How To Get Into Harvard (for graduate school!)

Hi, my name is Shae and I am a Ph.D. candidate in History at Harvard. A common question I get, for better or worse, is how did I get into Harvard! Let’s walk through some things to think about when applying for graduate school in general. This was my personal experience, but hopefully, you gain some insights into the process!

Be smart.

Seems straightforward right?

In reality, I mean to be strategic and intentional about why you’re applying to Harvard or any school for that matter.

Do you want to apply to Harvard because of the name or because it’s the right fit for you?

Do your research

Before I determined which graduate programs to apply for I wrote out a general sketch of topics and themes I was interested in researching more in-depth in graduate school.

Next, I checked the current faculty list to see if there were Professors who had interests that overlapped with mine.

Remember, faculty/university websites don’t get updated frequently! I took the extra step of emailing potential advisors with my research interests to see if they would be interested in advising on a project like mine.

I also asked if they could advise or take on a new student. Professor are at different stages of their own academic journey. Some may be in a season where they can take on graduate students. Some are swamped and want to focus on advising the graduate students they already have. Not every Professor will respond, but the ones who do should let you know if they’re able to take you on.

Think beyond academic accomplishments

I earned my AB in Political Science from the University of Chicago. I didn’t have a background in History and I seemed like an unlikely candidate. However, in my personal statement, I wrote about my experience studying history as an outsider through public art projects of historical figures. That was a launching pad for discussing why I wanted to pursue history academically.

Get creative! There are hundreds of applications are submitted to these programs and the ones that stand out are the ones that are honest, cohesive, and compelling.

Don’t get bogged down by GRE scores

Yes, you need the GRE to apply to graduate school, but don’t stress too much over it! People often think there’s a cutoff score you need to get into these programs. Just study, do your best, then focus on the other parts of your application.

Conclusion

I got admitted to every PhD program I applied to using these guidelines and I always encourage my mentees along these lines as well. If you found this helpful, then consider subscribing to my newsletter shaeomonijo.substack.com for more content like this!