<p>I have a feeling that I'm going to. It's more like an expectation than a wish. A lot of my senior friends are applying just because the application is easy and the name is famous. </p>
<p>Are you applying just because you can or because you truly want to?</p>
<p>I truly want to go to Harvard. Awesome math department + Georgian architecture + Boston = :D</p>
<p>Filling out a Harvard application is exactly like buying a lotto ticket. </p>
<p>Anyone applying to Harvard who actually wants to go there is screwed.</p>
<p>: (</p>
<p>Maybe this: take the app fee and give it to a great local charity. Or let your PARENTS keep it and buy something else with it. Applying just because of it's name is sheer vanity. I have interviewed for one of H's peers for almost 20 years. We are inundated with apps from many kids w/not a snowball's chance. My volunteer hours are precious -- I'm really getting turned off to be frank.</p>
<p>Don't give busy work to your teachers and GCs.</p>
<p>In large part I applied to H because of the fact that it's Harvard.</p>
<p>I think some other schools might give me a slightly better education/might "fit" with me more but the prestige of going to Harvard can't be denied.</p>
<p>I wouldn't have wasted my time and parent's money if I didn't stand a chance though</p>
<p>no matter what people may say, i bet that about 50% of harvard applicants apply largely based on the name.</p>
<p>that being said, the other 50% probably has legitimate reasons, and the first 50 probably has some additional reasons.</p>
<p>but i'd definitely say that a major factor for the majority of applicants is the Harvard name.</p>
<p>Well, if you think about it, Harvard wouldn't have that name if, at least partly, it was an excellent university.</p>
<p>I almost applied to Harvard (and a couple of other Ivy League schools) simply for the hell of it, so I could brag that I got in, etc.</p>
<p>And then I was like, why on Earth would I waste $40-60 per school just to do that when no one really cares? I knew I couldn't afford to attend even if I got in (yes, even if the schools met 100% of my "need," which was rated as much lower than it actually was) so I moved on with life and spent my money and energy on places I actually planned on attending realistically.</p>
<p>All you're doing by applying to Harvard, if you don't plan to go, is driving down their already ridiculous acceptance rate, cluttering admissions officers desk with extra work, and wasting interviewers' time.</p>
<p>However, if what you meant by your question if there are a lot of people who apply to and actually want to attend Harvard simply because it's Harvard -- god, yes, I know of them. I used to tutor for the SAT and a lot of these kids wanted to go to Harvard (or Dartmouth, or Yale, or wherever) simply because they were Ivy League schools. I only had one kid who I could say actually wanted to go to Dartmouth because they knew something about it (and they were applying to small liberal arts colleges in general).</p>
<p>i'm thinking about applying to other Ivies... not really Harvard, it doesn't appeal to me as much.</p>
<p>that sucks about the bad fa though; did you consider outside scholarships?</p>
<p>A lot of people from my Minnesotan school wanted to... but the "SAT + Three Subject Tests" stopped them. </p>
<p>Personally, I almost did it until I realized I had no interest in the school whatsoever. </p>
<p>But I DO think the Harvard interview process makes it so candidates must research the school beforehand.</p>
<p>Well I agree with the ivy interviewer who posted above. However in my case, I am qualified for harvard, but I realize that there is almost zero chance of my getting in. In addition I prefer almost every other ivy to harvard. That said, if accepted, I would still love to go there, and I'm not giving extra work to my teachers, gcs, or the H admissions office. So if you are thinking like me, go for it. But if you research college board and are below the 25-50% range for everything, don't waste your money or their time.</p>
<p>harvard being harvard is the reason its such a good school
what matters is not the education you receive but the opportunities and connections</p>
<p>Hopefully I’ll get recruited to play sports in Harvard? :D</p>
<p>Seriously though, I would love to major in econ there.</p>
<p>I thought about it. Then I realized, in the off chance that I do get it, I’m probably taking a spot from somebody who actually wants to go to Harvard. Morally, it’s quite reprehensible.</p>
<p>About 27,000 kids did this year.</p>
<p>I am applying to one of the Ivies because of their massively good financial aid packages. On the other hand, I am choosing Yale because it’s the only Ivy I can stomach.</p>
<p>Guilty as charged.</p>
<p>^I’ll admit that I’m not always as “into” Harvard as I am into some of the other colleges, but I’d still probably pick it over any other, if I had the choice. Given time, I’d probably end up liking it most anyway, if I really researched about the colleges in detail. :)</p>
<p>well I’m glad I applied in the end. got waitlisted so I know I was close, but thankfully I didn’t have to choose between it and Pomona.</p>