This part of the course will provide a case study, assisted by our Harvard University admission officer Daniel, who has provided key insights uncovering the curtain on a common admissions process.

Ranking System of Harvard

Overview

At Harvard, a 1-6 rating system is chosen to evaluate applicants in 6 different areas: academics, extracurriculars, athletics, personal, recommendation letters, and alumni interviews. For each area, 6 is the least desirable, while 1 is the most desirable in that particular aspect.

The rating system has a caveat: The rating is not an average of each of your scores. Rather, your highest scores will be weighted more heavily when considering your overall average, and some of the factors, like athletics, can only help, not drag a score down.

The rating has one more important caveat: That not every area is weighed equally. Daniel chimes in, "The academic component is most important, and then comes the extra-curricular component." The admission officer breaks down what these coded numbers meant in terms of an applicant's fate as accepted, deferred, waitlisted, or rejected:

1. Exceptional
2. Strong
3. Good
4. Neutral
5. Negative
6. Unread

Watch the following video to gain an understanding of how admission officers rank applicants. This will give you a better understanding of what admission officers are looking for.