfort.

Additional Resources

Housing: All Pre-College students are residential, therefore you do not need to take any action to request housing. Resident Deans and Proctors (Proctors are similar to Residential Assistants) live in the Pre-College Houses all summer. Our staff are on-call 24/7 and walk around the buildings multiple times each evening. Pre-College students have to check in with their assigned proctor on their floor by 11 p.m. every night and remain on their floor until the next morning. For more information about your room on campus and what to bring, read about your room.

H-Ticket: Approximately one week prior to your check-in, you will have access to your H-Ticket in MyDCE. The H-Ticket includes specific information about where and when to check in, your on-campus room assignment, and any other requirements you need before your arrival. Please bring either a printed copy or an electronic one to check-in.

Meals: All Pre-College students receive a meal plan and enjoy a comprehensive dining program during your session(s). Your meal plan allows you to eat with peers in your designated dining hall and enjoy menus that reflect the international character of the Summer School. Grab-and-go options are available for quick and convenient access to meals or snacks. Harvard Dining Services will prepare a special bagged meal for weekend off-campus trips. Please see our dining services page if you would like additional information.

Accessibility Services: If you have a need for academic, residential, or dietary accommodation due to a disabling condition, please be sure to complete the registration process with the Accessibility Services Office by May 12.

Student Handbook: This student handbook is provided to inform you of the academic policies and rules of conduct that apply to resident and nonresident Summer School students. It also describes resources available at Harvard and opportunities available in the Greater Boston area that will help make your summer a rewarding one. Please read this handbook carefully and refer to it throughout the summer.

Specific Pre-College Information: In order to promote the well-being of students and to provide a safe and peaceful environment for learning, social activities, and personal growth, the following policies apply to all Harvard Pre-College Program students.

Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan: A Harvard Summer School accident and sickness insurance plan is included in your program fee as secondary coverage to your own health insurance plan. Read how and when you can use this coverage.