A is for Admissions

Colleges & Universities Harvard University
1

<p>Hey guys, any of you read the book by Michelle Hernandez? I was wondering about the Academic Index. I know it’s easy to calculate that, but do any of you know what constitutes an extracurricular 7,8 or 9?</p>

2

<p>That book states that the system is the same everywhere, but it isn’t. Just to pick one example, Harvard uses a 5-point scale, where 1 is the best, and there is no AI for nonathletes. So there’s no answer to your question when it comes to Harvard.</p>

3

<p>I don’t know about the AI or the extracurricular scores/rankings, but these discussion threads might be helpful to you. We’ll never know which activities got which score but you will be able to see which applications were successful:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125981&highlight=Official+Harvard[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125981&highlight=Official+Harvard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125981[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125981&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p><a href=“%5Bb%5DHanna%5B/b%5D%20wrote:”>quote</a> That book states that the system is the same everywhere, but it isn’t. Just to pick one example, Harvard uses a 5-point scale, where 1 is the best, and there is no AI for nonathletes.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That’s incorrect. The book specifically gives examples of different ranking systems at universities other than Dartmouth.</p>

5

<p>And then it goes on to say, “But I’ll just explain how Dartmouth does it, and that’ll be good enough to give you all a good idea of how it works.” Leading to posts like the OP’s, which asks how to get a 7, 8, or 9 score on EC’s at Harvard, and assumes that Harvard uses an academic AI for all applicants. If Hernandez had been clearer, there wouldn’t be this understandable reader confusion.</p>

6

<p>Even the statement you quote, if it is in fact a direct quotation, should make
clear what is already evident from (e.g.) the fact that she worked only at Dartmouth, that schools are different, that there is no master Ivy League admissions coordination (something she takes pains to debunk in the book), that policies at Dartmouth or Harvard or Katmandu U can and do change year by year, and so on. Anybody with common sense will understand that she is not painting a master admissions narrative for all Ivies for all time.</p>