<p>I have a son who is in 10th grade who has aspirations of applying to Harvard, it is at this point a pipe dream but who knows! Congratulations to all of you for your outstanding achievements, wow you really did it. For those of you who got in, would you mind sharing with us your basic profile, your grades, courses you took, sat/act scores, ec's, etc.............you are clearly extraordinary people and rather than read this in some book, hearing it directly from you would be most interesting to thousands of hopefuls out there. What would you say is important in looking ahead to accomplish in high school with regard to courses,etc..............Any help or advice you may provide would be most helpful, and again Congratulations on this big dream!</p>
<p>For the basic stats of those who were accepted (or not), scroll through the decisions thread:</p>
<p>just make sure that he knows luck is a huge factor.<br>
Read "A is for Admission" (forgot the author) and "On writing the college application essay" by Harry Bauld
those two should get you covered</p>
<p>NYMOMOF4--I'm the father of a current Harvard student who was admitted to the class of 2009. From all that I've learned, read and heard directly from my student, Harvard is looking for not just good grades/test scores, but a package of qualities which I believe includes leadership, sports achievement (with a leadership role), a strong community service orientation, doing something very productive and a bit unusual with a summer or school break, independent achievement, and just standing out as someone who has done something 'special' or different--especially as it contributes to society. I believe they are searching for great diversity (not just ethnic or racial!) and independent thinking. Yes, there is probably a certain "floor" for grades and test scores, but my experience is that once a student has passed that level (which most applying to Harvard have), it's those other more intangible factors that are critical. I read somewhere that the final question asked by the admissions committee in considering each applicant is something to the effect of: "Will this person actually make a difference in the WORLD after Harvard?" I really think there is something to that. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I talked about this with my Harvard interviewer (we kept in touch after the interview) and one of the most important characteristics seems to be initiative in and out of school. Perhaps visiting another country during the summer and taking part in something truly fantastic. Or participating in a community service project that you truly enjoy - a friend of mine who was admitted a few years back really enjoys soccer. So, he found companies to sponsor him and took kids from very low socioeconomic circles and created a team in which they could participate. It's now a major program in our area. There are people who set themselves apart by truly dedicating themelves to an art or academic interest. Harvard knows that in order to reach a certain level in a musical instrument or to become accomplished in an academic field, you have to dedicate countless hours and truly be passionate about that subject. If your son can set himself apart from the crowd in some way, and convince the ad comm that he is someone who would bring a unique viewpoint to Harvard, his chances will be greatly increased. However, you have to remember how absolutely fickle the admissions process at Harvard can be. While there's nothing wrong with striving for the best, if it means sacrificing on your high school years, it might be worth it to look at "lower schools" that are every bit as wonderful as Harvard. No one, except for maybe the ad comm (and maybe Byerly), knows what Harvard wants from an applicant. A person who we may think is a shoe-in might be rejected because they've already admitted a couple of people that fill that nook they were trying to create. We never know...</p>