Harvard Applicant Profile: Legacy

As I mentioned previously, there are many kinds of Harvard applicants. The purpose of describing these profiles is not to stereotype any member of the Harvard community. Rather, the purpose is to enlighten prospective students about what types of candidates Harvard is seeking. In fact, many undergraduates fall into several of the categories that I will describe.

The legacy admission is the student who has strong family ties to Harvard. Usually, a direct relative is a Harvard graduate, such as a parent or sibling. Often, multiple generations have attended Harvard. For example, many generations of the Kennedy family have attended Harvard.

Legacy candidates are typically well-qualified on their own, but as one can imagine, having the connections does not hurt. As they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know, right? An applicant who knows someone who went to Harvard, especially recently, can ask them for advice regarding who to contact at the Admissions Office and how to structure their application.

There are various views on the issues of 'legacies' and what role that should play in admissions. As this article in the Harvard Crimson notes, there are several arguments for considering legacy status in admission:

Various proponents of legacy preference have offered several reasons for continuing to give legacies a boost. For example, a critical mass of legacies on campus might help to generate a larger sense of Harvard spirit and tradition on campus, through their own emotional connections to the University and their familial connections to alumni.

More importantly, proponents of legacy preference claim that the practice also helps to engage alumni with the University beyond their Harvard years; knowing that their sons and daughters stand a better chance of admission to their alma mater, alumni are more generous with their money, and possibly more significantly, their time.

The article goes on to argue against using legacy status as a criteria for admission. Still, if you are applying to Harvard and have a close relative who went there, it cannot hurt you and can only stand to help you. Even if you only know someone who went, I would suggest contacting them and asking them about their experiences. They can serve as a valuable advisor during the application process and beyond.

Future posts will discuss the other applicant profiles, such as the Harvard Athlete.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awards given for a variety reasons that usually reward the recipients with cash to go to college. Here are some reasons why you should apply for scholarships, and some things to be aware of:

Advantages

• Scholarships help you practice your applying skills
• Financial assistance
• Prestige
• Something more to list on your application as an award

Disadvantages

• Applying takes time, time which could be used on other activities/pursuits
• There is no guarantee of success, no matter how good your application is
• Harvard, and many other schools, will deduct any money you win from scholarships from your financial aid award. Thus, the only direct benefit you can receive from scholarships is if you win enough to money to cover your tuition entirely (which is quite hard to do)
• While particular groups will have scholarships targeted for them (Native Americans, for example), there are few general scholarships based solely on academic achievement
• As a rule of thumb, you should expect to win one scholarship for every 10 you apply to, but this could vary widely for each particular individual

The list of disadvantages may look long. However, on the whole, I think it is worthwhile to try for scholarships, but do not do this in lieu of studying for your classes or the SATs. The skills you learn in applying for scholarships will serve you well in applying for college and beyond.

Getting Into Harvard Month-By-Month: October

Each month, I will discuss the steps you should take that month to be successful in applying to colleges. For a discussion about last month, check out the September post.

Freshmen

Hopefully you have gotten settled into your classes by now and found an activity or two to join.

• Start looking into scholarship opportunities. You have relatively more time to do this now, and winning a few of these will not only look good on your application, you will also get some money to help pay for college.
  
• Be active in the extracurricular groups you joined. Try to spend one or two weekends a month either participating in tournaments or whatever activity it is that the group is involved with.
  
• Study hard! Your grades this semester count as much as any other towards your GPA. Colleges will not discount your grade just because it was your first semester in school.
  

Sophomores

The pace has probably picked up a bit by this point. Here are a few pointers:

• Continue looking into what you need to do to take the PSAT exam this year. Start preparing for it by learning vocabulary, taking practice exams, or even signing up for a test prep course.
• It is never too early to look into summer programs. Summers are nice way to have significant experiences outside of school that also look good on an application. Many colleges, including Harvard Summer School, also run summer school programs that you may be eligible for.
• Good luck on the PSAT!
  
• Study hard!
  

Juniors

Ah, juniors. This is the money year. This is the year in which a majority of your college application will be finalized. Good luck!

• If you are taking the SAT this month, good luck! If you signed up for January or May, keep studying when you have free time.
  
• Good luck on the NMSQT! Being a National Merit Scholar is definitely a big plus on your application.
• Try to keep up with your extracurricular activities.
  
• If you have teachers you liked and whose classes you did well in in previous years, go back and touch base with them. Tell them about interests and goals, with an eye towards perhaps asking them for a letter of recommendation down the road.
  

Seniors

Senior year can simultaneously be both very rewarding and very stressful. Just have a plan in mind, and things will be fine.

• Start preparing the Common Application for Harvard if you have not already.
• Start contacting teachers about recommendation letters. It is probably best to have teachers from diverse subjects, like an English teacher and a Biology teacher. Even better are teachers who can speak to your academic abilities as well as your extracurricular activities.
• Keep working on your personal statement (or get started!). This will take much longer than you expect to write! If you need help, there are many services that offer professional help with writing personal statements.
  
• Contact your local admissions representative with any questions you have about Harvard College or the admissions process. They can be your best friends throughout this process!

The November post is coming soon. If you are concerned about what you should have done last month, here is the September post.