<p>Hey are there any regular people that got into Harvard? Did everyone start an international charity or win a crazy national award? Not that there is something wrong with that (Kudos to you), but there must be some people like me who are smart but normal and got in.</p>
<p>I haven't done anything particularly stellar, and everyone says I have very little chance at the big schools. I have good chances at places like UCLA or something, but not Yale, where I really want to go. I decided to stop listening to them. There must be semi-normal, non-psychotic applicants who get in. Ooh, I know: a girl from my orchestra, a percussionist, was totally personable and non-elitist and she got in a couple years ago. She wasn't even raving about it like other people. Someone asked, "How's their music program?" And she said, "eh, they have one. It's okay." She's going into biology so I don't think she cared much, but it's the principle that you can say, "Eh, it's okay" about a place like Harvard. Maybe people revere it too much.</p>
<p>Well i think it's a common misconception that every person at Harvard has won a Nobel Peace Prize or something.
I would think that the majority of the students are what you might call "normal." Though I don't exactly know what you mean by "regular people."</p>
<p>My ECs were all school-related (nothing state-wide or national), and my only good awards were AP Scholar with Distinction and National Merit Semifinalist, and I still got in to Harvard and Yale. You don't have to be god-men to get in. Obviously, though, it is a bit easier for you if you are. ;)</p>
<p>When i went there, a student described the students as "a bunch of cool, normal people who happen to be smart."</p>
<p>When I visited Harvard, my host had a water balloon fight on his floor with his friends.</p>
<p>candlize, that makes me feel a bit better. I guess Ill have to try and hope for the best.</p>
<p>this gives me hope. yay!</p>
<p>stupidestofthesmart.....I <3 your username...!</p>
<p>:) thank you, thank you.</p>
<p>you have to be unique to get into ivy, if there are thousands of students with good grades and community service, what makes a indiviual stand out more than others?</p>
<p>sure, unique. but to be unique you don't have to cure cancer.</p>
<p>i strive to be unique while maintaining a completely non-god-like status in the harvard 2010 applicant pool.</p>
<p>rock on normalcy.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>"a bunch of cool, normal people who happen to be smart."<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>This pretty much descibes my daughter and many of her friends a H. However, she does also know several kids of the genius or world-class musician type.</p>
<p>She says that most Harvard undergrads seem like regular kids about 95% of the time, but that these strange conversations regularly break out. E.g. she and a group of her friends are sitting around watching a Red Sox game on TV when suddenly a passionate argument about the policies of 19th century Austrian and German political leaders breaks out. And pretty much every kid in the group knows them all and has strong opinons.</p>
<p>i wasnt going to apply to harvard because i thought i was way too "regular" . even though some kids that get in do have AMAZING things on their CVs, they're still like the rest of us: people.
and thinking about that gave me the courage to apply, and guess what....it worked!</p>
<p>now im ready to enjoy the next 4 years of my life at H to the maaaaaxxxxxxxxx...with cool regular people.</p>
<p>if you guys have any questions about anything regarding the harvard admissions process id be glad to help with what ive learned...i know applications are VERY stressful!!!</p>
<p>write to me at : <a href="mailto:dallam@fas.harvard.edu">dallam@fas.harvard.edu</a> </p>
<p>good luck!!</p>
<p>Hey, I got a call from Harvard this afternoon, totally out of the blue! There's hope for me! How about you guys? Are Harvard Admissions telemarketing calls common?</p>
<p>I got a call from the Fin Aid Initiative last week. Yeah, it is pretty common.</p>
<p>Don't worry, the super-geeks will be holed up in their dorms for four years. All the "normal" (by Harvard standards) kids will be the ones having a good time...</p>
<p>That is so funny. I'm imagining a room full of Harvard scholars, eating donuts and going down the tedious list of potential students, trying not to get caught studying for exams instead of ringing up people to hear "OMG! OMG! Harvard's calling me!" This is what we get an Ivy league education for.</p>
<p>Guess they really are normal :D</p>