Staff of the Harvard Crimson - How They Got into Harvard: 50 Successful Applicants Share 8 Key Strategies for Getting into the College of Your Choice

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Contents

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we wish to thank our tireless and wonderful editor at St. Martins, Tom Mercer, for helping us generate the original idea for the book and for constantly motivating us to see this project all the way through. Also, once we had our initial inspiration, our agent, Linda Mead, was extremely helpful as we worked on the official proposal to St. Martins. We could not have done it without you two.

In addition, we wish to thank the fifty students who were willing to share their stories with us and the world in this book. We loved working with all of you and were truly inspired by each and every one of you.

We also want to extend our gratitude to all of the members of the Crimson staff, without whom this book would not have been possible. From interviewing to editing, we appreciate your hard work on this book despite still having to meet your daily deadlines. Keep the old sheet flying!

Finally, we wish to dedicate this book to all the Crimson editors who benefit from The Harvard Crimson s financial aid program, now and in the future.

Best of luck in all you do,

Lauren A. E. Schuker (06), President, The Harvard Crimson , 20052006

Erica K. Jalli (05), President, The Harvard Crimson , 20042005

Introduction

The Harvard College class of 2009 saw a record 22,796 applicants this year, but only 2,074 acceptances were offered, for an admission rate of 9.1 percent. Fifty-six percent of the candidates scored a 1400 or higher on the SATs, while 3,200 were valedictorians of their high school classes. These ultra-talented and highly motivated applicants expressed a wide range of extracurricular interests as well. These days, the college admissions game is a very expensive, high-pressure process. More and more students are working with private SAT tutors and college admissions advisors in high school, and the process can start as early as parents competing to get their children admitted to the right preschools.

With such tough competition, we know how hard it is to stand out. We have been through the rigorous selection process ourselves, and have often wished that we knew then what we know now. While The Harvard Crimson s initial book, 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays , was a successful guide on how to craft an interesting, articulate, and successful college essay, we wanted to take an even more comprehensive look at the application process. Thus, How They Got into Harvard was born. By examining the entire application process from start to finish, we wish to give college applicants an edge by distilling the most successful proven admissions tactics in the game. We hope to give students the self-presentation tools to achieve success not only in the admissions process, but throughout their college and post-college careers.

Our Mission

Each day, the editors of The Harvard Crimson have the privilege of meeting, interviewing, and working with talented, fascinating, and diverse students in the Harvard community. Through these daily interactions, we have witnessed how each Harvard undergraduate has a unique story behind his or her admission to the college.

How They Got into Harvard is a comprehensive look into the admissions process of an elite college. We have profiled fifty successful applicants who used one of eight key strategies that we have identified to help any student get into the college of his or her choice. In a day and age where it appears that there are standard formulas for admissions success, we aim to show students that applicants who tailored their applications, essays, and college careers to highlight their strengths performed best and turned out the happiest. Our goal is to show how students used tried and true strategies to get themselves noticed and show off their individual talents, thus getting that competitive edge in the application process.

How They Got into Harvard is not meant to serve as a template to be strictly followed, but rather as a resource to guide and inspire originality in your own application. One important thing to note is that the information for each student varies, as the students profiled in this book are from all over the world. For example, secondary school statistics and experiences will vary widely, though we have made our best attempt to standardize this information as much as possible. By reading through each of the different profiles, it becomes clear that while these applicants are all very different in their backgrounds and achievements, they share the fact that they are all aware of what their strengths are. They use this self-knowledge to their advantage not only in the admissions process, but well into their college careers and beyond.

These students packaged themselves in a variety of innovative ways, but they were not afraid to stand out or to simply be themselves. Whether they combined a love for film and field hockey to gain early admission, or leveraged their experiences in the military to transfer into the college of their choice, they all share one thing: a passion that resonates in everything they do and the drive to make things happen. We hope that as you read, you are as inspired by these students as we were when we interviewed them.

How to Use This Book

We have distilled the secrets to gaining admission to elite colleges like Harvard into eight key strategies and provided in-depth profiles of students who used at least one these approaches to successfully gain admission. You can use one of these strategies, or even a few that suit you, depending on your background and circumstances. As you will see from the profiles, the students themselves often used a combination of tactics to achieve victory in the process.

FLAUNT YOUR TALENT AND GET RECRUITED

Are you a champion or protg who is constantly in the headlines? Then be proud of your skills and display them prominently throughout the admissions process. Everyone you meet and everything you do during the process should emphasize your talent.

BE PASSIONATE

Passion pulls at the heartstrings of admissions officers, so flaunt it! Put your heart and soul into your application and show how your sincerity and passion resonate in everything you do and with everyone you meet!

FIND THE PERFECT BALANCE

These classic, well-rounded students did it alland they did it well. You may have to wear many hats to pull this off, but its no hat trick if you have what it takes!

LEAD THE PACK

Show the admissions office that you are a visionary, a motivator, a team player, and a trailblazer. Check out how these head honchos got everyone around them to sing their praises!

BEAT THE ODDS

Everyones situation is different and its impossible for admissions officers to know what you had to overcome or how hard you had to work to become the person you are unless you tell them! Show the admissions office how you went above and beyond what was asked or expected to thrive in a difficult environment.

WRITE THE STANDOUT ESSAY

If you can make words jump off the page, evoke tears or laughter, or think you are the next Shakespeare, use the essay to your advantage! This is your chance to be as expressive and original as possiblejust check out the great examples we have here!