Admissions Unswayed By Roses, Fruit Cakes

Faced with the daunting task of standing out in a crowd of nearly 20,000 Harvard College applicants, some students each year resort to gimmicks—a dozen roses sent along with their application, for example—to win over admissions officials.

Over the years, the admissions office has collected “a colorful set of items” from applicants, says Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67—including various desserts, a size 17 athletic shoe and a photo of one applicant’s bedroom wall, painted crimson to show school spirit.

This year’s round of admissions, which concluded last week and saw a record 19,605 applicants, brought in equally memorable items, some verging on the ridiculous.

According to Fitzsimmons, there are now guide books that instruct students on how to get noticed in the application process, which is often viewed as impersonal.

But these instruction manuals often inspire students to go over the top to catch the attention of the Harvard admissions committee, Fitzsimmons says.

“Maybe people think we don’t read the folders,” Fitzsimmons says.

Some familar with the admissions process attribute the gimmicks to media attention paid to applicants who employ such marketing strategies to catch the eye of the admissions office.

“Whenever someone does a crazy stunt, it gets press [coverage],” says Connie Cooper, founder of College Foundation Planners, Inc., a college counseling service based in California. “But these games don’t work.”

According to Cooper, reputable college counseling services are not likely to advise applicants to resort to such tactics.

Nevertheless, some applicants still feel compelled to mount a campaign to win the admission committee’s vote.

One Harvard applicant sent dozens of gift pencils, each with a picture of the applicant and an inscription that read, “Admit [applicant’s name].”

Several candidates have printed their own versions of Time, selecting themselves as Man or Woman of the Year and including articles detailing their achievements and contributions.

Some applicants try to sweeten the deal with desserts—fruit cake, carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies—some of which are gratefully consumed by the admissions staff while reviewing applications.

The admissions office has also received Harvard insignia clothing as well as various edible Harvard Veritas shields.

One year, an applicant from Hawaii sent a coconut, perhaps to serve “less as a snack than as a reminder of where the applicant was from,” Fitzsimmons says.

But sometimes, over-eager applicants divulge too much in their quest to please.

One applicant sent in all of his corrected papers—since kindergarten. Another applicant sent in a personal diary. A third applicant sent a huge pile of recommendation letters.

“We stopped counting at 80,” says Fitzsimmons. “Although we were happy to hear from the applicant’s orthodontist that the teeth had straightened out, we didn’t think it [was relevant].”

This veritable onslaught of extraneous information can sometimes detract from the substance of the applicant’s folder, according to Fitzsimmons.

Even smaller, creative gimmicks can sometimes flop.

One applicant wrote his entire essay with his foot, as demonstrated by photos taken by his girlfriend. His essay concluded with a line about his aspirations of leaving his footprints at Harvard.

But this attempt at being funny more often than not fails to impress.

“Humor is difficult to carry off,” Fitzsimmons says. “The danger is that it could actually obscure the substance.”

College counseling services say that, when they advise students, they try to stress the fine line students must walk between getting noticed and going over the top.

“The number one thing students should do is look unique,” says Stephen H. Kramer, president of College Coach, a college counseling service based in Boston. “But gimmicky things don’t work.”

Kramer says he urges his students to find a theme that “will run through their application.” The unique theme will attract attention and, in tying together different aspects of the applicant’s folder, will not seem frivolous.

Fitzsimmons says he cannot comment on whether specific ploys actually work—and on how admissions officers respond to items which may seem frivolous.

He says admissions officers keep in mind that overzealous parents, rather than the applicants, may be behind the extra efforts to influence the outcome.

“It isn’t always the idea of the candidate but [may come] from a well-meaning parent or friend,” Fitzsimmons says.

For that reason, Fitzsimmons says, he instructs the admissions staff to “look at the entire folder, even though there may be something frivolous inside the folder.”

—Staff writer Robert M. Annis can be reached at annis@fas.harvard.edu.