How do you get into Harvard?
Chazz112
great. I am basically interested in admissions process and if it is possible to
get in with EVERYTHING but a 4.0.
--Chas
grif...@usa.net
19990527041658.18115.00004
2...@ng-ce1.aol.com>,
chaz...@aol.com
The admissions process at
Harvard College is like any
other extremely selective
undergraduate school.
Even if you have
'everything,' you still
might not be accepted, as
there are no guarantees and
no formulae for admission.
The first place winner of
the 57th annual
Westinghouse (now Intel)
Science Talent Search (first
place out of 1,581 entries),
who had a 1600 SAT, was
valedictorian of his class of
about 600 at an Indiana
high school, and is
absolutely brilliant, was
initially deferred by
Harvard... he then went on
the Today Show after
winning and said "I hope
Harvard will accept me
now" (he had a slight
egomania problem). They
finally did, but out of the 40
top finalists, I know several
were rejected from Harvard
and Yale.
Anyway, give the
admissions process your
best shot. You know what
to do. Write an interesting
essay and get
recommendations from
people who really know
you well. According to an
admissions officer I talked
with last month, the essays
and recommendations are
what the committee
remembers most.
Everyone has the scores
and grades, and some
extracurriculars, so it is the
sense of person they get
which stands out. Of
course they need to fill up
their sports teams,
symphony orchestras, and
have 12% of the class be
legacies as well. There
aren't really preferences for
minorities, but since the
committee wants a diverse
class they tend to accept a
certain percentage of
underrepresented
minorities- many of whom
are the best students at the
school. Don't
underestimate the
competition for getting into
Yale, Harvard, etc. (e.g.,
Claire Danes, the princess
of Sweden, Natalie
Portman, the Unabomber),
so don't ever "expect" to
get in, but give it your most
honest effort and hope for
the best. Most people have
a better chance of getting in
than they think.
Best Regards, and good luck
with the applications.
G.
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---
jaho...@compuserve.com
19990527041658.18115.00004250@ng-
ce1.aol.com>,
chaz...@aol.com (Chazz112) wrote:
> If anyone that is/was a student at Harvard University can reply, this would be
> great. I am basically interested in admissions process and if it is possible to
> get in with EVERYTHING but a 4.0.
> --Chas
>
(six from the class of '00) see this
website:
http://www.harvard-magazine.com/
so96/essays.html
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Eugene Lim
>top finalists, I know several
>were rejected from Harvard
>and Yale.
Eugene
Dew Drops
After the first few rounds, it really comes down to luck. Unless you
solved an NP-Comlete problem or were in Star Wars, it's very unlikely
you are a sure thing.
Though, I really wouldn't worry about. Harvard has a big name, but that causes
as many problems as it does benefits (if not more).
If you have your heart set on Harvard, you're probably picking a school for
all the wrong reasons. There are soooo many people here who spent all of
high school lusting after it, got in, and now are miserable because it's
the wrong place for them. Definitely come spend a weekend before you
make up your mind.
Drew
--
_____________________________________________________________________________
One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious.
-- Chateaubriand (1768-1848)
Drew Volpe vo...@fas.harvard.edu
_____________________________________________________________________________
sinjin smythe
2)Offspring of a significant figure(i.e. Chelsea Clinton)
3) You've saved the world from nuclear destruction
**** Posted from RemarQ - http://www.remarq.com - Discussions Start Here (tm) ****
Jane
> Though, I really wouldn't worry about. Harvard has a big name, but that causes
> as many problems as it does benefits (if not more).
What kind of problems?
Pilar108
causes
> as many problems as it does benefits (if not more).
2.) The pressures of getting above a 3.5, just to be in the median of the
class.
3.) Harvard students really are kind of arrogant.
4.) Where do the punk freaks in Harvard square come from?
5.) Harvard is not very good at some academic areas, like Engineering.
6.) Tourists that take snapshots of your quads.
7.) People assume you are a snot, just because you went to Harvard.
8.) Media watches Harvard closely, so its UberPoliticallyCorrent.
9.) Connections are still important at Harvard. If you are a nobody, but
go to Harvard, all you are is a nobody at Harvard.
Sincerely,
Jerry West
"You must be a libra..you lookin' for Mr. Goodbar, here he
is."
-Frank Zappa
Russ Bowen
False
> 2.) The pressures of getting above a 3.5, just to be in the median of the class.
With grade inflation, that's true everywhere.
> 3.) Harvard students really are kind of arrogant.
Do you know any? I do. Nicest bunch of kids my daughter's ever met.
> 4.) Where do the punk freaks in Harvard square come from?
Wannabes from the burbs
> 5.) Harvard is not very good at some academic areas, like Engineering.
Not very good at Harvard is still better than most.
> 6.) Tourists that take snapshots of your quads.
When they were freshman, my daughter and her friends used to go outside
and feed them cheese puffs.
> 7.) People assume you are a snot, just because you went to Harvard.
People will assume things all the time. Don't give them credibility.
> 8.) Media watches Harvard closely, so its UberPoliticallyCorrent.
Believe it or not, not everyone there is a bleeding heart. Read the book
"Harvard Rules"
> 9.) Connections are still important at Harvard. If you are a nobody, but go to Harvard, all you are is a nobody at Harvard.
Nonsense. If you never want to become anything, I suppose you would
succeed at being nothing, no matter where you are.
ChantillyLace
most of her life. Then she visited Harvard.
She said that the attitude at Harvard is "We're better than
you. No matter who you are, we're better than you."
Her response was "I don't want to be like that."
She ended up down the road at MIT, which she hadn't even
been considering (esp. since she was on an "Ivy tour" and
MIT was thrown in). Besides being bright, the kids were
much more "down to earth."
P.S. For anyone interested, Harvard is also a rather somber
place. I've rarely seen anyone there smiling! And before a
tragic incident at MIT last year, MIT was actually
considered by Harvard to be a "party school." Despite the
damper after the incident, the "partying" at MIT still
amazes me. I guess you work hard, and you play hard.
OH...Harvard refers to MIT as "that place down the street"
and MIT refers to Harvard as CCC...Cambridge Community
College. My daughter had lots of classmates who went to
Harvard...she hasn't heard from them since.
tom__98
> donor 2)Offspring of a significant figure(i.e.
> Chelsea Clinton) 3) You've saved the world from
> nuclear destruction
Most of my classmates at Harvard had parents that
were neither rich nor famous. However, many of
them were raised from their earliest childhood
in environments that were in one way or another
interesting, intellectual, artistic, or
otherwise stimulating.
As for Chelsea, Hilary seems to have used her position
to give her daughter an excellent real-world education.
That is likely what made Chelsea better prepared
compared to other applicants with similar academic
qualifications.
Jeremy Thorp Fox
: As for Chelsea, Hilary seems to have used her position
: to give her daughter an excellent real-world education.
Hanging around Sidwell Friends is the real world?
--
------------------------
Jeremy T. Fox
Economics Grad Student
jer...@leland.stanford.edu
Mark Abraham
> This is true. My daughter had her heart set on Harvard for
> most of her life. Then she visited Harvard.
>
> She said that the attitude at Harvard is "We're better than
> you. No matter who you are, we're better than you."
>
> Her response was "I don't want to be like that."
a very familiar story, especially among last years' westinghouse science
talent search finalists...
>
> She ended up down the road at MIT, which she hadn't even
> been considering (esp. since she was on an "Ivy tour" and
> MIT was thrown in). Besides being bright, the kids were
> much more "down to earth."
>
> P.S. For anyone interested, Harvard is also a rather somber
> place. I've rarely seen anyone there smiling! And before a
> tragic incident at MIT last year, MIT was actually
> considered by Harvard to be a "party school." Despite the
> damper after the incident, the "partying" at MIT still
> amazes me. I guess you work hard, and you play hard.
the kids at mit are definitely very bright and for the most part genuinely
kind and down-to-earth. mit is still considered by harvard to be a party
school. i was there on a weekend last fall with a large group and we
didn't find much to do, so when i ran into a friend there doing physics
homework he said all the parties that night were at mit. mit students
work hard an play hard, and their parties are fun, but because of the lack
of residential and campus cohesiveness there it's usually not as fun as
its 'party' reputation and pales in comparison to schools that are perhaps
more 'balanced.'
students at harvard often say that their classmates have to 'chill out' a
little. just walking around harvard yard reminds you of the puritanism
that started the place. it can have a tough atmosphere, but you can find
people there smiling without much trouble, maybe even more than you'll
find at mit. but needless to say the students at either school aren't
always the happiest of campers.
don't hesitate to give both schools a look because they can be excellent
and exciting places to go to school, for the right people.
>
> OH...Harvard refers to MIT as "that place down the street"
> and MIT refers to Harvard as CCC...Cambridge Community
> College. My daughter had lots of classmates who went to
> Harvard...she hasn't heard from them since.
mit students can be very witty as you'll see if you visit.
Josh LaGrange
private jets, taken at taxpayer expense, are the real world.
Jeremy Thorp Fox wrote in message <7jef80$eet$1...@nntp.Stanford.EDU>...
>tom__98 (anon...@web.remarq.com) wrote:
>
>: As for Chelsea, Hilary seems to have used her position
>: to give her daughter an excellent real-world education.
>
>Hanging around Sidwell Friends is the real world?
>
>--
--
Josh LaGrange
Columbia Law School
Eugene Lim
We will watch her career with great interest.
Josh LaGrange wrote in message <7jfa2c$dhi$1...@newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu>...
OkAy UsA
well as any other reputable institution, has no set formula, no list of
favorable extracurricular activities, no benchmark for application essays. You
have to apply and let them evaluate the combination of all your wonderful and
not-so-wonderful attributes. Sorry, but that "How do I get into.." question
bothers me because students aspiring to attend these schools should have the
sense to not ask such questions.
Mark Abraham
schools and would like to know more about the application process.. in any
case, there certainly isn't a formula for admission (with the possible
exception of you being the first daughter, in a star wars film, a
westinghouse science talent seach finalists, or your father giving $30
million)... in any case, try your best, know about the steps in the
process in detail, and write a good essay.
Claire
If anyone discovered that method, they would not be putting it for free
on a newsgroup. They would be selling it to the same Harvard hopefuls
who lack the sense to realize there is no foolproof way. Wait...some
people already do that...it's called Princeton Review and Kaplan. :P
Claire
Sorry, but that "How do I get into.." question
> bothers me because students aspiring to attend these schools should have the
> sense to not ask such questions.
--
You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication.
ICQ: 27500026
Kangaeru Hito
OkAy UsA <oka...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990616191837...@ng-fr1.aol.com...
> YOU DONT GET INTO HARVARD BY ASKING "HOW DO YOU GET INTO HARVARD"
Harvard, as
> well as any other reputable institution, has no set formula, no list of
> favorable extracurricular activities, no benchmark for application essays.
You
> have to apply and let them evaluate the combination of all your wonderful
and
question
> bothers me because students aspiring to attend these schools should have
the
> sense to not ask such questions.
Ah, but this wrong, for I have procured (through dubious methods of course)
their evaluation formula! Despite what you may be led to believe, the
success or failure of the application lies almost entirely on an essay.
Here's how it works... A computer scans the essay for important words and
then adds or subtracts a number of points every time the key word is
encoutered.
"feel" = +1 point
"hope" = -2 point
"aspire" = -5 points
"the" = -1 point
"death" = +20 points
"foreign" = +5 points
"international" = +10 points
"study" = -8 points
"interest" = -10 points
"president" = +3 points
"sad" = +5 points
"happy" = -5 points
"scalawag" = +10 points
"abroad" = +5 points
"garner" = +2 points
"England" = +3 points
"Canada"= + 3 points
"Mexico" = +4 points
"France" = +5 points
"Germany" = +5 points
"Italy" = +5 points
"Massachusetts" = -5 points
"tautology" = +30 points!!
Any country names outside those listed get 10 points; and any foreign words
in French, Spanish, German, and Italian get 3 points, Latin words get 10
points, and all other foreign words get 5 points. Names of academic fields
of study get 2 points.
Garner 50 points to be granted admittance^_^