Meet our Mentors | Aren’s journey to Harvard

We interviewed one of our many incredible Mentors, Aren, who graduated from Harvard in 2019! Read on to see how Aren applied to college, enjoyed Harvard’s “House” system, and why Harvard wasn’t Aren’s dream school!

Aren, thanks for sitting down with us. Let’s start with the basics. Can you share where you went to college, when you graduated, and what you studied?

I graduated from Harvard in 2019. I studied Economics with a focus in development economics.

I want to flash back to junior and senior year of high school and your application process. Did you apply anywhere early, whether that’s Early Action (EA), Restrictive Early Action (REA), Early Decision (ED), or something else?

I applied Restrictive Early Action to Harvard and Early Action to the University of Michigan. I also submitted an application quite early, around November 1, to the University of Texas Austin and to Duke. UT Austin was rolling admissions, if I remember right. Duke was related to a scholarship application. So a lot going on here. I generally don’t think of applications as EA/REA/ED vs. Regular. Those are the deadlines, but not necessarily when you should submit your applications, especially when accounting for things like scholarships.

And then over the course of the whole application process, early and regular, where else did you wind up applying?

I wound up getting admitted to Harvard REA, and had my admission to UT Austin by then as well. So when I got my admissions decision from Harvard in mid-December, I’d already applied there and UMich, UT Austin, Duke, and Vanderbilt. My sister was in Philadelphia at the time, so I still submitted an application to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton undergrad business program.

So I wound up getting into Harvard, UT Austin, Duke, and Vanderbilt. I didn’t get into UMich or UPenn Wharton.

Did you apply to any specific university scholarship programs?

I applied to the UT Austin Forty Acres and the Duke Robertson. I was also considering applying to the Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship. I didn’t get any of them.

Why did you choose Harvard?

Because I didn’t get into UPenn! As I mentioned, my sister was in Philadelphia. And I love my sister! I hope she reads this. Can you send this to her?

I’d visited UPenn where a friend from my high school a grade above me was a freshman and loved it. I really wanted to go to UPenn and study business in undergrad, which happens at Wharton. Wharton is UPenn’s business school. You apply directly to Wharton as a high schooler if you want to study business. If I’d gotten in, that’s where I’d have gone. Why? I have no idea. Really just because my sister was in Philadelphia. For context, I have other siblings who are not in Philadelphia. So that can’t possibly be a good enough reason. It’s so easy to latch on to one school and on thing about that school. In hindsight, that made absolutely zero sense.

So then why did I choose Harvard after that? I don’t know. People thought it was cool that I got in. That seems like a horrible way to make a decision, right? Imagine buying a house because someone tells you they think it’s nice.

So you’re saying Harvard was not your dream school? We had Olivia earlier say she didn’t like Princeton so didn’t want to go there. This is not what people usually say!

Cohort, the proven & affordable college counseling service that tells you not to apply to Harvard and Princeton. I saw that tagline on the website I think.

I’ll just say I’m not sure college rankings make that much sense. There, I said it. I thought Wharton was great, Harvard wound up great, I’ve heard great things about UT Austin, Duke, and Vanderbilt. I bet I would’ve loved all of them and learned a ton at all of them.

OK, but all of that said, what was the best thing about Harvard? Please don’t say the people, that’s too cliché!

(sigh) It’s a hard question to answer, because I think the great things at Harvard are great at other universities, but that doesn’t make them less true in my experience.

First thing was intramural B volleyball. Just to be very clear, not the A team of intramurals. The second-best tier of the third-best tier. The people who are my best friends to this day and I got funnily serious about intramural volleyball because of Harvard’s housing system. We loved representing our house, Kirkland House.

Academically, my favorite thing was Shopping Period, the first week of every semester. That week, you could go and sit in on any class, do (or not do) the homework, and then after that week pick the classes you actually wanted to take for that semester. That’s how I made my best academic decisions. Total spontaneity. I took an intensive Portuguese class my senior spring just because. But they got rid of Shopping Period after I graduated! Harvard is in steep decline.

And how about your least favorite thing about Harvard?

I have heard that other schools have really tasty food, comfortable mattresses in the dorms, and generally nice amenities. This always surprises people, but Harvard’s dorms are, to put it nicely, historic. And the food. Well, it’s nutritious! There’s that.

What have you heard since graduating that you’ve realized is a unique/interesting thing about Harvard?

The housing and dining hall system is something a few schools have, but really is not the norm. I ate almost every meal from Sophomore through Senior year in the Kirkland House dining hall. That was my upperclassmen “House,” sort of like a residential college. It’s a bit of the Hogwarts thing where you get randomly assigned to one of the houses, which is really just a dorm with major community elements, the end of freshman year. Then you live in that dorm, eat in that dorm, play intramurals in that dorm, etc. for the rest of your time at Harvard. That meant I ate dinner, and usual also lunch, with my rommates and best friends every day. It’s like having family dinner at a restaurant every night, but you also know almost everyone else in the restaurant too.

Moving on to more general college reflections, what do you think you’ve learned about college since you graduated?

College is an incredibly unique time where it’s all about exploring. It’s true that getting a good GPA, doing internships, and completing requirements for things you may want to do later are valuable. You should do those things absolutely. But you won’t have free summer months, long winter breaks, access to experts on just about every subject whose job is answering your questions, and the ability to wake up every day and think “What do I want to try today?" with the time to try those things in your mid-20s. Enjoy that!

Any regrets about your college application process, decision-making process, or how you approached college? What’s that one thing you always tell high schoolers about college?

I would at least consider a gap year. Harvard sent a letter some time during my high school senior spring explaining what the concept was. I thought it was incredibly silly. I didn’t even consider it. I don’t think everyone should do it. I do think everyone should consider it.

Finally, what made you decide to be a Cohort Mentor?

I learned so much about the college application process while going through it. I don’t use any of what I learned in my daily life. Meanwhile, I know a lot of people feel stressed, uncertain, or confused during the process. So in a lot of ways, it’s a way I feel really equipped to help people!

Thank you, Aren. It’s been great learning about Harvard’s housing system, some of the scholarships you applied to, and more. Thanks for your time