September / October 2007
Raising Harvard
Photographs by Walter Smith
When it comes to getting into Harvard, it’s a hypercompetitive jungle out there. Do you really want to know what it will take for your child to make the grade? Then read on. But be warned: Raising a Harvard-ready child requires planning, determination, discipline—and a lot of money.
Giving Back
(10th grade, ages 15-16)
With just two years before applications are due, Harvard hopefuls should have founded a company, written a commercially viable software program, or launched a charitable enterprise. If a kid isn’t class president, he or she should be establishing committees, publishing a newspaper, or mobilizing his or her community for or against something. (It doesn’t really matter what.) Having a job will help establish real-world credibility. Your child’s private guidance counselor will confirm that it used to be sufficient merely to participate in school or church-based activities. Not anymore. To gain a boost on Harvard applications, today’s volunteers need to shake up entrenched organizations or provide some key innovation. Maximizing the summer is mandatory. Going to an Ivy League summer school is a start, but a kid has to demonstrate rare intellectual ambition and dedication by taking a difficult and distinctive class, such as etymology or chemical engineering. “I get so many calls from parents asking me what program will look best on a college application,” says Jill Levin, West Coast advisor for Tips on Trips and Camps, a nationwide referral service for parents. Community service (with language immersion) is de riguer right now. For about $5,000, kids can plant trees in Costa Rica or fight AIDS in Botswana. Working in South African orphanages is also popular. None of these activities will guarantee a spot in the Harvard class of your choice. But let’s face it: Without them, do your sons and daughters stand a chance?
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