Harvard and class rank

gibby
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 00:51:21 +0000

Your GPA and class rank demonstrate how you performed over time relative to your peers. Let’s say you and two other students from your high school, both of whom have a HIGHER rank and GPA, apply to Harvard. All things being equal expect for the GPA and rank – which they never are – for your application to bubble to the top, you would need to possess something the other two students from your high school don’t have. It could be a special talent, a thought provoking essay, brilliant teacher recommendations, a stellar interview report, a sense of greater maturity, wonderful character, an EC that Admissions is looking for this particular year. It could be anything. Who knows? And, as you have absolutely no control over the matter, my suggestion would be to let it go.

This article, while dated, will give you an idea of how Admissions goes through applications and what they look for as they read your file: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/keys-to-the-kingdom/