<p>"I remember counting since the new year the days...it's been about 12 weeks since then, and, you know, I think I've finally come to the conclusion in my mind that whatever happens on Thursday will be the best thing for me and the best thing for the world. Guys, what it comes down to is not the numbers. Screw the stats, the essays, the interview, the recs. IT DOESN'T MATTER. What matters now is the integrity of each and every person who applied to Harvard '11, and what's going to separate the men from the boys, the women from the ladies, is if that integrity shown through in you the last 17 or 18 years of your life. And for your sake, I hope to God it did."</p>
<p>Are you posting this in agreement or disagreement of my statement?</p>
<p>I accidentally pressed "Send" too early. Here is what I was going to write:</p>
<p>Admission to Harvard does not determine integrity. Yes, you have to have outstanding personal qualities along with qualifications and extracurricular achievements and integrity to have a chance of getting into Harvard. But, Harvard has to turn down thousands and thousands of candidates with integrity.</p>
<p>If you do not get into Harvard, or another first-choice school, do not equate it to self worth. The fact that you even applied to Harvard says something outstanding about the past 15-18 years of your life.</p>
<p>Many admissions officers say that they could admit several totally different classes with their applicant pools that would all do amazing things. For 90% of the applicants to Harvard, the difference between a decision to admit, waitlist, or deny is often extremely small and out of the applicant's control. To be even contending for a spot is an accomplishment in itself.</p>
<p>In essence, yes, Thursday will seem like a pretty intense judgement of your life so far, but realize that it's a very human process, and that your admissions officer probably fell in love with you, no matter what news Dean Fitzsimmons will bring you. It's a tough process, and things outside of your control are scrutinized to the bone in order to narrow down 23K to just above 2K.</p>
<p>If you get in, it's a compliment, if you get waitlisted, it's a compliment, and if you are denied, it's still a compliment from Harvard. Unfortunately, the latter two decisions are sometimes coated in disappointment, depending on the applicant.</p>
<p>Thefish:</p>
<p>I do see what you're saying. Do you believe in God? Because SOMETHING determines what happens at Byerly, and a lot of people say that thing is a crapshoot. Crapshoot implies luck, and luck implies divine intervention. </p>
<p>I do not believe I said a rejection from Harvard means you do not possess integrity. But an acceptance means you do.</p>
<p>Jeez, it's just Harvard. Divine intervention? Believing in God? This is college admissions. Get some perspective.</p>
<p>Harvard is just a SCHOOL. It's a place that sells an education. Most people think it's a good one, but that's the extent of it. Stop trying to assign a deeper meaning to a Harvard acceptance.</p>
<p>Okay, fine. I'll take it out of the RD thread. Perhaps you're right, I'm not really sure. Except...now it won't let me.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The admissions committees now meet at 86 Brattle Street, not at Byerly.</p></li>
<li><p>It may be hard for you to believe, but there are actually people in there, some of whom who went to Harvard, but all of whom are grounded, respectable, and interested in the prosperity of Harvard College. They are looking for people who have accomplished a lot in the past and who want to use Harvard to accomplish even better things in the future. There's nothing divine about this process. It's a bunch of adults who know what the story is trying to differentiate between bushels of extremely qualified high school students to see which ones will make the most out of the Harvard experience and who are the best matches for Harvard.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You people scare me.</p>
<p>"There's nothing divine about this process."</p>
<p>Okay, it's not like I'm a God-fearing all-out religious disciple. I actually never go to church. I'm just a guy who believes there's a LITTLE more to it than "who gets in and who doesn't." That's all.</p>
<p>Beyond your merits and personal qualities and everything, what you really need more than anything else is luck.</p>
<p>thebillsfan, you missed my point. I think you're far too starry-eyed about Harvard admissions. It's just a degree; admissions is a business. People like you have just drunk the Kool-Aid for far too long/been swept away by the marketing.</p>
<p>agreed. it is a business. the only thing isn't businesslike is that the people that make the decisions are human, and they probably fall in love with everyone from their region. that's why it gets personal and selective.</p>
<p>"I do not believe I said a rejection from Harvard means you do not possess integrity. But an acceptance means you do."</p>
<p>uh huh. what about blair hornstine and our good friend kaavya viswanathan?</p>
<p>your harvard decision says nothing about your integrity, regardless of whether you get in or not.</p>
<p>I like what was said about self-worth above -- that is, that a rejection from Harvard does NOT equate to "not good enough" or "doesn't make the cut". It's not so much that they're setting bars as that they're assembling a puzzle. You may be a great piece -- but you may just belong to a different puzzle, it all.</p>
<p>I was rejected from Harvard last year and learned more about myself and what I was worth than I probably would have if I were accepted. I'm trying again on transfer with refreshed insight -- whatever happens, happens. A lot is skill, a lot is being in the right place at the right time. Luck. God. Whatever it is, it just happens, and I don't think it can really be tacked up to anything except the decisions of the men and women on 86 Brattle.</p>
<p>wait...so 86 brattle isn't the address of byerly hall?</p>
<p>^Lol the address of Byerly Hall would, in fact, be Byerly Hall. Harvard's admissions office has moved to 86 Brattle.</p>
<p>"agreed. it is a business. the only thing isn't businesslike is that the people that make the decisions are human, and they probably fall in love with everyone from their region. that's why it gets personal and selective."-fishofsorts</p>
<p>What does that even mean? Are you implying that business isn't done by humans?
I think what you were trying to say was that they allow personal biases to dictate their decisions. But you must realize that this, too, falls under the category of their ''businesslike'' agendas. So if Harvard admits a student with relatively low test scores/grades, it is probably based on their human intuition that the selected student, despite his or her weaker credentials, will be more successful in the future and accomplish bigger and better things -- ultimately bringing more fame and contributing larger donations to the school down the road. As it was stated in a Crimson article, Harvard AO's are not MVP selectors but instead talent scouts. They are scouting talent that will, above all else, advance Harvard as a ''business."</p>
<p>
[quote]
I do not believe I said a rejection from Harvard means you do not possess integrity. But an acceptance means you do.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I severely disagree with this statement. Integrity is not something that can be summarized in a few pieces of paper - you may know someone for 3 years, and you may still not know the extent of their integrity. Moreover, even if you do think someone possesses integrity now, would they still in the future?</p>
<p>Case in point: Harvard student Kaavya Viswanathan.</p>
<p>She was accepted into Harvard (no doubt she would possess integrity, in your definition). Did she continue that "integrity" in the long run?</p>
<p>Give thebillsfan a break. To me, trying to discover how the college admissions process works is like trying to discover the order of the universe -- chance or fate. So, if anyone truly thinks that they have the system pegged, please tell me.</p>
<p>to telletube --</p>
<p>I am aware that scores and numerical qualifications don't make the man. Harvard is looking for people who, from a variety of different sources, have a ton of talent and ambition, and seem like they will be successful in the future. That's the business of college admissions. They are looking for students who will engage in a positive symbiotic relationship with the school, and use what they learned from that relationship to do good things in the future. I wasn't implying that it's very business seeming in terms of the admissions officers relying mostly on quantitative data to make decisions, because obviously they couldn't do that.</p>