Breakdown of the Harvard Admissions Process

Harvard's admissions reads a summary and comments on them. The sheet includes information about an applicant 's race, gender, location and academic background. It tracks the numerical ratings given to the students by admissions officers.

Harvard's method includes questions about a 40-person admissions committee about who should be admitted. These ratings are filled out in the boxes on the summary sheet.

A sample summary sheet provided by Harvard:

Numerical Ratings

Applicants generally receive a score from one, and some carry a plus or minus as well. Harvard provides admissions officers a rubric to help assign scores. For example, in the academic rating means someone has "summa cum laude potential," with "near perfect scores and grades" and "unusual creativity."

In the personal rating, which assesses the applicant's personal qualities, it is defined as "outstanding," while a 4 indicates "bland or somewhat negative or immature."

Harvard says the only rating that is considered to be an overall rating, which is the admission rating of the total impression of an applicant and is not just an average of the other ratings.

200 Variables

Harvard says there is no strict formula to its admissions process. An economist hired by Harvard Ahead of trial to analyze its admissions data about 200 variables that play a role in admission decisions, including ethnicity, intended major, parental background and geography.

The school's rates vary for each of these factors.

All of these factors are considered to be successful in a holistic manner, with the goal of creating a rich educational experience.

Rental Matters

Harvard says on its website that domestic students hail from all 50 U.S. states.

The results of this study are divided according to whether or not the student lives in "sparse country," an internal Harvard refers to 20 states that .

In a recent admissions year, students in the United States have been awarded 1310 or higher out of a possible 1600 on the combined verbal and mathematical components of the PSAT. White females in other states had to score at least 1350 to receive a letter, while white males needed 1380.

'Distinguishing Excellencies'

Admissions officers look for what Harvard calls "distinguishing excellences." For example, according to an interviewer handbook from the 2013-14 admissions cycle, the school seeks "unusual intelligence" or creative ability as evidenced by recordings of a musical or dance performance. They also look for recommendations, essays and interview reports that suggest "unusual effervescence, charity, maturity, or strength of character."

High ratings in the ratings do not guarantee admission to Harvard, and low numbers do not automatically result in rejection. Harvard's campuses are likely to be difficult to quantify, and they are often difficult to quantify.

Write to Nicole Hong at [email protected] and Melissa Korn at [email protected]