How to Get into Harvard/Yale?

Today, I’m posting about the qualities that Harvard and Yale are looking for in applicants. If you're aiming for these prestigious schools, this information will be valuable to you.

Many universities provide information on their websites about the types of students they want to admit. However, the language used in these postings can often be abstract, leaving you wondering exactly what you need to prepare. Today, I’ll break down these requirements into more straightforward terms.

Harvard University

What does Harvard require?

Let me summarize the extensive information provided on Harvard’s website:

- Prepare yourself to take full advantage of all future learning opportunities.

- This essentially means that you need to have a strong foundation to fully benefit from the education Harvard offers. In other words, you need to be smart!

- Taking the most challenging academic courses will help with your college admissions and improve your first-year performance.

- Take advanced courses in high school!

- Enroll in many AP or IB HL classes!

- Take as many rigorous academic courses as possible!

Harvard understands the differences between schools!

Harvard recognizes that the circumstances of each high school can vary, and they do take unique situations into account. However, personally, I believe it’s important to take rigorous courses, even if they are external.

Harvard’s Ideal Candidate:

- Four years of English study

- Four years of a foreign language

- Two years of history (three years is even better)

- Four years of math

- Four years of science (at least one advanced course in Physics, Chemistry, or Biology)

- Practice in expository prose (practice writing explanations!)

Harvard places a high value on expository writing. Since writing is included in English classes, I emphasize the importance of participating in Writing Competitions. While the essays submitted to colleges can reveal a student's writing level, they are only snapshots. Participation or awards in writing competitions can make you a more competitive applicant.

Math is also crucial!

Harvard emphasizes math, so it’s important to take challenging math courses in high school. The goal is to develop conceptual understanding, higher-order thinking, and mathematical reasoning to critically view the world.

Harvard emphasizes math because mathematical reasoning fosters critical thinking. However, this doesn’t mean you must take calculus. Harvard is aware that some high schools don’t offer calculus, so it’s not a requirement. Nonetheless, it’s advisable to demonstrate your mathematical abilities.

Harvard is looking for students who will contribute to society in the future. Not all well-prepared students will become promising individuals, and not all promising individuals are academically well-prepared. 

“We value applicants with exceptional talents and outstanding personal qualities.”

Special talents and exceptional personal qualities, especially at the national level in sports or music, may increase your chances of being admitted to Harvard. Based on our experience, many students admitted to Harvard also have national-level achievements in sports or music.

Extracurricular Comments:

Harvard is interested in students who excel in one area rather than being average in many. They are also looking for students from unique and diverse backgrounds, domestically and internationally. However, keep in mind that it’s not just about being unique. Whatever you do, think about how it can be presented in a fresh way.

Harvard wants students who can maximize their opportunities and resources and maintain this throughout their lives. This means that they look for activities where you have utilized your resources to achieve something greater.

Let me briefly talk about resources. In Korean culture, parents’ involvement in their child’s activities is sometimes seen negatively. However, in the U.S., it’s a bit different. Parents are sometimes considered part of a student’s resources.

If parents are involved in a certain field and can assist their children in that area, this is viewed as part of the student’s exposed resources. For example, if your parents are researchers and you naturally conduct related research with them, or if you engage deeply in activities related to your parents’ specific professions, or if you’ve been involved in activities handed down from your grandparents, all of these are considered resources that you possess.

The key is whether you can sustain these activities for a long time. Even if the extracurricular activity isn’t grand, showing sustainability and that it continued from grades 9 to 12 can make the school believe that you’ll maintain these activities even after entering the university.

Yale University

Yale looks for students who:

- Will maximize the unique resources available at Yale

- Have a passion for pushing the limits of their talents

- Are talented

- Can be leaders in whatever they do

Compared to other schools, Yale places a higher emphasis on leadership. Having leadership-related extracurricular activities can be an advantage.

Yale evaluates applicants based on two key questions:

- Who will make the most of Yale’s resources?

- Who will contribute the most to the Yale community?

What matters is the impact you make, not the scope of that impact. Yale looks for students who can contribute to the community.

Here’s an example from one of our students who was admitted to Yale: The student initially started uploading YouTube videos as a hobby and eventually mastered video editing. There was a school club the student was involved in, and the biggest challenge was recruiting new members to keep the club active. The student proposed creating a promotional video for the club using the video editing skills they had learned. As a result, the number of participants in the club increased. The student specifically mentioned in their college application the percentage increase in club members. This wasn’t about making an enormous contribution, but rather showing how they utilized their resources to contribute to their community.

Another successful example involves a student who, when taking medication, struggled with determining the correct dosage. The student solved this issue through coding. They discovered that the dosages prescribed by pharmaceutical companies varied greatly and found that there was still no substantial theoretical basis for dosage recommendations. The student developed an app that used a physics-based approach to suggest appropriate dosages based on body weight, thus addressing their initial concern.

Key Criteria for Yale Admissions:

Small things add up to make you stand out from other applicants. When asked what’s important on an application, the answer is everything! 

However, to increase your chances of getting into Yale, the following are essential:

- Academic Ability: Grades are the most important. Yale selects students who have taken challenging courses and earned good grades. 

Yale also values academic curiosity, energy, relationships, and the impact you have in the classroom.

Recommendation letters: Yale mentions the importance of recommendation letters. Positive evaluations in these letters regarding your academic abilities will be beneficial.

If you’ve helped classmates with math or served as a TA for your teacher, the positive influence you’ve had will naturally be reflected in your recommendation letters, making you a competitive applicant.

While Yale does not have a cutoff for test scores, they provide a range of scores for the 25th to 75th percentile to give you an idea. Yale also emphasizes that GPA is more important than standardized test scores, and a high test score will not compensate for a lower GPA.

Returning to recommendation letters, it’s important to remember that the teacher’s recommendation reflects who you are in the classroom, while the counselor’s recommendation presents who you are in a broader context.

Essays: Yale explicitly states on its website that your essays should be genuine and tell your story.

While Yale says there’s no need to obsess over AP or IB HL classes, I personally recommend taking challenging courses. Doing so will increase your chances of being admitted and help you keep up with the high-level courses at the university.

It’s also important to convey how you’ve utilized the resources and opportunities available to you in high school through your recommendation letters or essays. Yale admissions officers evaluate how you might approach activities and your attitude towards them once you’re at Yale.

It’s important to create extracurricular activities that are impactful and sustained over time rather than one-off events. 

In summary, the absolute amount of time and frequency invested is crucial. I recommend having at least one extracurricular activity where you can show long-term commitment.

Let’s conclude with a quote from Kingman Brewster, a former Yale president: 

“I would like to believe that a person who devotes all their energy to doing something excellently is better off than someone who is highly capable but shows no enthusiasm.”

This quote emphasizes that you should pour your energy into whatever you do. Therefore, before applying to college, I suggest creating something you’re truly passionate about.

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Today, we’ve looked at what Harvard and Yale consider when selecting students. 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at A-One Institute, and we’ll be happy to assist you. 

Thank you.