The Comprehensive Guide Towards College Admission

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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Hello all, most of those who visited this forum are aspiring high-school students who wishes to know more about the college admission process. To this end, I, as a fellow senior who applied to college, would like to write a comprehensive guide towards helping to provide knowledge and information for these students. Most of the information presented on this post will come from my experience and research, GC’s information, friends, and of course the invaluable insight from individuals like compmom, Gibby, T26E4, and many others. This guide can be applied to any other colleges not just Harvard or other competitive school.

Disclaimer: By no means do I claim that this guide is the perfect and guaranteed formula towards getting in your favorite or desired college but certainly by doing this, you can live a happy highschool life and perhaps increase your chances (no matter how small it might be) in the college admission process. Feel free to comment or provide your own perspective and I will certainly amend this post to make the guide better. With that said, let’s go!

I. Academics:
Most colleges want to ensure that admitted students have the capability to thrive and survive the academic world in college. To this end, there is something called a threshold. Colleges like Harvard views the academic potential of a student through high-school transcript (arguably the most important factor in evaluating academics alone) and standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, TOEFL, SAT II, AP (if applicable)). When college admission officers look through your transcript, they will look at the rigor of the courses: How do you challenge yourself in classrooms? Do you take advantage of the rigorous courses offered at the school? The transcript is the most comprehensive tool for admission officers to be able to get a clear view of your in-class capability. Depending on the school, GPA might be calculated differently or not disclosed, thus a transcript could be a good indicator of GPA. (NOTE: The higher the GPA, the better as always, a minimum is 3.6 but undesirable. Try your best to do well in classes). Take hard classes but take it because you love them, not because they will look good. It will be hard to get through a really hard class without the love of learning. Try to do well and engage in classroom conversations and discussions. For standardized test scores, to be a competitive applicant it is best to have an ACT of 34+ and SAT of 2200+. You can check out the generalized profiles of the students who were accepted by a particular college by looking at that college’s Common Data Set. For example, if you want to see the strength of students who got accepted to Harvard, search “Harvard Common Data Set” on Google and scroll down to see the academic composition of accepted applicants. Do realize that in a college admission process, admission officers will look at your academics credentials first before anything else. Thus, those who could not meet the threshold are generally eliminated in this round. Unless their are extraordinary circumstances, not having the required credentials invite a guaranteed elimination. Admission officers are also well-aware of the backgrounds and profiles of the school that the applicant is studying in to ensure fairness in the assessment. Thus, the bottom line is take the classes that you love and take advantage of the rigorous classes available at your school and do them well. The higher the stats, the better, BUT make sure to not get stuck into the academics part TOO much and be sure to do what you love in terms of extracurricular activities as well. Too many students, particularly Asians (and me as well), spend their time just focusing on academics, thinking that it is everything. That is wrong, many applicants who score perfectly on the SAT, having a GPA of 4.0 still get rejected. It is best to do what you love and focus on your strength because not every one you meet in college will be an academic guru, some will be a phenomenal artist, or others as great writers. Play to your strength and make sure to do well in school!

II. Extracurricular activities:
The common mistake that many people think is “The more the better.” That is not true because that means that there is a lack of focus and dedication to an activity of an applicant has too much other obligations on their schedule. Thus, the key again is to do what you love and invest your dedication and become a leader in that activity. Don’t do those activities just for the sake of the resume or look good. Do it for your love and passion. You may be that guy who work with local politicians to improve the lives of the people, you could be the girl who loves performing the trumpet in front of the school and even in the regional competitions! Strive and work hard to be the leader of the activity that you love, show dedication through time! It’s also better to have some kind of “hook” as well if possible. It’s totally fine if you are engaged in different activities (jack of all trades but master of none) but it’s better if you have a few areas you like to focus on. E.g: I was involved with Writing (Journalism) before and throughout my high-school year as well as sustainable activities back at home.

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III. Personal Statements:
Very important factor after you get pass the first round with sufficient academic credentials. The Personal Statements (PS) is an important tool for the admission officers to get a glimpse into your character and personality. The most compelling PS are often in the form of a small story that illustrates a particular view or opinion that you wish to address. An important thing is to choose an event that is meaningful to you and start from there. Start early as well as the editing process and refining the essays take a long and long time! Remember that it has to somehow relate or show something about YOU. You could write an excellent essay about someone who inspires you, but if there isn’t a “YOU” factor in it, then the admission officers would be more inclined to be excited about that person that you wrote about more than yourself! Also, write it as if it is a conversation, meaning that imagine that the content that you write is being delivered by mouth to an admission officer in an actual conversation! Be sure to read out loud (DON’T MIND READ), you will be able to identify the grammatical or flow mistakes that you might have made! One of the key components is “Show, Don’t Tell”! If you are a compassionate person, show how you are compassionate! Could you have encountered someone in hardship and then become compassionate towards them and help them live a better life? Be sure to let others read your PS and provide feedback to whether this PS illustrates you best. It would be better if you don’t show it to your close ones, but show it to a friend or someone who does not know you that well and ask if they learn anything new from this PS about you that they have not known before.

IV: Letters of Recommendation:
The Letters of Recommendations (LoR) are the second most important factor in the decision making, along with the PS. LoR allows admission officers to understand how you behave in class. Do you have a passion for learning? Are you the engaging type who lead discussions? etc. Be sure to pick those who know you well and have good writing skills, generally this would mean Junior year teachers. Just my opinion, but choose those who teach in the field that you know you would like to major in in college to attest to your ability and dedication towards that field. The best way for a teacher to know you well is by being engaging in classes, talk and discuss about class topics in and outside of those classes, and ask engaging questions about the materials! Be energetic and active and let those teachers know you well!

V: Interviews (Optional):
Some of you might or might not have an interview but be sure to research well about the school you want to learn about! Know WHY you love Harvard, what does Harvard have that other institutions don’t? Is there a program that you love? Is there a particular tradition or professor that you really want to learn under? Know the vibe, the students, classroom environment! Don’t just choose a school based on prestige! Knowing about these specific aspects will not only help you with the interviewer when they ask “Why Harvard?”, “What can you contribute to our school?” but also help you choose what is the RIGHT and most FITTING school that will help you thrive! Remember college is another 4 years of your life that can play a big role and a huge investment from your parents! You don’t want to attend a college that will end up making you feel sad so research carefully! Always arrive a few minutes earlier in an interview, prepare a resume just in case, be polite and friendly! An interview is a chance for you to know more about the school and to present yourself to the interviewer (and the school through the interview report). At the end of the interview, be sure to thank the interviewer and send a thank-you note to him/her. Dress appropriately (I would really favor formal dress code but that’s just me). Research about the past interview questions that a school gives and prepare accordingly with a friend or adult. ALWAYS have questions to ask the interviewer, DON’T ask generic things, BE SPECIFIC. If you know the name of the interviewer beforehand, you can research about him/her to know what you and the interviewer have in common and know what to ask the interviewers during the interview.

VI: Final words:
If you have done everything that I’ve listed above, you have done everything that you could in your hands! There is nothing else you can do. College Admission is very random and decisions are made based on a committee that you must have at least 51% of the votes to be accepted. All you can do now after you are finished is to hope for the best, prepare for the worst by not fixated on a school alone but have backup and safety schools that you would LIKE to attend in case your first choice does not turn out pretty. A rejection doesn’t mean you are not qualified, it means that admission officers think that you DO NOT FIT the environment of the school. Keep an open and realistic mind when applying to schools like Harvard or Princeton due to insanely low acceptance rate and huge application numbers. Do be aware that the odds are low and don’t get to fixated in those schools and be absolutely shocked if you are rejected. Keep a mindset that you have a high-chance to be rejected from those high-end schools so that you will not have to be so shocked when decision arrives. That is all, so when you are done, enjoy the rest of high-school life and congratulate yourself for working hard! Have fun, and when that dreadful day comes be prepared and be grateful for the results (no matter what it may be) of your hard work.

Good luck to all of you and may the odds be in your favor! :slight_smile:

I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you read through this article, which Gibby has so oftenly quoted on. It is very essential and helpful in the part of not only building your application but becoming better person as well: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

P.S: I apologize if there some parts that seem unclear as English is not my native language. Feel free to point those spots out and I’ll work to clarify my points.

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Sounds like you have some good ideas and you intend be helpful. You are not quite experienced enough to write a guide. While much of what you say has some merit, some of it does not. And some of it is incorrect. With college admissions, the details are important. Statements like “The higher the GPA, the better as always, a minimum is 3.6 but undesirable” are incorrect. You are a “fellow senior” who seems to intend to be helpful. Your overall message is a fine one but your details are incorrect at times.

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@lostaccount : Thank you for your feedback. How should I fix it? I do acknowledge that I am inexperienced but I hope to learn more from other knowledgeable individuals

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Well I am not sure. You seem to be sure of some things that I would not be so sure of. For example, you have the statement and the Letters ordered. But how do you know that is the case? I’d guess “it all depends”. The guidence counselor’s letter is probably usually more important than the letters of rec and the statement. I think the process is complex and your are probably not in the best position to write the definitive guide as you are apparently still in high school. Where are you getting your information from. Where, for instance, does this come from: "College Admission is very random and decisions are made based on a committee that you must have at least 51% of the votes to be accepted. "?

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@lostaccount : I gathered this information from what Gibby said in a few threads around this forum. I suppose I should cite out all the sources in the bottom? Thanks for the feedback by the way! I really appreciate it!

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In my view, it is impossible to write a “comprehensive” guide to college admissions. For example, @gibby’s kids and my kids have a lot in common, such as near perfect grades and great test scores but, beyond that, their pathways to elite college admissions were different. I believe that in gibby’s kids’ cases essays were extremely important and likely sealed the deal, while for my kids, as recruited athletes, essays probably had no impact.

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@sherpa : I totally agree with your points. I would like to clarify that because the path is so different for everyone, I only attempt to present the minimum requirements in terms of GPA and such. I also stress that everyone should strive to be dedicated and do what he/she loves.

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@lostaccount Teacher LORs and essays are more important than the GC LOR because they attest to personal qualities better.

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Hey, I think it’s really generous of you to take the time to write this. Anyone reading it can shift the order around or quibble with details but I am impressed that a busy high school senior tried to gather together this information for the sake of future applicants, and I hope you yourself have a great time wherever you are headed for college. Thanks for thinking of others.

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@compmom : Thank you for your compliments! I am humbled from a seasoned veteran like you. Since my application has already been submitted and considering there will be a lot of new students asking the same question about “What should I do to prepare for X college (particularly Harvard in this thread)”. I think that putting up a “general” guide will help not only these aspiring applicants but also to not let people like you, Gibby, and others have to answer the same question again and again.

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Good luck!

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Thank you Compmom! I hope for the best as well!