<p>I just want to say, I still think this is a good idea.</p>
<p>I don’t.</p>
<p>I’m with dan on this one.</p>
<p>I think dan’s argument is moot since applicants already finished their applications anyway, so they can’t ‘model’ themselves after anything. If they get in, they’re Harvard material anyway. This could help people make their decisions - I’d personally love to know a Harvard student’s experience and growth at Harvard (as opposed to their personality, which is what some of you seem to think they’ll post) to see if it’s a place I’d like to go to, because right now I’m on the fence about the whole college. </p>
<p>To sum up, it’s a good idea. (Just for you, that, idiosyncra3y.) Naysayers agree.</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>10 char</p>
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<p>I think he was talking about the people who plan on applying in future years</p>
<p>bump</p>
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<p>I say it’s not a good idea for the reasons already stated. Prospective applicants should not forge their paths based on what Harvard students write. It’ll take away from the idea that students should be independently following their own aspirations. The people who deserve Harvard should already be going beyond the stats; spoon-feeding that concept to otherwise unworthy applicants will only make the admissions process easier to game.</p>
<p>Three months and zero of the planned posts by actual Harvard students.</p>
<p>Either they are so busy sucking up all of life’s offerings or just complete ***** who read this thread and laugh at us inferior creatures. But we’ll go with the first one…</p>
<p>I will answer your question. I assume you are still interested in essays?? I think essays are generally crucial when it comes to admission because it allows your personality to show through, rather than an application of stats. Personally, I think my essay helped me a great deal. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which one I submitted to them. It was either one about peaches or about crochet.</p>
<p>I don’t think Harvard chooses people on the basis of personality - at least not in ways that seem to be suggested here.
Don’t idealize the admissions process. It’s not that people who get in are better people, or necessarily more talented, or necessarily more interesting. A lot of the process just comes down to balancing the class. Too many cello players? Can’t take another one. Need an acclaimed chef? Take him. No die-hard fan of a 19th century gay Victorian author? Well, we better take her. And so on.
My friends who were rejected from Harvard and who now attend other top 20 schools are usually indistinguishable from the people I know here. It’s true to say that there is something of a unique culture on campus, and that that culture does to some extent influence Harvard undergraduates - but that doesn’t mean that Harvard students are in some way fundamentally different from other people. Sometimes we get in on the basis of a unique life experience, but - honestly, guys, most of us got in because we were lucky, and we’re still as dumbfounded about how it happened as you are.</p>
<p>It’s a good idea</p>
<p>A friend who has a keen grasp on what the Harvard Adcoms want to see made it very simple but difficult-- they ideally want to see evidence that someone has the potential to make a significant mark in whatever field they choose. So if you are a math person-- Olympiad level, if you are a composer–national or international competitions, if you are a hog farmer-- winner of national 4-H. It almost is immaterial what it is (although class balancing matters-- they want a well-rounded class of un-rounded individuals) but excellence is the common denominator. So show some evidence of passion and excellence in whatever it is that you love and do well…Sounds simple–but that is a lot harder to accomplish than 4.0 grades and 2400 SATs… When you arrive on campus the overwhelming sensation is one of befuddlement as to how you got accepted as compared to your classmates–but over time you will find that you have a niche that others don’t and vice versa. Which is exactly what the Admissions folks want. </p>
<p>Does that translate into “personality”? I’m not sure what that means, per se…other than unique. The one thing, by and large Harvard students are not, is bland.</p>
<p>Unless the number of posts is in the hundreds or thousands, this project will give the impression that only certain student archetypes are accepted to Harvard. In the worst cases, it will steer prospective applicants from pursuing their own interests for the sake of how their applications will look during senior year. We already have stats threads that provide the gist of what kind of backbone applicants need to feel competitive in the admissions process. </p>
<p>The thread will give the impression that there is a Holy Grail application story (or stories) that applicants should seek to somehow guarantee acceptance. We all know that only physically impaired, Siemens-winning Latino farmers from Iowa with perfect SAT scores are accepted without any doubt.</p>
<p>Slightly unrelated, but felixfelicis’ comment reminded me of this quote from the 80s BBC comedy Yes Minister: “The perfect representative on a government committee is a disabled black Welsh woman trades unionist.” Not very pc, but very funny.</p>
<p>Hahaha…British sitcoms are the best…</p>
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<p>Think you could explain more about what this culture is?</p>
<p>And felix, I’m just curious!!!</p>
<p>About what? Or are you anticipating a discouraging response from me…</p>
<p>I’m a current Harvard student who is bored on spring break. What exactly do you guys want me to talk about?</p>
<p>A few things I’ve learned from friends who work in the Harvard admissions office about the application process, and some observations of my own as a not-entirely-unobservant Harvard student:</p>
<p>1) The interview counts a lot more than is often advertised. Friends have recounted that the request admissions officers write most often on admissions folders is “interview results?” If you can wow at the interview and you’re an otherwise borderline candidate (which approximately 80% of candidates are, throwing out the 19% that have no shot and the 1% with a guarantee-in), you boost your chances significantly. Contrary to “wisdom” commonly found on this forum about HYP interviews being more informational than investigative, don’t go into your interview thinking it won’t make or break your chances. It certainly can.</p>
<p>2) Making your regional admissions officer like you is extremely important. He/she’s the one who goes to bat for you at the roundtable meetings where your fate is decided. If he or she doesn’t care for you, rarely will the rest of the committee give you a second chance. Reaching out to your regional officer before you turn in your application with genuine questions about campus life or academics will put you ahead of many applicants, as your officer will know who you are and will be pleased that you’ve expressed real interest in the school. An email or face-to-face conversation is also the opportunity to share anything that might help your case that you’ve neglected to put on your application or simply didn’t have space for, such as a compelling life narrative or special hobbies or interests. You and your officer might end up sharing interests, and that can only help your case. </p>
<p>3) There is a set of qualities all admissions officers look for in an applicant, but they don’t always weigh each of these criteria the same way. One guy might value academic achievements like Intel or Siemens more than the next guy, who might be familiar with these competitions but doesn’t see the big deal with them and ends up focusing more on personal qualities. I would wager (but don’t have any empirics to back up) this is why you see a lot of applicants who would have been expected to get in on any normal day – national science fair winners or ridiculously talented artists – get flat-out rejected. The way admissions officers evaluate applicants is not how CC students or parents evaluate them. They get a much wider picture of the student and will often concentrate on qualities that a transcript or even a loaded awards section on the Common App don’t reveal. The best way you can respond to this variability in preferences is to make yourself strong, or at least appear so, on all fronts, whether interpersonal or academic. How to do that is up to you. </p>
<p>4) Applicants with 2400 SAT scores get in about 50% of the time, but from what I’ve noticed of the folks on campus who scored that well, they’re not necessarily stronger than the rest of the students in other areas. A 2400 does seem to have <em>some</em> psychological impact on <em>some</em> admissions officers that tends to get their scorers accepted at a much higher rate than the general applicant pool. I contend this not entirely without basis – my own admissions officer admitted as much. Not much you can do about this, though, and I make this point more just to point out that the admissions process is not infallible, nor is it immune to human biases on any number of fronts. </p>
<p>5) To put it beyond crudely, the average Harvard student is a busybody with boundless energy who puts it to use in at least three areas beyond academics. While not every student conforms to this archetype, show at least that you’re energetic and committed to the things you pursue, which can make up for deficits in tangible achievements in any given area. Use the extracurricular portion of the Common App or either of the essays that Harvard requests to show that you’d fit right in with the culture of go-go-go on campus. </p>
<p>Good luck, all. If you haven’t done all the things above, don’t worry because I’m probably entirely wrong. For the Class of '16 and beyond, caveat emptor.</p>
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<p>Nah, I just thought it’d be interesting for current students to share their personalities more of a way of seeing if they seem like people I could be friends with (more of a fit thing) rather than so I can change my personality to get in. I’ve already applied, after all, and I wouldn’t change my personality for a college!</p>