College · Seniors
Unique applications aren’t what you think
Harvard’s 2019 affirmative action lawsuit pulled back the curtain on its admissions process.
Passionate students get in. They might be nationally-recognized engineers, they might be amateur painters. What matters is having passion and being able to show it.
What Harvard actually scores
Harvard ranks applicants on a scale from one to six, one being the highest. In 2019, 0.5% received a one for academic strength, 0.3% for extracurricular strength, and less than 50 applicants for personal rating.
0.5%
scored a one for academic strength
0.3%
scored a one for extracurricular strength
<50
of 37,000 scored a one for personal rating
Of 37,000, less than 50 were considered to have “truly outstanding qualities of character” which, according to internal documents, includes “such considerations as what kind of contribution would the person make to the dining hall conversation, to study groups, and to society as a whole after graduation.”
Of these “truly outstanding” applicants, one third were not admitted.
So what should you focus on?
For students, the college process should not revolve around the 5% acceptance rate, or scoring a one, or doing all the Right Things to get in. Admissions is an imprecise process with no review mechanisms that evaluate long term success. Based on the Harvard documents, conversations with hundreds of students at elite schools, and post-mortems of successful and unsuccessful applications, we’ve determined a student has the highest chance of success—in admissions and long after—if they have passion and can show they have it.
Passionate students get in. They might be nationally-recognized engineers, they might be amateur painters. For some students, developing passion is a challenge; for others, the challenge is being open about it to recommenders, to interviewers, and in essays.
If showing it is the hard part, start with essay practice and building relationships with your recommenders.
Next steps
Practice expressing yourself
Writing prompts and short readings that build the skill college essays need: writing about you.
Read the guide →The college essay checklist
Go through every essay and supplement, one question at a time, before you hit submit.
Read the guide →Great recommendations come from asking for help
How to build real relationships with the two teachers who’ll write about you.
Read the guide →All college guides
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