What is TRULY necessary to get into Harvard?

[toughyear]

<p>

What is NECESSARY to get in? To answer your question, you need:</p>

<p>-Excellent ACT/SAT score (34+ or solid 2200+)
-Top 1% of the class, preferably 1 or 2 (Bit relaxed at the most competitive high schools that send 10+ kids to top 20 schools a year)</p>

<p>If you have a hook (i.e being a URM, legacy applicant, recruited athlete, or child of major donor), than these standards may be considerably relaxed. </p>

<p>But if you are unhooked you absolutely need those requirements to be competitive (in MOST cases. there ARE unhooked students who get in with lower stats, but in much smaller numbers).</p>

<p>Then it comes down to your essays, recommendation letters, EC’s, etc where there is no formula on what will get you in. But you really should have the above stats.

</p>

<p>You forgot one —</p>

<ul>
<li>Don’t be asian. [sorry, couldn’t resist.]</li>
</ul>

<p>The high school I pay attention to … they sent student to Harvard five years ago and then again this year. This student is of course non asian and ranked in top ten, but the valedictorian is going to cornell. This high school is with gold medal (top 500 ranked schools have gold medal in the USN ranking). Every year, the absolute majority of top ten students are asians, and every year the val is nearly always an asian american. But the kids who go to HYP are usually non asians. So, one strong condition is ‘don’t be an asian’ if you want to have a good chance to these schools [disclosure: im an asian american ;)]</p>