<p>I will be applying to Harvard with a CS concentration in Fall 2014.</p>
<p>Although I have a true passion for computer science and technology, I don't have any major CS-related awards. I have an internship for this summer, and there is a possibility that I will have research published.</p>
<p>Are there any admitted CS applicants who don't have extensive résumés of "featured in the app store" or "won major computer science competition"? Unfortunately, CS is a very niche concentration, and I fear that my current accomplishments will not be recognized by the admissions committee simply due to their nature (advanced data analysis calculations, etc.)</p>
<p>Harvard does not admit students by concentrations, all applicants apply as liberal arts majors, so your computer science background doesn’t matter at all when you apply. Admissions asks about your intended major to gauge your interests, but they understand that most students change their major at least once during their 4 years of college. So, even if they wanted to, the data is an unreliable indicator of what major a student will eventually graduate with – so the information is not used to admit students. </p>
<p>FWIW: Some students with no little or no CS knowledge have taken CS50, loved it, and ended up being CS concentrators. So, once you get to Harvard, your lack of CS experience doesn’t preclude you from being a CS concentrator.</p>
<p>I understand that the admission process does not take concentrations into account. However, an applicants preferred concentration directly affects his/her extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>For example, a high school student interested in biology would have awards such as: “1st place US Biology Olympiad” and “Intel STS Finalist”. On the other hand, a brilliant CS student would have activities such as “implemented database optimization functions at local hospital”.</p>
<p>Obviously the biology applicant’s accomplishments seem more important—even if the CS student spent significantly more time/effort on his/her project.</p>
<p>Does the admission process take into consideration the inherent differences between concentrations?</p>
<p>Brilliance, accomplishments and awards (whatever the area) are not enough to gain admission. Harvard looks for students – and this is a direct quote from William Fitzsimmons – who make others around them better. For example, these students are very brilliant and accomplished, but what makes them stand out from the crowd is their compassion for others. That’s something each of them probably had in high school and came through on their college applications: <a href=“Most Impressive Harvard Students”>Most Impressive Harvard Students;
<p>“Are there any admitted CS applicants who don’t have extensive résumés of “featured in the app store” or “won major computer science competition”?” Yes.</p>