On the Harvard Application

The regular-decision admit rate for the Harvard class of 2016 was 3.8%. Even amongst the most selective undergraduate admissions departments, this figure stands out: Princeton, for instance, admitted 6% of 2016 regular decision applications, while Yale admitted 5.3%.

I assume that this discrepancy arises from two main factors. The first--Harvard has an inordinately high "yield" rate (proportion of students that enroll when they're admitted)--is just another testament to the prestige of a Harvard education (it is generally accepted that all other things equal, Harvard edges out Yale/Princeton in terms of brand-name recognition). The second factor, however, is more interesting and important to note: The application process for Harvard is far quicker than for Princeton, Yale, MIT, etc.

There is no analogy on the Harvard supplemental application to Yale's "Why Yale?" prompt, Princeton's supplemental essay prompts, or M.I.T.'s not-even-common-application labyrinth of short essays. In the clearly delineated maroon common-app box marked "Optional Information", Harvard College states: "We do not require or expect applicants to submit supplementary materials or additional essays." There is no school-specific prompt: should an ambitious applicant choose to submit an additional essay, he or she is instructed to write about literally anything--even a "list of the books [he or she has] read in the past 12 months." Applying to Harvard, then, couldn't be easier. Any college-aspiring senior will have already completed all sections of the common app, and applying to Harvard would not be more tedious than a few extra clicks on the Common App. 

I'm not going to hypothesize on whether or not Harvard is "artificially" suppressing their admit rate by making the application process so straightforward. I don't even have conclusive evidence for a correlation between ease-of-applying and number of applications received (though it sure seems intuitive!). In my opinion, the important takeaway is this: Apply to Harvard. 

Applying to Harvard College takes an extra twenty minutes and an extra 70 dollars. The former should be inconsequential. As for the latter....think of it as a cover fee for the free shot of adrenalin that will arrive April 1st. If you have any desire whatsoever to attend Harvard, make the brief effort to apply. Worst case you become part of the tradition, part of the mass of seniors that receive the kindly worded, concise rejection letter come April. Best case...