Harvard has reclaimed its spot as America's top 'dream' school

Harvard University has reclaimed the top position among students' "dream colleges" in The Princeton Review's annual survey, displacing Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which held the spot in 2025.

The Princeton Review's 2026 College Hopes & Worries Survey — its 24th — polled 9,446 college applicants and their parents in January and February. Students named Harvard as their first choice when asked which school they would most like to attend if admission were guaranteed and cost were no obstacle. MIT ranked second among students, followed by Stanford University, Princeton University, and New York University.

Among parents, the results differed: MIT took the top spot, with Princeton University second, Stanford third, and Harvard fourth.

The survey results come as Harvard is locked in a prolonged legal dispute with the federal government. Last month, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging it had not cooperated with a federal inquiry into its admissions practices, according to CNBC. For the Class of 2029, Harvard admitted fewer than 4% of applicants — a steep decline from the more than 10% acceptance rate the school posted two decades earlier.

Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's editor-in-chief, said the attention surrounding Harvard's legal battles has not weakened demand for the school. "The added spotlight on Harvard, particularly over the last year, certainly hasn't diminished their brand," he told CNBC.

College costs dominated the survey's findings on student and family concerns. The plurality of respondents — 37% — said sticker shock was their primary source of application stress, while 35% identified debt level as their biggest overall worry. Nine out of 10 respondents said they are applying for financial aid.

While Harvard offers no merit scholarships, the school waives tuition entirely for undergraduates whose families earn $200,000 or less annually, according to CNBC. Franek noted that highly selective institutions typically forgo merit aid because competition for admission is intense enough that they have little need to offer it. "The Ivys and many near-Ivys are so competitive that they needn't give out merit-based scholarships," he said. "That said, those schools do meet 100% of students' and families' demonstrated financial need."

Franek said students and families are approaching college decisions with increasing financial discipline. "College decisions were an emotional decision, now it is a financial strategy," he said.

The survey also found that 98% of respondents believe college will be worth the cost — the first time since the question was added to the survey in 2014 that the figure has fallen below 99%.