<p>What did you do to make Harvard think you were worth admitting?</p>
<p>I guess it’s all about selling yourself.</p>
<p>^^ It’s a little bit more complicated (and subjective) than that.</p>
<p>Great grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and demonstration of leadership qualities are pretty much prerequisites for admission – and no amount of “selling” will gain you a seat. The best answer comes directly from Harvard’s longtime Dean of Admissions, William Fitzsimmons:</p>
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<p>Student’s “who make people around them better” come in all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life. Admissions learns about those qualities through your essays and from the testimony of your teachers and guidance counselor.</p>
<p>Katy: what admitted students THINK got them into Harvard is practically irrelevant. These same kids may also have been rejected or waitlisted at Duke or Yale or Middlebury or Pomona, etc. Your search for a formula beyond what Gibby speaks about and what’s on Harvard’s own pages is generally fruitless.</p>
<p>The key similarity: excellence. Now it’s up to you to meet that definition.</p>