Coming from a lower-caliber high school

Northstarmom
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:13:42 +0000

Virtually all incoming students have some apprehension about whether they are good enough to survive at Harvard. That was the case decades ago when I was a student, and it’s the case now.

For instance, I remember that one of my classmates entered Harvard at age 16 with soph standing, and afterward went to Harvard med school and became a surgeon. When I ran into him about 20 years later, he told me that he almost had dropped out of being premed because he thought he wasn’t smart enough! He was surprised to learn that his fellow students were awed by his presence at Harvard at age 16!

Another classmate was the 3rd generation of her family to go to Radcliffe, and her mother was high in the alumni association. Decades later, my classmate told me that she, too, had apprehension that she wasn’t good enough!

Remember, too, that Harvard says that last year 90% of Harvard applicants qualified for admission based on their stats. Also something like 97% of Harvard students graduate from Harvard within 6 years. The people who don’t are the (few) who decide to transfer, get married or do something similar.

Everyone who gets in has the ability to handle the work. Certainly students will enter with different levels of prep. For instance, I went to one of the best high schools in Upstate N.Y., the kind of place that students at other schools would virtually genuflect when they heard the name of our school.

Senior year, we had to do 10 page research papers, far more than what students at other local schools had to do. Then, at Harvard, I met prep school students who’d had to write 50 page research papers.

Yes, they had better prep, and had been exposed to some things that I had not been exposed to, but I was smart enough to catch up on the things that I hadn’t been taught in h.s. The same is true of you.

In addition, I guarantee that there will be some things that you know about life, ECs, and/or academics that your classmates won’t know. That’s the beauty of the wonderful diversity of Harvard’s student bodies. Everyone has something to offer and to gain from being there and interacting with the other students.

Enjoy!