The individual validation that a student gets upon attending Harvard is predicated on the unparalleled difficulty of getting in.
Acceptance rate and difficulty of getting in aren't the same thing, that's my point. "Not everyone can get in" can mean several different things. Most people who don't meet the standards for admission don't even bother applying, so even that 7% admission rate is likely higher than ratio of high school grads who meet the standards vs those who don't.
It stops being difficulty when it's just a matter of dumb luck. If there were 5,000 qualified candidates and only 2000 slots, and those other 3,000 wind up going to Yale or MIT or Stanford, does it really matter? So it doesn't make sense to emphasize Harvard's exclusivity without also admitting where that exclusivity comes from: reputation and high standards for admission. Exclusivity is a consequence of that, it's not the reason for it.
It no longer demonstrates that you're any better than your peers, and there's the problem.
I would say that if you are better than your peers then you aren't really peers in that sense.
though admittedly, the real awesomeness that lies in going to Harvard manifests itself in the peer environment. Contrary to popular belief, pretty much everyone who goes here is social, super chill, extremely nice, and radically tolerant - on top of being insanely intelligent and supremely accomplished. It just inspires you to do things...like drop out and move to California to make it big.
This is exactly my point. The students, faculty, and overall culture at Harvard make it a superb environment for an ambitious student. Exclusivity alone isn't responsible for that.
Comments
The individual validation that a student gets upon attending Harvard is predicated on the unparalleled difficulty of getting in.
Acceptance rate and difficulty of getting in aren't the same thing, that's my point. "Not everyone can get in" can mean several different things. Most people who don't meet the standards for admission don't even bother applying, so even that 7% admission rate is likely higher than ratio of high school grads who meet the standards vs those who don't.
It stops being difficulty when it's just a matter of dumb luck. If there were 5,000 qualified candidates and only 2000 slots, and those other 3,000 wind up going to Yale or MIT or Stanford, does it really matter? So it doesn't make sense to emphasize Harvard's exclusivity without also admitting where that exclusivity comes from: reputation and high standards for admission. Exclusivity is a consequence of that, it's not the reason for it.
It no longer demonstrates that you're any better than your peers, and there's the problem.
I would say that if you are better than your peers then you aren't really peers in that sense.
though admittedly, the real awesomeness that lies in going to Harvard manifests itself in the peer environment. Contrary to popular belief, pretty much everyone who goes here is social, super chill, extremely nice, and radically tolerant - on top of being insanely intelligent and supremely accomplished. It just inspires you to do things...like drop out and move to California to make it big.
This is exactly my point. The students, faculty, and overall culture at Harvard make it a superb environment for an ambitious student. Exclusivity alone isn't responsible for that.