how can i get into harvard?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>im always asking my brother about this stuff and he get annoyed so he made me post so i could find out for myself</p>

<p>he got rejected for 09...so i really don't want that to happen to me</p>

<p>so what do i need to do? im currently in 8th grade...entering 9th next year</p>

<p>my bro says that by the time i apply they'll probably be getting 50,000+ apps. how true is that? what do i need to set myself apart? </p>

<p>everyone thought my brother was great, but he still got canned.</p>

<p>he says i should visit and talk with the professors and get them interested in me, is this advisable? how can i do it? can i just show up in their office? </p>

<p>what intrument should i play? </p>

<p>im not that good at sports but i can try...what should i play? </p>

<p>is it better to go to a crappy high school and "manage to succeed" or is it better to go somewhere good? </p>

<p>how many hours of community service do i need? </p>

<p>should i start getting in contact with the admisssions office? </p>

<p>what level of math should i have? science?</p>

<p>is it good to do research? </p>

<p>should i try to get published in a sciene jounal? </p>

<p>how many community college classes should i take? ap tests?</p>

<p>what leadership positions should i have? are clubs enough? or do i need student body president? something bigger? i hear its good to work for the city mayor especially if ur in a big city (i am)</p>

<p>whats the SAT cutoff? </p>

<p>is playing in a rock band a "hook"?</p>

<p>how good is it to be 1/8 native american?</p>

<p>what is a good topic for the essays? does it need to be personal? how much will it hurt me if its not too creative (im a math/science person)</p>

<p>WILL it hurt that im a math/science person? </p>

<p>should i paint to make myself look artistic? </p>

<p>is ice skating a hook? what about marathon-running? </p>

<p>thanks! :)</p>

2

<p>50,000 apps is quite a stretch. The reason why there was a record number this year was because the graduating high school class is of record size -- we're "echo boomers," the children of the baby boom in the 1940s and 1950s. The number of high-school grads is to inflate slightly for a few years and then go down again, so I wouldn't expect too many more apps for your graduation year than for the current one.</p>

<p>To be honest, some of your questions are quite ridiculous. Harvard is not the end-all, be-all of undergraduate education. You do not need Harvard to be successful or happy; it may help, but it is by no means vital. Do not decide what to do -- e.g. what sports or instruments you play, what clubs you join -- based on what you think will get you into Harvard. Instead, take challenging classes and pursue what interests you. I think the Harvard admissions office would appreciate that much more than an application that is clearly fabricated in terms of your sincerity in your work -- and believe me, they will be able to tell.</p>

<p>Where is your brother going to college? If he was serious about applying to Harvard, then his other choices and safeties must be excellent schools as well. Would it be so horrible to go to one of the schools he did get into?</p>

3

<p>I agree with Kelly 100% on this one.</p>

<p>Your questions scare me, holocenecool. You're focusing too much on what you think the school wants; I think the admissions committee will be able to intuit that you're padding your application. What they want to see and what YOU think they want to see may be two very different things; in fact, based on those questions, I'd say they are. Do what you love. You're in ninth grade! If you don't know what it is you are passionate about, then of course, experiment, try things out and see how they work for you. But don't do that because you think you should; rather, do it because it's what you want to do. Once you get a better sense of what you want, you can focus on that activity or interest. But please, please, please don't do things for the sake of getting into college. That's a bad approach to any situation. </p>

<p>Talking to professors who share the same interest is good, not so much because it'll give you an "edge" in the admissions game, but because those profs might open you up to opportunities that you may not have otherwise encountered. Do it for a love of learning. If you have no love of learning, I'm not sure Harvard's where you'll want to be. (I think it's still too early for you to know where you want to be, anyway.) </p>

<p>Best of luck. Much success in the coming years. ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL, would you?</p>

4

<p>i think your both wrong because my bother (going to cornell) and all his friends showed a lot of passion for learning and all had 1550+, great recs and all that good stuff. ONE made it. one who is like a replica of my brother. there MUST be a magic formula that takes into account little insignificant details. i wish they would release it...</p>

<p>about enjoying high school, i will but i don't see why i can't be thinking about this stuff too. its really cool and exciting to think about me thinks. </p>

<p>and about harvard being some sort of heaven. im sorry, but that's what i was brought up to believe. plus, most people in the world think the same thing. </p>

<p>any answers to my questions? im mostly curious about what will increase my chances the most. im told its athletics, but people will think of me as stupid if i become a jock. so is it better to battle it out with the smart kids? or be smart/semi-smart/dumb athlete? i consider myself to be semi-smart....</p>

5

<p>Instead of attempting to get into college maybe you should just do the things you like and forget about pleasing some Harvard addmsions people. If you just want to go to Harvard for the "prestige" just forget it. It's not worth your time</p>

6

<p>Try repenting your sins at the local Harvard Alumni Association and pray daily to St. William.</p>

7

<p>to holocenecool: sorry to burst your bubble man but there's definitely no magic formula. Think about it, nearly 23,000 applicants applied this year and they only accepted a little over 2000. I can guarantee you that you can always find someone who was accepted that have very, very similar stats to another who was rejected. The fact remains that there will always be an element of chance in college admissions. Plus, the adcom committee looks for different things in different years. Something that might give you an edge this year might be commonplace in applicants next year. </p>

<p>Here's some advise: Work hard and if you want to apply for Harvard, by all means do so. And good luck. But remember, enjoy high school too. Don't become over obsessed with college because you'll just be wasting 4 years of your life. Go out and find something you feel passionate about and dedicate yourself to it- it may just be what gets you into Harvard.</p>

8

<p>How to for sure gain admission to Harvard:</p>

<p>2390 SAT (not quite perfect), 36 ACT, both parents legacies who have donated $200,000,000 apiece, Intel Science winner, Olympic athlete, world-class writer, musician, and artist, president of every club and organization within 50 miles, be directly related to the founder of Harvard.
Oh, and by the way, cure cancer.</p>

<p>Seriously though, there is absolutely nothing that will guarantee admission to Harvard (or any Ivy, for that matter). My best suggestion would be to do what you love doing, and let that passion come through in your app. We had a kid at our school--which rarely, if ever, sends anyone to a Top 20 school--who got into Harvard last year, but due to lack of financial aid (he was still a Romanian citizen and his family had no money) could not attend. He had roughly my grades, test scores, and EC's and got in--I didn't. I was accepted at Dartmouth (and never looked back), but I'm sure many more qualified than me were not. </p>

<p>The bottom line--not getting into/attending Harvard does not mean you'll be working as a janitor the rest of your life. I would strongly advise you to investigate other schools, because college is more than just the prestige of a name. In fact, when I tell people where I'll soon be attending college, they either have never heard of it or ask me where it is. You may find the school you love is Harvard, but it probably won't be, and remember, the odds are you won't get in anyway.</p>

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<p>@HH05: who the heck is St. William?</p>

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<p>thank you, ChrisCuber!</p>

<p>i know you were being sarcastic but i like to think that im a pretty determined person, so i could definetly get the scores, intel, writing awards, president of things and stuff like that. </p>

<p>any other pieces of wisdom? :)</p>

<p>please don't just reply by saying that i scare you.....i get enough of that from friends and family, heh =D</p>

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<p>Really you need to dare to be yourself. That, more than anything else, would make you stand out from the great mass of applicants to Harvard. Current word on the street is that high school class of 2010 (people applying for Harvard College class of 2014) will have the highest numbers, based on who has already been born, but I would actually expect the number of applications to continue (slowly) increasing for a while after that, as more international students apply to Harvard. There's nothing you can do about how the other applicants look to the admissions committees--all you can do is be yourself.</p>

12

<p>holocencol, you are so darn cute. if i could, i'd pinch your cheeks.</p>

13

<p>I must say that I wasn't thinking about this in 8th grade.</p>

<p>Have your parents donate a library. You'll get in.</p>

14

<p>Wow, eigth grade. But I really shouldn't talk because I'm a only a year older (freshman) and I'm here too.</p>

15

<p>honolocenecool, </p>

<p>you are just in 8th grade. I mean get a life! Harvard never accepts student who show overly obsession to their school. I dont know what will happen to you if you get rejected.</p>

<p>Not to let you down or anything, but I now exactly how you feel. I was just like you. This year i completed 2000 hours of com serv, took 8 Aps, managed to get greats ecas (see my thread in "my chances" board). Not to brag or anything, but now that i think of it, i ruined three of my hs years for some colege admsiions and i totally regret it. I spent hundreds of dollars over college admission supplies and everything. But do you know how i think now? I say-- screw it. If they reject me thats their problem. You should run your life the way you want to, not based on the criteria of college admissions. I am pretty sure that not getting into Harvard will not kill you.</p>

<p>With that said, I can tell some killer advises that got people into Harvard even with average grades:
1.) Write a KILLER personal essay, one that make the adcom remember you.
2.) Make sure your rec letters are AWESOME. I mean this seriously. If your teacher says "X is the best student i have met in the N number of years of teaching," you can assume that you have a better chance.
3.) Have Good Leadership Positions in all your clubs/organisations and show some passion over it.
4.)If you are going to community service, show ALOT of committment. A few hundred hours is always impressive.
5.) Of course have decent academics.
6.) Research can be helpful, but not to a big extent.
7.) Having contact with an adcom will not help you at all.
8.) If you do something AMAZING that make you stand out from the other applicants, then that is a hook. A rock band is definitely not a hook.</p>

<p>Hope this helps, and remember about what I have said about admission to top schools. Good luck!</p>

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<p>what colleges look for isnt just what u do, thats just part of it, but also how much passion/time you put into it. a lot of this is reflected on the hrs/week part of the application and through your essays. ur essays WILL convey whether you truly love what you do or if you do it for college admissions. just do what you love. if you do what you love and not for college, itll take you much farther, even perhaps a harvard acceptance</p>

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<p>
[quote]
@HH05: who the heck is St. William?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The Director of Admissions.</p>

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<p>holocenecool, first of all it is great that you are so ambitious. I am ambitious as well, and I also do a freakish number of things. I know that with that kind of drive, you will do really well in life. That said (and I know this isn't the type of reply you are looking for), planning your life around Harvard is not only fruitless, but fairly ignorant as well. For instance, you ask what type of instrument you should play. Music should move you! It should be an enjoyable outlet where you play an instrument that you truly love. Harvard is not going to turn down a pianist just because they would rather have a violinist. I hate to repeat earlier posts, but it appears that they haven't gotten through to you. Do not live your life as if it were a college application! Again, college is often foremost on my mind as well. Everyone tells me that I do way too much just like people seem to tell you too. I am telling you this so that you understand that I'm not trying to tell you to be a slacker. The difference is that I am doing things that I love (or am at least interested in). I really think that if you pursue your own unique interests not only will you have a much more enjoyable four years of high school, but Harvard will see that you aren't just padding your application. Schools like Harvard are looking for genuine, unique, motivated individuals. There is NO magic formula! On another note, I see that you wrote that you were raised as if Harvard was heaven. I can see how this would easily rub off on you, but do you really know if Harvard is a good fit for you? Especially when you're in the eighth grade? I think that you really need to look into some other excellent schools (yes, there are other schools). While Harvard is undeniably excellent for some people, it poses many, many disadvantages for others. Not going to Harvard will not doom you for life. Other schools offer the same advantages with similar grad school placement rates and success stories. And these are schools that are free of the TAs found at Harvard. Again, best of luck (I know you will do great!), but please take a moment to reexamine your priorites.</p>

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<p>there is never a set formula. and no matter how achieved you are, you can't be sure of getting into hyp.</p>

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<p>donate a million dollars.</p>