They also need to focus on the professor side of the coin: general disinterest in teaching undergrads and lack of engagement with them. Harvard is known for that, and I believe it's the primary reason the UG reputation is rather weak.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://davidlabaree.com/2025/09/08/rose-horowitch-the-perverse-consequences-of-the-easy-a/

For anyone who can’t get past the atlantic paywall

Thanks - this is good. I like this part:

Claybaugh assured me that Harvard is committed to bringing about a lasting culture change around learning. She thinks of the change as a matter of fairness. Harvard students have access to a trove of intellectual treasures and the chance to commune with many of the greatest living minds. “If we have the world’s biggest university library, then our students should be reading these books,” Claybaugh told me. “And if the students we’re admitting don’t want to read those books, or if we have set up an incentive structure that dissuades them from reading these books, then that is immoral, and we need to reincentivize them to do so.”

Or... you could [b]admit different students (ones who like to read) lol

[/b]


I'm an alumni interviewer and always, always focus on the bolded. Genuine intellectual curiosity and love of reading matter. You'd be surprised how rare it is these days. Of course, Admissions generally focuses on other things regardless.

Anonymous wrote:The crimson should’ve linked the Harvard application files of the students they profiled.

Harvard has a bad selection/filter problem

Harvard deliberately chose to focus on applicants who didn't necessarily have the academic stats or scores previously required. Accordingly, their classes and grading policies needed to be easier.

The crimson should’ve linked the Harvard application files of the students they profiled.

Harvard has a bad selection/filter problem

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's going on with the bashing of Harvard on here? Is it just a few folks?

The people being interviewed sounds sad.

This was not our experience with the hard working kids we know at Harvard.

Well, Harvard is the easy school to attack. Because, Harvard. No one is punching down when it comes to Harvard.

But I do think there's an increasing sense that Harvard undergrad is very mediocre - whether due to grade inflation or all the hooked students. The best and brightest go elsewhere these days. And yet Harvard remains on top of the pedestal. So that bothers some people. I know that at my kids high school, an app to Harvard is regarded as pretentious and "striver" for lack of a better word. These are kids going for the brand rather than the education and experience. And people judge accordingly.

Well - maybe the answer is to stop judging ?

Anonymous wrote:https://davidlabaree.com/2025/09/08/rose-horowitch-the-perverse-consequences-of-the-easy-a/

For anyone who can’t get past the atlantic paywall

Thanks - this is good. I like this part:

Claybaugh assured me that Harvard is committed to bringing about a lasting culture change around learning. She thinks of the change as a matter of fairness. Harvard students have access to a trove of intellectual treasures and the chance to commune with many of the greatest living minds. “If we have the world’s biggest university library, then our students should be reading these books,” Claybaugh told me. “And if the students we’re admitting don’t want to read those books, or if we have set up an incentive structure that dissuades them from reading these books, then that is immoral, and we need to reincentivize them to do so.”

Or... you could admit different students (ones who like to read) lol

Anonymous wrote:What's going on with the bashing of Harvard on here? Is it just a few folks?

The people being interviewed sounds sad.

This was not our experience with the hard working kids we know at Harvard.

Well, Harvard is the easy school to attack. Because, Harvard. No one is punching down when it comes to Harvard.

But I do think there's an increasing sense that Harvard undergrad is very mediocre - whether due to grade inflation or all the hooked students. The best and brightest go elsewhere these days. And yet Harvard remains on top of the pedestal. So that bothers some people. I know that at my kids high school, an app to Harvard is regarded as pretentious and "striver" for lack of a better word. These are kids going for the brand rather than the education and experience. And people judge accordingly.

Anonymous wrote:I think this makes Harvard's brand that much more valuable. Although I know it is frustrating and even irritating for so many here, they reign supreme. And now they are about to layer on some rigor.

For those that excel in the new environment, they will dominate interest coming out of school. My DC has as good as chance as any (which unfortunately means low odds), but this change has made me even more excited about her getting in this cycle (even if remote). DC has a couple of superstars in the class that are applying EA, let's see what happens.

No, it will reduce the Harvard brand as a proxy for “smart, high achiever” because employers don’t know what they are getting, and the grads are not that different from students at many other reputable schools. Which is a good thing, because then it may reduce the pressure that some students put on themselves to get into a place like this, thinking its a golden ticket to some magical successful life.

I think this makes Harvard's brand that much more valuable. Although I know it is frustrating and even irritating for so many here, they reign supreme. And now they are about to layer on some rigor.

For those that excel in the new environment, they will dominate interest coming out of school. My DC has as good as chance as any (which unfortunately means low odds), but this change has made me even more excited about her getting in this cycle (even if remote). DC has a couple of superstars in the class that are applying EA, let's see what happens.

Who’s surprised? White girl from rural Arizona struggling. This is why geographic diversity is a waste.

https://davidlabaree.com/2025/09/08/rose-horowitch-the-perverse-consequences-of-the-easy-a/

For anyone who can’t get past the atlantic paywall

Harvard really lives rent free in everyone’s brain it seems

FYI - this years current freshman class was test required so don’t blame it on test optional unprepared kids

Harvard’s plan to start giving A+ grades to “recognize the very best work” would be hilarious if it weren’t so off base. When most students already get As, the fix isn’t to add another higher grade, it’s to restore meaning to the ones we have. Adding an A+ just keeps the grade inflation going.