Knowing the 13 Secret Steps Into Harvard Does not Make Any Easier Admission

Step 1: Move to Montana.

Harvard's special country admissions office attention to recruits from 20 U.S. states labeled internally as "sparse country" because of these places, including Maine, Arizona and Montana, are relatively underrepresented on campus.

In a 1978 decision, the Supreme Court cited the importance of geographic diversity in admissions, saying, "A farm boy from Idaho can bring something to Harvard College that has a Bostonian can not offer."

Step 2: Scrap that. Move to New York City or Boston.

Applications are divided into 20 geographic regions, with each having a similar application. For example, Texas is its own docket, while Alaska and nine states in the West Mountain make up another, according to a map shown during the trial.

New York City and Boston areas-had greater rates of 11.3% and 12.8%, respectively, for the class of 2018. That's roughly double the rates for other dockets.

Those dockets are chaired by Harvard's two top public officials,

Step 3: Persuade your parents to become chefs or car mechanics.

Harvard says the campus benefits when its students have parents working various jobs.

"Let's say you were the son of a migrant worker," William Fitzsimmons, the school's director of admissions and financial aid, said during the trial earlier this month. "It's a thing to talk about migrant workers and immigration in the abstract. It's another thing to live with someone who has lived that experience. "

Step 4: Mark "classics" as your intended concentration.

For the class of 2018, 7.4% of applicants who reported to study humanities were admitted, compared with 4.6% of aspiring engineers and computer scientists.

Science and tech-related fields are popularly popular majors, while interest in the humanities has waned. Mr. Fitzsimmons said Harvard wants to woo more "humanists," with the hope that they can educate engineering and science majors "so they'll have a human basis for deciding how to use this powerful technology they're studying."

Step 5: Show how much you love learning.

Mr. Fitzsimmons testified that he is looking for opportunities in the field of "joyfully" and would "talk to you about their love of physics."

James Joyce's "Ulysses" at his high school book club.

Step 6: Tell your teachers to call the best student ever. Not just the best this year-the best ever.

Harvard instructs admissions officers to give top marks to recommendations if they are "truly over the top," with phrases like "the best ever" or "one of the best in X years."

Mr. Fitzsimmons testified that one of the best recommendations he ever read was from a high-school janitor. The applicant worked with the janitor to help pay his high-school tuition. Mr. Fitzsimmons said, "What do you think this is about to be a student," adding: "We have a dismal day, this is the kind of person you want with you … in any tough situation."

Step 7: Tell a compelling story.

At trial, Harvard highlighted moving candidate essays, including one from Vietnamese immigrant who was bullied in school for his accent.

Mr. Fitzsimmons said, "How could your heart not go out for this person?"

Step 8: Do not come off as arrogant, aggressive, unhappy or boring.

A sample applicant in Harvard's 2012 discussion guide was dinged after his teacher said he had "problems working with others who are less able than he."

Harvard's interview handbook says that they have been "bland" should get low marks on the personal rating, which measures their personal qualities through their essays, recommendations and interviews.

Step 9: Come back as mature, effervescent, kind and focused.

Harvard all over the world. The school also told interviewers to look for signs of "unusual effervescence" in applicants.

One admitted, "calm, kind, and quiet," thoughtful and focused, "never minded, always working towards her goals" -performed with a ballet company, job during high school.

Step 10: Be an all-star ice hockey player.

Roughly 86% of recruited varsity athletes who apply to Harvard were admitted, according to trial testimony.

Step 11: Schedule your alumni interview at a coffee shop and inform friends to casually stop by.

An alumni interviewer noted in an admitted student's application, released ahead of trial, that the interview was interrupted by classmates saying hello. The interviewer said they appeared to come from different social circles, indicating the applicant "Harvard says it is looking for it.

Step 12: Be very rich. Gold very poor. Or the child of an alum.

Children of major donors often get flagged by the development and admissions offices. They also can make it on the "Z list," a roster of several dozen applicants who are offered deferred admission, starting a year later. Students on the Z list tends to be wealthy and less academically prepared, according to the Harvard suing group.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged persons also get special consideration. A 2013 study by Harvard found a low rate of 24%, compared with 15% for all other applicants.

Harvard's data is based on Harvard's data.

Step 13: Hurry up.

Top colleges regularly fill up with one-third of their classes with early-admission applicants. Harvard admitted 14.5% of early-action applicants for the class of 2022, and about 2.9% of regular-decision applicants. If you are still intent on applying-even though the school may not be a good fit for many students-you have a couple of days to get it done. This year Harvard's early-action deadline is Thursday.

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