The Dean’s interest list is shrowded in mystery at Harvard. During the litigation, they went thru great lengths to keep the process around the Dean’s list a secret. It has been heavily redacted. But a lot of the trial related testimony is public. You can find it by googling.
My guess is that in order to get onto that list, you’ll need to have a parent donate 7-8 figures, be the son/daughter of a famous dignitary or be connected to a Trustee. But I really don’t know. Each school does things differently of course. Most of them have a similar sort of ‘list’.