Undergrad Admissions Tips & Tricks

most extracurriculars are boring. And if they’re boring, you become what admissions officers call LMO—“Like Many Others.” That’s the kiss of death in elite college admissions. Especially if you’re aiming for the top 15 U.S. universities as an international student, your extracurricular strategy needs to be sharp. Grades alone won’t cut it.

Doing the Bare Minimum? Here’s What That Actually Looks Like in U.S. College Admissions. Let’s be honest: not everyone is aiming for Harvard or Stanford. Some of you are aiming for strong U.S. colleges with a 30% to 50% acceptance rate—and you’re wondering, “What’s the bare minimum I need to do to get in?” That’s a fair question. But here's the truth.

Harvard—like other top U.S. colleges—isn’t looking for one specific type of student. They’re crafting a community, not building a leaderboard. A student who led a rural sanitation project in Africa might be just as desirable as someone who plays piano in retirement homes or ranks first in the All-India Board Exams. Welcome to the world of holistic admissions—where who you are matters just as much as what you’ve achieved.

If you're an international student dreaming of Ivy League admissions, avoid these mistakes that hurt your chances.

In 2023, Harvard found itself at the center of a landmark legal battle. The case, Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard. Why does this matter? Because it revealed the inner workings of Harvard’s admissions process—and by extension, what it takes to get into any of the top schools. Below you will find the Harvard admission ratings for 160,000 students between 2014 and 2019.