Interested in Harvard, But...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hi everybody!

So I’m quite interested in Harvard, and have been reading the posts on here for a while. Also, I’ve looked on the Harvard admissions website.
One big thing they’re looking for is for people who are very devoted and show excellence in certain areas or subjects. However, even though I do quite well in school, I can’t seem to find an interest of mine. For example, I have friends who know their passions and work towards that before going into high school (like literature or engineering). Except I don’t feel any pull towards any particular subject or thing, even though I have tried many things.
So the idea of pursuing a passion is really hard for me, since I really have no idea what I really like. I do DISLIKE courses, but I usually just feel quite neutral about other courses. Yet this is something that many schools look for in their students.

For people who are admitted to Harvard (or anyone else), are any of you like me?

Based on what I read so far, it seems like the chances of me getting into any top school is quite low. It seems like passion and deep interest is valued quite highly.

Thank you for reading!

2

I think your perception is correct, though I’m sure there are exceptions. All the students I know of who got into places like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT had a passion and/or unusually high level of achievement in at least one area, sometimes more. Not everyone discovers his or her passion “in time” for college admissions—and that’s perfectly fine. If your goal is to go to HYPSM, you may not have much of a chance without national or international recognition in some area, though you could get lucky. However, if your goal is to go to a top school and you broaden your focus beyond this group—particularly if you include top small, liberal arts colleges—you may do just fine. I’d recommend looking at a much broader array of schools—maybe the top 50 or so. My son got into the top schools, but his initial list included a good selection of much less competitive, yet still excellent, colleges. After visiting them and learning more about them, he became genuinely excited about the prospect of attending them and would have been happy to do so if he hadn’t gotten into his tippy-top choices. A couple of these less-than-tippy-top schools in particular sounded really terrific, and I really think he would have been just as happy at either of them as at wherever he ultimately decides to go. Don’t worry about not having found your passion yet—just try lots of different things, work hard, and really take a closer look at many more schools.

3

You are at least realistic about yourself, and that is refreshing. I advise kids to pursue what interests them even if itis outside of school, or take an interest to the next level. But most importantly, remember that going to a college that fits you, not the other way around is where you will thrive best. There is more than the ivy league in this country that provide excellent educations and opportunities. Don’t stop aiming high, but don’t sell yourself, and other schools short either.

4

I agree with @Planner in a lot of ways, including the idea that not everyone finds his or her passion in time for college applications. In fact, there’s a good NY Times blog posting on that very topic today:
“Our Push for Passion and Why It Harms Kids”
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/our-push-for-passion-and-why-it-harms-kids/?emc=edit_tnt_20150408&nlid=26313197&tntemail0=y&_r=0

What really makes highly selective college admissions so crazy is that it is essentially a measure of how focused and accomplished kids can be from the ages of 14 to 17.

But I do disagree a bit that you have to be somehow nationally or internationally accomplished to get into these schools. Of course that helps, but what it comes down to is an honest evaluation of yourself - with Harvard accepting 5.9% of its applicants, but only 2.88% during Regular Decision, you have to be in the top 3 % of the applicant pool to have a realistic chance.

Are you in the top 2 or 3 % of applicants in your school? If so, good. Now, are you among the top 2-3% in your region? Yes? Then keep going - are you among the top 2 or 3% of all students in your state? If so, then ask yourself, are you in the top 2 or 3% of all college-bound students in the country (not to mention all the great full-paying international applicants)? If you are, then you have a chance at getting into Harvard.

5

I’ve been accepted but I’m in the same position as you. I don’t really have a passion or know how I got accepted at all, but I know I’m interested in business. Unfortunately, Harvard doesn’t have an undergraduate business program which would make Economics the next closest thing. The only thing is that I’ve sat in on college economics classes and hated them. The fact that I would have to pay full tuition for a concentration I’m not interested in sucks so I will probably be choosing my much cheaper highly-ranked, in-state business school. I’m looking at Harvard as an option for Graduate school once I’m more sure about what I want to do.

6

Sometimes “passions” sneak up on you. When my older son started at Harvard, he wasn’t so sure just what his “passion” was. He was good at many things. Mostly, he just wanted to go to a great school, learn lots of good stuff, and have a decent career. In this era, that seems to be a receding hope for many. He started out in one thing, but wound up in something different. One might even call it his “passion.”

But he didn’t see it as a high school senior. Neither did I, his father. In retrospect, it was obvious what it was, and anyone with a fair bit of distance could see it, including the admissions committee at Harvard. But, up close, it was obscured by other considerations.

There is a poster here who was accepted early action, who believes that he gained admission by scheming and conniving, and more or less, by fooling the admissions committee into thinking he had a “passion” even though he didn’t feel that he did. He told us about his crowning achievement - an extracurricular - that he thought really pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. He had no “passion,” he thought. He only pretended to have one. And that got him in, he thought.

But then, he told us, he was so involved in this activity that he was going to take a gap year before starting Harvard - his dream school since childhood - so that he could pursue this activity. I think even he realized that he hadn’t fooled Harvard, after all. They saw what he did not see, they saw his “passion.”

@sonnet18, don’t worry so much about your “passion.” Do your best with all your subjects, be the best you can be in all things in which you endeavor. As far as it translates to concentrations, the majority of Harvard students change their concentration at least once during their undergraduate careers. Obviously, many enter Harvard thinking their “passion” is one thing, and it turns out to be another. I think the drive for “passions” is misplaced. That isn’t what these schools are looking for. A “passion” can be a sign for the thing for which Harvard is looking, but it is not the thing, itself, which may show itself in a variety of ways.

7

Thank you for your replies!

I do agree that there are many very wonderful universities out there, and that it isn’t all about Ivy League schools. But I think it’s good to aim high and perhaps give myself more choices.
My grades won’t be a problem for me, but my lack of interest in things makes it hard to express the whole “leadership” aspect that is vital to any university, really. Loads of extracurriculars, leadership roles, and jobs for example.
I mean, how do I participate in extracurricular activities that I have no interest in? Although I do really want to go to a prestigious university, I feel as though I should pursue something I enjoy, and not just for the sake of a resume or application. And I am members of clubs and such, but not contributing in any large way.

@top10grad2019, what extracurricular activities did you do in high school? I’m sure you excelled (awards and grades), but what do you think made you stand out? Thank you for replying! :wink:

@notjoe, thank you for your insightful reply! I do appreciate all the advice.

8

When colleges say they are interested in leaders, many students assume they are looking for captains of athletic teams, or presidents of student councils, or editors of newspapers, or captains of the debate team, etc. But more often than not, as colleges are academic institutions, and not extra curricular camps, they are looking for leaders in the classroom. They are looking for students who not only contribute to the classroom conversation, but dynamically lead the discussion. They are looking for students who constantly raise their hands and have thoughtful opinions. They are looking for students who are respected and admired by their peers and teachers alike. They are looking for remarkable scholars who will be remembered for years to come after they graduate. **Colleges are looking for your teachers to confirm your leadership qualities in their recommendation letters with concrete examples. **So, it’s NOT about leadership in EC’s, it’s leadership in the classroom that counts!

You don’t. You participate in what you like to do. If that’s a job, then your JOB is your extracurricular activity. Colleges don’t want couch potatoes, they want students who have the energy and drive to do something once classes are finished for the day. So, it really doesn’t matter what you do. Here’s what Harvard says about EC’s:

9

@sonnet18 , you might find this Stanford’s discussion on student “passions” refreshing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYhTylqC9o

10

There are so many ways to be passionate and demonstrate leadership that have nothing to do with school at all.

Part of my daughter’s “package” was a 10-year commitment to the Girl Scouts. Over the years, she was a top cookie seller, a bronze-, silver-, and gold-award winner, a program aid, a camp counselor-in-training, and, when she applied to colleges, she had a contract to be a full-fledged camp counselor the following summer.

There was nothing academic about any of that, and nothing that suggests a direct path to a career. But it’s hard to imagine Harvard didn’t consider it a plus. Her interviewer certainly thought so.

11

@arwarw, thank you for showing me this link. It is quite enlightening!

12

So I know many people who have gone to very prestigious schools (Princeton, Harvard, etc), but they always seem to have something they are very good at and very interested in. They work towards that one thing and usually have amazing results (winning national/regional awards in math, national science fairs), which is very astounding and very clearly demonstrates that they are rather extraordinary students.
For someone who lacks that quality, it makes it seem like I don’t have any good reason to be accepted into any of the good schools because I honestly don’t stand out. I find that this is probably the factor that would result in rejections from top schools.

It seems as though I just do well academically, because that is just how I am. I have done other activities out of school (music, dance, math contests), but not really excelling or having much interest in them.

There are many other things I enjoy, like history, for example. But there isn’t much I can go with that… I’m a dilettante.

Or maybe I should just demonstrate my awesomeness with my personality.

Haha.