Harvard may be under federal investigation and cost over $87,000 a year—but it’s still Gen Z’s No. 1 ‘dream college’

Harvard University has had a turbulent few months. The school has faced leadership turmoil, renewed scrutiny over its former president Larry Summers’ past ties to Jeffery Epstein, and an escalating clash with the Trump administration—including a federal lawsuit filed just last week alleging antisemitism on campus. 

None of it has knocked it off its perch. The Ivy league institution was once again deemed the No. 1 “dream school” among college applicants, according to a new survey by The Princeton Review.

Harvard has consistently ranked near the top throughout the survey’s 24-year history. Although it was dethroned last year by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this year’s revival suggests that sustained controversy has done little to dent its appeal. 

“Harvard ultimately reigns as the world’s most desirable university with unparalleled brand recognition, alumni achievement and history,” Jamie Beaton, founder and CEO of Crimson Education—who holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university—told Fortune. “Trump’s battle with Harvard has only made the school more notable and famous.”

While admissions for the incoming fall cohort are still being finalized, Harvard has only become more competitive over the years. Of the nearly 48,000 applications to its class of 2029—who started this past fall—only about 2,000 were admitted, an acceptance rate of around 4%. By comparison, the acceptance rate 18 years ago was about 9%.

Harvard graduates are entering the workforce with near six-figure salaries—and little student debt

For many Harvard students, the payoff of making it through the rigorous application process appears to be tangible. 

In a survey of the class of 2025 by The Harvard Crimson, 95% of seniors said they would choose Harvard again. Early career earnings are likely part of the reason: roughly half of respondents expected to earn more than $90,000 in their first job, while about one in five anticipated salaries of $130,000 or higher—figures that far outpace national averages for new graduates.

The price tag, meanwhile, keeps climbing. Total billable costs this academic year—tuition, fees, housing, and food—reached $86,926, a roughly 9% increase over the past two years. Yet only 17% of seniors reported graduating with student loan debt. Harvard waives tuition entirely for undergraduates whose families earn $200,000 or less annually.

But Harvard isn’t alone in driving demand—and the composition of this year’s list suggests that prestige reigns supreme in the minds of most applicants. Adam Nguyen, founder of admissions consulting firm Ivy Link, isn’t surprised.

“Even in a market where families talk constantly about cost, practicality, and ROI, the schools that continue to dominate the imagination are still the ones with the strongest prestige, signaling power, alumni networks, and global brand value,” Nguyen told Fortune. 

The 10 top “dream colleges” of students in 2026

1. Harvard University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Stanford University
4. Princeton University
5. New York University
6. Yale University
7. Columbia University
8. University of Pennsylvania
9. University of Texas–Austin
10. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

More Gen Z are questioning the value of degrees—and seeking alternatives in the skilled trades

For all the allure of the Ivy League, those institutions represent a sliver of the American college experience—and the broader picture is more conflicted.

Cost anxiety has become the defining concern of the application process. The plurality of student and parent respondents in this year’s Princeton Review survey, 35%, cited impending debt levels as the biggest concern about the college application process. That’s a dramatic shift from the survey’s early years: in 2003, only 6% of respondents chose cost as their top concern. 

The skepticism doesn’t end at graduation. More than a third of all graduates now say their college diploma was a “waste of money,” according to a survey by Indeed. Among Gen Z specifically, that figure rises to 51%. And with artificial intelligence reshaping the job market for entry-level talent, these worries are only expected to grow.

It’s pushing a growing number of young people to take a harder look at alternatives. Enrollment in vocational and trade programs has grown more than 20% between 2020 and 2025, according to National Student Clearinghouse Data. And business leaders like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have highlighted that opportunities to land secure, six-figure-paying blue-collar jobs are on the rise—thanks in part to the data center boom. 

“This is the largest infrastructure build-out in human history that’s going to create a lot of jobs,” Huang said at the World Economic Forum earlier this year.

“We’re talking about six-figure salaries for people who are building chip factories or computer factories or AI factories.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com