<p>Does anyone know how Bill Gates got into Harvard? He obviously wasn't a super-genius at the time (or at least not recognized as such). What were his credentials? Did he just get lucky?</p>
<p>colleges were a lot less competitive back then
but I think it's safe to say that he probably had a pretty stellar record, what leads you to believe otherwise?</p>
<p>Bill Gates reportedly got 1590 on his SATs, he was more than lucky.</p>
<p>Bill Gates was smart, I think. And it is not required to be genius to get into Harvard.</p>
<p>Gates IS smart.</p>
<p>Does anyone know more about his story as a high schooler? I think it'd be interesting.</p>
<p>Bill Gates probably got into Harvard because he is very obviously brilliant, had demonstrated a passion for computers (He became fascinated with them at age 13, and was a computer programmer for TRW company in h.s., something very rare back then), and also came from the Pacific NW, a region that Harvard finds it hard to recruit from. He pursued his computer passion by doing things for fun like trying to program a computer to analyze traffic patterns.</p>
<p>He had good grades, good test scores, had starred in 3 school plays, and had served as a page in Congress.</p>
<p>Sounds very much like a Harvard man to me. The things that stand out are the same types of things that stand out in accepted Harvard applicants today: high grades, test scores (published reports say he got a 1590 SAT), a passion in at least one, and usually 2 different intellectual, artistic or service activities.</p>
<p>From an interview with Bill Gates. This provides more info about what he did at Lakeside H.S., where it does seem that he was recognized as a super genius. </p>
<p>"One last thing I wanted to ask you before we talk about the Altair. In addition to having this intense interest in computing, you maintained an interest in business in this early period at Lakeside and actually began a business. Would you talk a little bit about Traf-O-Data and some of the other entrepreneurial activities that you did? </p>
<p>BG: Well, there was the interest in the technology and also the business together. The two sort of went together. When we wanted to get free computer time, you had to have a sense of how you could motivate people to give you free computer time. With C-Cubed, that meant just finding bugs for them. Eventually, DEC made them pay for the machine. But we had been deemed useful enough by them, and although they didn't pay us, they gave us free time. That company went bankrupt. Then we found a company down in Portland, Oregon with the same PDP-10 that let us write a COBOL program, a payroll program, a huge complex payroll program. I learned about labor reports, taxes, and all sorts of mundane things. We called this group the "Lakeside Programming Group." And Paul really got interested in the machine. And Ric Weiland got interested in writing an Editor. So the two younger members of the team ended up doing most of the work on this payroll program. </p>
<p>In fact, they thought there wasn't enough work to go around, so they kicked me off. I said, "Look, if you want me to come back you have to let me be in charge. But this is a dangerous thing, because if you put me in charge this time, I'm going to want to be in charge forever after." Which in high school, when you are two years behind, it was considered a reasonably uppity thing. So, they brought me back in. And we got the payroll program done. We got a lot of free computer time. During all this time we were helping this school with its scheduling. It's kind of a long story, but they got it all screwed up. They used an approach that we had not recommended. And, eventually, they had to turn it over to us. So to be a student and being determining who's in what classes and when they meet. The school paid us pretty well. We actually used the computer time we had to do that. That worked out great. We bought some equipment from a bankrupt computer company, some DEC tapes and made money on that [laughs]. </p>
<p>Traf-O-Data was taking road volume data and converting it into reports where you have actually just a 16-channel paper tape on the side of the road. The pressure sensitive hose that you drive over has a counter in there clicking out a count every five, ten, or fifteen minutes. Those have to be processed for the State Road Departments, to give out money for repairs, and decide how to do traffic lights, etc. Anyway, it was data that needed to be processed. So, we got involved in that. "</p>
<p>It was also in Bill Gates's favor that he went to Lakeside School - the most selective and prestigeous prep school in Seattle. At the time it's tuition was more than twice as much as Harvard's. He also came from a prominent family. His mother was particularly well-connected.</p>
<p>Gates' mom was a school teacher and chairman of the United Way. His dad was an attorney.</p>
<p>While Gates had the good fortune of coming from a wealthy background and being able to go to a top and very expensive prep school, he still was brilliant, had a passion for ECs and was clearly Harvard material. It doesn't look like he got into Harvard because of his parents' wealth or connections even though those things probably did help him get involved with computers at such a young age. Poor people would not have had such opportunities. Perhaps his knowing this is one reason why he gives so much money to education.</p>
<p>I went to a well funded public school in Upstate NY that had a computer back in the late 1960s. This was very rare, and was a very big deal. The guy at my school who was known as being very expert at computers ended up going to MIT where he started what was believed to be the first computer dating service. I don't think that he had as much going for him as Bill Gates did in h.s. since I don't think that the guy from my class starred in school plays, was a Life Scout (was was Bill Gates) or worked for computer companies. Still, he got into MIT.</p>
<p>He went to Lakeside HS in N.Seattle and now lives in Medina just east of Seattle.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure he WAS considered very smart at the time already. He skipped grades, got a 1590 on his SATs, weathy with a well-known father. It's also reported that he has a 160 IQ.</p>
<p>I too have read about the 1590, but remember he's 50 so that 1590 was before recentering which happened around 1996. Prior to recentering (I'm not 100% sure on this but I don't think I'm way off either) only something like 50-100 people worldwide got 1600 in a sitting. So yes he's REALLY smart.</p>
<p>B.Gates = smart guy = shoe-in to Harvard</p>