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Seriously, Who Gets Into Harvard?

how to get into Harvard
Elizabeth Heaton

Written by Elizabeth Heatonon March 31st, 2017

Elizabeth Heaton comes to College Coach from the University of Pennsylvania, where she counseled applicants and parents from New England and other parts of the country. As a senior member of the admissions staff, she traveled throughout the United States to present the university to potential candidates, read thousands of applications, oversaw Penn’s portfolio of admissions publications, and chaired selection committee, working with admissions counselors and university representatives to make final admit decisions. She also evaluated potential recruits as athletics department liaison and served as second chair in selection committee for the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, one of two flagship interdisciplinary programs at Penn. A graduate of Cornell University, Elizabeth brings exceptional skills to the craft of essay writing, with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a focus on creative writing, paired with experience reading and evaluation thousands of University of Pennsylvania admissions essays. Prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania, she worked in public relations and served as a Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador for 10 years.

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Harvard University releases its admissions decisions for the 2017/18 school year today.  Is your child one of the chosen few receiving the coveted acceptance from Harvard or one of the other similarly selective Ivy League institutions?  If we’re being honest, the answer is probably not.  But why not?  Your child is a good student, right?  But how good is good? Most students who apply to Ivy League institutions have strong academic records, but, realistically, the vast majority of applicants are going to be denied.  So what actually draws the line between a simply strong student and one who is competitive at the most selective colleges in the United States? Former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer and current college admissions consultant, Elizabeth Heaton, breaks down how to evaluate your child’s chances of admission to the Ivy League in her new series on the Huffington PostRead the first installment: Who Gets Into Harvard?
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