<p>A friend of mine (no, I’m not using this as a proxy for myself… it’s a real friend of mine) happens to be a clinically-certified sociopath (dissocial personality disorder, to be exact). And, he’s thinking of getting into Harvard.</p>
<p>No, he hasn’t murdered anyone yet, and is unlikely to do so in the foreseeable future. He is pretty well-integrated into society (perhaps even better than some non-sociopaths like I are). However, how would it look like on his app? Or should he just hide the disorder from the adcoms? Is it even a good idea to have the disorder as an essay topic?</p>
<p>As for intelligence, it won’t be too much of a problem for him - he broke the ceiling of the Stanford-Binet test (which puts his IQ at ~6σ above the mean), and he totally aced his ACT and SATs. His ECs are pretty strong too.</p>
<p>But still, the question remains: will the adcoms be scared off because of his disorder? Should he even mention it?</p>
<p>[Edit: LOL, when I write out his description, my friend sounds like Hannibal Lecter…]</p>
<p>Considering sociopaths are amoral and commonly portrayed as the greatest threat to society ever, it would probably be a good idea not to mention it at all.</p>
<p>Harvard College is an academically rigorous college. Harvard College is also a residential community, and I would expect that the admission committee keeps in mind “roommate qualities” of applicants as applications for admission are considered.</p>
<p>This thread is pretty interesting… what makes someone a sociopath, anyways? By that I mean what kind of behaviors got him this label? If it’s something like making lampshades out of human skin, there might be a problem. If it’s something like an inability to experience strong emotion or a difficulty communicating, then he might be okay. It really depends on the exact circumstances.</p>
<p>I’d be pretty certain that Harvard lets in a fair number of undiagnosed – or at least undisclosed – sociopaths every year. The key here, though, is undiagnosed. Tell your friend not to disclose it.</p>
<p>Here are some traits as profiled on a “understanding sociopaths” website:</p>
<p>Everyone here seems to be telling the OP that his friend should not disclose the disorder, but if he is indeed a bonafide sociopath, I wouldn’t really want him walking the halls of Harvard with me (if I were a student there).</p>
<p>^^^neither would I… It’s kind of sick how some people are so skewed towards admissions that they would advise someone to hide such a dangerous disorder in order to better his chances to get in… I doubt that you would want to go to school with a sociopath, if you fully know about the disorder</p>
<p>^LOL. There seems to be a misunderstanding of sociopathy here… he’s not the mass-murdering type of sociopath, but merely one who can’t experience strong emotions… you know… <em>emotionally ■■■■■■■■</em>… but still, it is a good idea to hide it, lest the adcoms be as vindictive or ignorant of the condition as some of the posters above are…</p>
<p>Wow, I would never hide something like this. Lots of discussion has come up over whether to hide mental illness etc - I’d estimate that the application doesn’t make sense without it. So, I would provide a doctor’s note, perhaps, explaining the situation. Then, your friend’s recommendations, which might mention his ability to get along well with others or not, will make more sense; etc. Basically, if somebody says, "Applicant seems to have difficulty expressing his emotions or “Applicant does not interact well with other students”, the applicant will probably not be admitted - and that’s not fair to somebody for whom social difficulty is a built in thing! I’d make sure the application makes it very clear exactly what your friend’s social disorder entails (and what it does Not entail), and how your friend has overcome challenges associated with that disorder. Because, a) certain aspects of the application would most likely seem strange or negative without this information, and b) well, adcoms have to in some sense represent the thoughts of a school. If the adcom reads that your friend has sociopathy and without even reading the details judges your friend negatively, is that really a school where your friend will be happy??</p>
<p>Let me make clear that I am NOT advocating that any applicant hide information as relevant as this information appears to be. I am also saying that Harvard’s admission office, thinking about the good of the whole residential community, will use whatever sources of information appear in the admission file (including teacher and counselor recommendations, interview reports, etc.) to see whether the applicant will be a contributor to or a drag on the community.</p>
<p>I don’t see why it matters that it is Harvard he is applying to.
I think he should mention his illness and how he has coped with it, if it is obvious from his interview etc. that he has some problems, but I would not use the word ‘sociopath’.
It seems to me that if someone who is a sociopath and that intelligent were excluded from college that would cause the problems usually associated with a ‘sociopath’.</p>