<p>After reading many of the threads here, I have come to the conclusion that acceptance at Harvard is basically a crap shoot. It seems there are equal amounts of people who get accepted with 2400's as there are 2100's or even under! It seems like admission is almost totally random. I'm guessing that the best way to get in is to not only have great SAT and grades, but match them with strong essays/recs/etc. Anyone have any better insight into admissions? What can they even base a denial on for people with a 2400, 4.5 GPA, other rediculous stats?</p>
<p>ur correct dude.</p>
<p>harvard is basically a crap shoot</p>
<p>there's this nebulous category called "personal qualities" that Harvard puts a lot of emphasis into, which is evaluated through teacher recs, essays, interviews, etc. If you watch the 8 part lecture series posted somewhere else on the Harvard forum, you'll see Dean Fitz talk about this category.</p>
<p>I tried watching it and my computer wouldn't let me.</p>
<p>Yeah, it's TOTALLY a crap shoot. AMIRITE?.</p>
<p>Anyone have a link to that video?</p>
<p>Haha, looks like that video series is a goldmine.</p>
<p>I posted it in the thread "Admissions Decisions: How do they do it?", but I'll quote it here:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Dean himself in an 8-part video series on how admissions works:</p>
<p>Go to <a href="http://www.nshss.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.nshss.org/</a> and scroll to the bottom, you'll see it (it'll open a pop-up).</p>
<p>According to him, seems like it would help if you're wikid smat :rolleyes:
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's a shame that you just now realized this.</p>
<p>after basic stats i'm just gonna say it's all in the essays. They make u stand out unless u have some major hook.</p>
<p>do interviews really matter much? i mean, in order to confirm personal qualities, etc.</p>
<p>It's not a complete crapshoot. If you have the stats, ecs, and "personal qualities" for harvard, you have a strong chance at admission. last summer, I told my friend he was going to harvard. and sure enough, he got admitted EA and now plans to go.</p>
<p>well, i'm guessing there are the kids that are definitely in and the kids that are definitely rejected.</p>
<p>but there are a whole lot of us in between. picking in the middle group has got to be somewhat a crapshoot, if only because almost everyone is equally qualified at that point.</p>
<p>That's definitely true. If you look through the EA thread this year or past decision threads you'll find that the people who really stand ended up being accepted. The people in between seem to be chosen at random almost.</p>
<p>Not automatically accepting the highest SAT scorers does NOT make admissions a crapshoot....</p>
<p>true, but at least there is some measure of randomness in the process. at least i hope so, anyway, because i'm probably in that "middle" group.</p>
<p>Admission at top colleges is indeed a crap shoot, but only to a limited extent; Just because us applicants don't fully understand the reasoning behind the decisions doesn't mean they're actually arbitrary.</p>
<p>Yes it does.</p>
<p>No, it does not. Just as you pointed out earlier, GuitarMan, we often think of admissions to places like Harvard as a crapshoot because we see applicants with outstanding stats getting deferred or even rejected. Many simply tend to forget the importance of standing out as unique.</p>
<p>Yay for unique people! I think that Harvard also wants a diverse class in terms of interests and talents. Harvard wouldn't be Harvard if everyone there was a study-holic who plays soccer, volleyball, and the violin.</p>
<p>Oh dear g-d how I hate violinists...
I'm sure the adcoms are pretty sick of them, too.</p>
<p>You hate me? But...I made you a friendship bracelet...</p>