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[quote=Anonymous]I am a Harvard alum and 15 year interviewer, so I've talked to the Admissions Office pretty regularly over the years.

If my class is any indication, this Free Harvard slate will be voted down resoundingly. Ron Unz , the ringleader, gives money to white supremacists, and has tried to get bilingual programs ( the kind that DCUM loves) banned in several states.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/16/leader-bid-shake-harvard-board-linked-white-supremacist-writers/3YGidncAQoAINn64eXbevI/story.html

Even if that weren't true, Harvard will never abandon holistic admissions. I myself sometimes wish that there were less of a tip for legacies and fewer athletes, but Harvard isn't interested in someone else's idea of "merit". With 17 applicants for each spot, they can't accommodate everyone with high scores anyway. Three fives on APs as a junior, an unweighted 3.8 with at least 6 APs, and all parts of the SAT over 750, only gets you to the top 30-40% of the applicant pool. They only have freshman beds for 5%.

Grades and test scores are poorly correlated with success in college, and Harvard is looking for people who will be successful in life. That's why the rigor of the hs courseload (which is more predictive of college success) and extracurriculars are so important. They want kids who are already getting things done, whether it's research or community service.

If you object to the admissions criteria, I'm not sure why you'd want your kid to go there. No matter where you go to school, your peers make the experience. If you want different peers for your kid, there are 3K universities in this country, and almost all of the universities abroad use test scores as the major admission criterion. If Harvard just used test scores for admission, it would be a different place, and probably wouldn't be able to attract top notch faculty.[/quote]

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