The OP has a serious flaw. It is one’s choice to apply to Harvard for many reasons.
One, easy one.
Have you ever thought of that these Harvard applicants would prefer to study with and compete against best of the best in the world?
Curious q- can you please name a few good universities that do not expect recommendation letters?
^^ Many US public colleges do not require letters of recommendation. None of the California State schools, including Berkeley, require them. The University of Illinois specifically refuses to look at them. However, most private colleges – and that includes all the private colleges in the top 50 US News & World Report – require at least one LoR.
So… I’m still a sophomore… and I have a q regarding the SAT that I took twice:
First try: 2150
Second: 2370 (single sitting)
If I apply to highly competitive colleges that don’t allow score choice, will my first score work against me?
^they say it won’t. My son has the same issue…
Ps: he’s not interested in Harvard at all…it’s not a place he’d like to be. All the ivy’s are different. WHT anyone would apply to then all, I have no idea, other than vanity.
Perhaps Harvard should charge “dreamers” more to review their apps? Would that slow the flow? Honestly, I’m not sure a GC would go to all the work of submitting an unqualified app? But I do t know.
In my freshman year, I got 760/800 in Math level 1 subject test. I know it’s nothing great, especially since I took level 2 at the beginning of sophomore and scored 800. I know loads of other students do as well, but will the fact that I took them pretty early work to my advantage?
No. At least its unquantifiable how it would give you or anybody a boost. Since you cant measure it, dont worry about it.
People treat it like the lottery, figuring they have nothing to lose. The funny thing is that some students think Harvard is a small LAC. Many people know little about Harvard other than its name.
A low acceptance rate does not necessarily correlate with outstanding students. For years the University of Chicago had a very had acceptance rate (around 40%). But that is because it was largely self-selecting, with fewer people applying but those that did had outstanding records.
Or could Harvard receive many more applications than they do?
With their international reputation shouldn’t Harvard have more applicants than USC?
Right now USC has about 50% more apply.
UCLA apparently received 101.044 applications this year, with UC Berkeley receiving 99,320.
^^In a state with over 10% of the US population, lower is-state tuition rates, and the appeal of being relatively close to home.
There is also such a weird thing that happens when schools become as famous as Harvard. For one reason or another everyone is convinced that Harvard is THE prime academic institution. It starts to become mysterious when you see such a high proportion of famous and successful people with Harvard as their undergraduate or graduate institution. You see the name in numerous textbooks and you see it accompanying many names in published papers. It is really weird how much pop culture actually does influence us. Whether you’ve watched films from the sphere of Legally Blonde to the sphere of Homeless to Harvard, Harvard is ubiquitous. It is almost every smart character’s dream to go to Harvard (whether it be Rory Gilmore of Katie Holmes in Teaching Mrs.Tingle). Harvard has this sort of magic attached to it because it is ALWAYS being mentioned. You have Harvard becoming this symbol of mobility and justice for immigrants who view education as the only way out. Harvard is very much a part of American pop-culture. It has become extremely selective to the point that so many people decide to submit “what the heck” applications as a joke, this mathematically making the admissions rate look smaller because that selectivity is strictly based on how many people are applying and how many people the ad-com can accept. I mean it’s really weird. The more selective is becomes, the more it will be praised and hailed as #1. And because it is being praised and hailed as #1, more people will continue applying under the impression that this is the best university ever. The cycle continues.
Let’s make a new college ranking system. UCLA should be #1.
I think that @PolyglotGal nailed it. One thing I find curious is that Harvard maintains its preeminent spot in the national psyche, despite losing to Princeton in the USNews rankings most years. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t buy into the rankings too much, but they DO influence popular impressions, and the fact that Harvard remains singularly iconic can only is a testament to the overwhelming strength of its brand.
The academics as well as the people you meet there are amazing
Adding on to what I previously said, I think it’s about exclusivity as well. Because Harvard is so selective, because it is so exclusive, we all want in. Couple that with the idea that we can all get there by taking the right steps and the school as a whole is further romanticized. I do agree with @gphi777 that Harvard does have amazing people and academics. That concentration of overachievers and brilliant people has only grown because of the reputation. Since everybody wants in, they’re inclined to pick who they see as the very best.
Post 152 is not just spot-on; I think one could continue adding examples almost endlessly. It starts with branding, but the media has turned Harvard into a myth, like Camelot or Narnia. Certainly it doesn’t deserve that status. But in the popular imagination, that’s what it is.
@WasatchWriter - Bingo! A “myth” is a perfect description. Looking back, DS bought into the myth from a very early age, telling me he was going to go to Harvard when he was 6 or 7. Junior year he found himself in the fortunate position of being an academically well qualified recruited athlete, and was forced to look beyond the mythology of Harvard and other top schools. He (we) researched as deeply as we could and visited all his top choices, and in the process concluded that there are many great colleges, none are perfect and, in many ways, their students and professors are almost interchangeable. Harvard made his top four, but he chose another, and he never regretted his decision.
How do foreigners get to apply for Harvard?