I really want to go to Harvard! It’s always been my dream school and I know this sound super cliche and everyone wants to go there… so what do I have to do to stand out? I am currently a freshman undergrad in UC Berkeley and I managed to get A,A+, and an A- so I’m doomed for a perfect 4.0 already, but I’ll try to keep up my GPA. I’m currently interested in a math and business major. But what is Harvard looking for? Is there certain things I should be aware of and try to do as of now? I wasn’t very pro-active in high school because I didn’t really know how competitive colleges are and how highly they look at extracurriculars (I was dumb enough to think getting straight As would be enough -_-…) so please any tips would be appreciated! Thank you!
Graduate schools need research experience and professor recommendations.
You may also want to take advantage of MSRI in Berkeley backyard.
Prerequisite #1: have an area of study that Harvard Grad or Professional school would actually care to have you join. Your naked and clichéd “math or business” or “whatever Harvard is looking for” mentality is eminently mockable. Develop some character and originality. That will go a long way since at this point, Harvard grad or professional schools don’t seem a likelihood
You pick grad schools for alignment with you research interests if you are going for a phd and they only care about grades and research experience pretty much. Not EC at all unless directly related. You do not pick grad school because you wished you had gone there for undergrad, or based on undergrad prestige. Math phd is specialized and they are looking for real aptitude, no one cares too much about 4.0, nice but unnecessary.
Business school is different. EC can matter somewhat. I won’t go into it here as there are business and mba forums here for you to explore. Also search poets and quants. Yeah, the idea that you should mold yourself to make yourself into a stepford-like Harvard student is a bad idea, but that doesn’t mean you can’t know what a prepared student looks like. Just don’t pick your grad school yet, it looks assbackward.
If you are interested in a quantitative MBA program, you could look at several good ones to learn more about the programs out there and what kinds of classes and professional experiences their entering students commonly have. .