“Should I even apply to Harvard?” It’s a question that we often hear from nervous students. These students routinely have over a 4.0 GPA and at least a 34 on the ACT but are still worried about getting in. They understand that with only a 3.2% acceptance rate, it takes more than just excellent grades to get in. Harvard uses a holistic admissions process, meaning they look at all aspects of your application. A large part of that is your extracurriculars. You may ask yourself, “Well, what should my extracurriculars look like?” Let us break it down.
“There is no such thing as a ‘typical Harvard student’”
Or at least that is what they say on their website. On some level, it's true. Each student is different, but that doesn’t mean that Harvard isn’t looking for a particular type of high-achieving applicant. We have worked with many Harvard hopefuls, and while their interests differ, their commitment and follow-through do not. The easiest way to understand this is with a case study, aka a student we worked with in the past and their extracurriculars.
Harvard publishes a list of questions to ask yourself before applying. Many of them relate to your extracurricular activities. Let’s break them down and talk about how our case study student would have answered them. You will see that for many, he would have a perfect answer. This is also what you should be striving for.
Do you care deeply about anything—Intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal?
This student was passionate about three things. He loved film, writing, and volunteering. Most of his extracurriculars were related to these pursuits. He hoped to major in Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) with a concentration in film/video making. His love of film and writing was both intellectual and extracurricular as he pursued these interests inside and outside of class.
Harvard is looking for students with defined academic passions that they follow outside of class. This student did that in many ways. For example, he founded the film club at his school, but he didn’t stop there; he followed through on many opportunities in the writing and film space.
In terms of extracurricular, athletic, community, or family commitments, have you taken full advantage of opportunities?
Our student used his role as founder of the film club to organize school-wide events and create a History of Film course that could be taken as an after-school elective. He established and directed a student film festival at his school that became a yearly tradition even after he graduated. When he felt he had taken all the opportunities at his school, he began to think bigger. He wrote his screenplays and successfully submitted them to several film festivals, including the Los Angeles Film Awards, New York Cinematography Awards, and Best Short Fest.
Making opportunities for yourself and self-advocating is what Harvard wants to see. They understand that not all schools or communities have the same opportunities, but they seek students who push themselves to do all they can.
What is the quality of your activities? Do you appear to have a genuine commitment or leadership role?
This student loved writing and rose to the top of several writing and editing-based clubs at his school. He was both the Editor-in-Chief of his school yearbook and literary magazine and a senior editor of the school newspaper. He was very committed to all three, and it showed in the amount of time that he dedicated to these roles. During some weeks, he would work more hours than a part-time job to ensure the quality of these publications was up to his high standards.
Being a leader is more than just starting a club. Harvard wants to see you invest your time and effort into the activities that you pursue.
What about your maturity, character, leadership, self-confidence, sense of humor, energy, concern for others, and grace under pressure?
The secret about extracurriculars is that they are just another way to showcase positive personal characteristics about you. Having great extracurriculars can show off your leadership, drive, time management skills, and concern for others.
Our student loved to volunteer. Community service isn’t the only way to show concern for others and your community, but it is popular among high schoolers. He served as a mentor at a local middle school through two different community-based programs. He also volunteered every weekend at his local ASPCA. There are many ways to get involved, but giving back to your community is a way to show the kind of person you are to colleges.
Everything else
Not everything you do will fit nicely into an answer to these questions. That is fine. For example, this student helped found a beekeeping club. While technically a founding member, it was a low leadership commitment. He just liked it. And that's ok. Harvard students are multi-faceted. If you love something, do it. Just ensure that you show off your interests, commitment, leadership, and passion in the places most important to you.
If you are dreaming of going to Harvard, it pays to get involved. You should be pushing yourself to follow your interests and passions. This will look slightly different for every student, but it will be evident in your commitment to your extracurriculars. If this all seems complicated, we can help! Getting into Harvard isn’t easy, but helping students get in is what we do!
We want to help you! Reach out here.