<p>If the only Ivy I'm applying to is Harvard, is that worth mentioning, at least briefly, in my essay? I know many students apply to all HYPSM (and yes, I know the last two aren't true Ivy League) to increase their chances of getting into a brand-name school. But the reason I want to go to Harvard is that through my research, I've found a unique aspect of Harvard that appeals to me and which the other YPSM schools don't have. I'm definitely going to mention it in my essays, but I'm wondering if I should also mention something about not applying to the other top-tier Ivies to distinguish myself from the students who apply to all of them. </p>
<p>I think if you emphasize the reasons why you are applying specifically to Harvard that should be good enough. You don’t have to beat it into their heads! that you are only applying there. </p>
<p>It makes absolutely no difference to them what you say you are doing and even if it did, how would they know if you didn’t do as you said? With an 82% yield, Harvard knows that people want them more than any other college in the country, they don’t need to hear it spelled out.</p>
<p>That’d be a bad strategy. Are you saying H’s research opp is solely unique among all top schools? That not a single peer institution has anything remotely similar? And because of this, you write them off? </p>
<p>I’d be skeptical of your research and strategy. H knows it’s a unique brand – but it’s not unique in what it offers students. They are keenly aware that there are many other institutions that offer same or even better experiences than they do. That you’ve found the magical golden egg secreted only at Cambridge stretches the imagination, IMHO.</p>
<p>@T26E4 I didn’t say anything about harvard’s research opportunities. I meant that I had done some research and I have talked with some people who are involved in a certain part of Harvard which I haven’t seen anywhere else. I’ve also been involved in it to a certain extent. </p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. I think I won’t mention it in my essays then. </p>
<p>All the more reason to not highlight your Harvard-only approach. The fact is you may not know what other peer colleges offer whereas H admissions officers know they share many similar experiences with many other colleges.</p>
<p>What if you say for example: “I’m applying to H because of its incredible House system and how it engenders great loyalty and camaraderie – like nowhere else.”</p>
<p>Then the H reader would think “Hmmm. This kid never heard of Yale. Right…”</p>
<p>Yes, Harvard does share many experiences and opportunities with other universities and colleges, not just the ones in the Ivy League system. I suppose I’m just the slightest bit biased because I was talking to a Harvard graduate who participated extensively in it, and it’s something that I’m deeply interested in. From the research I’ve done, I can’t find a college that offers a similar opportunity, but obviously I wasn’t able to research every existing institution out there. Thank you for your input! :)</p>
<p>
Harvard does NOT consider an applicant’s interest as part of their admissions criteria, meaning that you could enumerate your reasons why Harvard would be a better ft for you than say Stanford or Williams or Pomona, but it WILL NOT effect Harvard’s decision to admit or reject you. All colleges know students are applying elsewhere – that’s just a fact of life, so I would NOT mention it in your essay as it’s unnecessary and extraneous information. </p>
<p>Your interviewer may ask what other colleges you are applying to. This happened to my son at his Dartmouth interview. When the interviewer heard he was also applying to HYP, he said “Well, let me tell you why you should go to Dartmouth over those other schools” – which I thought was a great way of turning what might have been an awkward question into a positive experience about the college. Everyone who applies to Harvard has their own personal reason for wanting to attend, so IMHO it’s really a waste to let them know where else your are applying in your essay.</p>
<p>Thanks @gibby ! How do I know which schools do keep track of demonstrated interest? </p>
<p>If the college publishes a Common Data Set, it should be there. For example, see C7 data points on Harvard’s CDS: <a href=“http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2011-2012.pdf”>http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2011-2012.pdf</a></p>
<p>Wow–that list is incredibly helpful! Thank you very much! </p>
<p>The OP of this thread doesn’t need it any more, but I urge students reading this to take a deep breath and to think for a moment:</p>
<p>How would it look to Harvard if you said it was the only place you were applying? It would look pretty silly, wouldn’t it? The people at Harvard would have good reason to think you were not serious about going to college, and were not someone who researched and planned carefully.</p>
<p>What if you said that Harvard was the only highly selective college to which you were applying? It wouldn’t look quite as frivolous, but it would still look like you had no realistic plan for attending a highly selective college, and weren’t serious about going to one. If you want that kind of education, you ought to be applying to at least a few of Harvard’s closest competitors. If you aren’t, then talking about it is only going to make you look like you would be out of your league at Harvard.</p>
<p>@JHS actually, I am applying to some highly selective colleges and programs, but they’re not Ivy League. I guess I just wanted to dispel any suspicions that I might be “that kid” who applies to all the Ivies. </p>
<p>I don’t have any data to back this up, but I think it’s a rare occurrence that a student applies to all 8 ivies. If students do their due diligence, they will see, for example, that Brown is a very different college than Columbia, and a student that likes the open curriculum at Brown might be unhappy with Columbia’s rigid core, and that there would be better, more appropriate choices for that kind of student.</p>
<p>@gibby - I agree it’s irrational but I’m afraid it isn’t all that rare. Based on “chance” threads I’ve seen, many CCers are just chasing the Ivy “brand”. Of course Columbia and Chicago makes more sense than Columbia and Brown, but Chicago isn’t in the magic sports conference.</p>
<p>Think about what message you’re intending to convey, and whether it means anything good, or anything at all. With the obvious qualification that I’m not a Harvard admissions officer, the way I’d react:</p>
<p>“I’m not applying to any college other than Harvard.” - You’re probably lying, and if not you’re a weirdly starry-eyed romantic who needs to get practical.</p>
<p>“I’m not applying to any of the other seven Ivy League schools (but I am applying to Stanford and Williams and Amherst and Duke)” - Uh, okay. Why do I care? (Incidentally, I’d understand the sentence to mean the same thing with or without the parenthetical, even if my understanding would be less specific as to exact college names).</p>
<p>“I’m not applying to ALL of the eight Ivy League schools.” - What made you think I would assume you were?</p>
<p>Like one of the posters above mentioned, it’s not rare to see many students on CC applying to all the ivies. I also go to a very competitive high school where the students who apply to Harvard also apply to the other Ivy League schools too. </p>
<p>I think your thought process is correct and I would encourage you, knowing that your “not applying to …” sentences would not survive your final cut anyway (because they are not positive statements propelling YOU forward and thus are wasting your precious word-count to no benefit). Your point is that you ARE applying to Harvard because of their “unique program, what it stands for, and your ability to make a contribution to it for the following reasons/in the following ways…” The rest will end up on the cutting-room floor in the final moments before submission. You know they will. I think your approach of getting down to the specifics of your “fit” with the school is spot-on!</p>
<p>Hahaha @ItsJustSchool That probably will happen anyway, considering that I have a tendency to write well over the word limit. </p>
<p>That’s definitely a good call. You sound like a bright and enthusiastic student, you probably have so much going for you that the space spent emphasizing that you are only applying to Harvard could be better spent on talking about why you are a great student. Harvard already knows that it’s insanely prestigious anyway; they’re not reading the essay to hear about that, they are reading it for you.</p>