The following is an excerpt from the Extracurricular Activities chapter of our Best Book.
How do you get an elite university such as Harvard to notice you? If you want to gain admission in to the university of your choice you have to be able to stand out in a sea of applicants.
I attended high school in Florida. It was an Episcopalian school, though only a small portion of students were actually Episcopalian. My high school had a good record for having students accepted each year in to Harvard; including six from my graduating class.
By the time I was a senior in high school my sister was already attending Harvard (not exactly a legacy but close).
What does Harvard look for when considering candidates?
Just because your high school may have never graduated students who were accepted to Harvard that doesn’t mean you don’t have any chance yourself. It is your passion that will get you noticed.
What the university looks for is not people’s previous accomplishments but their passions, and it doesn’t really matter what that passion is, so long as it is real and strong.
How did I get Harvard to notice me?
It wasn’t because of my sister. She gave me an insider’s look in to what it would be like, and that was great, but I was accepted in to Harvard because I got them to notice me.
My passions in high school and college were speech and debate. I participated in mock trials, government simulation conferences and health research. And I was good enough to win national runner-up. I was also the valedictorian of my class. But it was not that which got me accepted in to Harvard.
Harvard receives thousands of applicants each year, perhaps more than thirty thousand. I had to stand out in the crowd, as you will need to, if you want to be recognized by the admissions department.
If you want Harvard to notice you here a few simple tips:
- Show them your passion. When you write your essay do it regarding something you feel passionately about. The passion will show through in your writing
- Use references, or what they also refer to as recommendations. Choose teachers, or others, that know you well and understand your real passions, whether they are academic or artistic. It is just important to choose people who know what you care about and can illustrate that.
- If you are passionate about something it shows in your conversations with others and in your writing.
True passion can’t be faked and the Admissions Committee folks at Harvard who do the entrance selections are trained to notice passion.
Both your resume and your interview will determine whether Harvard will notice you. They look for people who are truly passionate about something because they believe these types of people will make great contributions to not only the student body but also the community as a whole.
