Get Into Harvard Without Going Crazy

April 14, 2008— -- I walked into my Harvard interview in November 2001 wearing faded blue corduroys and a pilled wool sweater. Slouching back into an armchair -- upholstered, naturally, in buttery leather -- I observed my surroundings.

Acne-scarred teens sat stiffly in ill-fitting suits, their jittery thumbs flipping cellphones open, and shut, and then open again, in what I gathered was a futile effort to stay calm. Glossy brochures advertised 41 varsity sports. I'd never known half of the ones listed even had rulebooks. (Take water polo. Apparently, it is played in aquatic centers that are a far cry from the old watering hole, and a player's feet, oddly enough, are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool.)

So there I sat. Seventeen years old, and not a drop of water-polo-playing expertise to my name. What on earth was I thinking?

Click here to learn how not to get into Harvard at our partner site, Forbes.com.

Probably the same thoughts have crossed the minds of most applicants, prospective students or indeed anyone even toying with the idea of gaining admission to the apex of the American collegiate pyramid: How did I get here and how can I get in?

Almost seven years later -- during which, by some miracle, I managed to be accepted, enroll and graduate from the No. 2 school, according to one magazine's inconsequential ranking -- I have completely revised my beliefs concerning what it takes to be a successful Harvard applicant.

In Pictures: The World's Most Expensive Universities

These days, there seem to be more nuggets of alleged college admissions wisdom floating around than actual Harvard graduates in the world. (Roughly estimated at about 400,000, in case you were wondering.) On March 31, the college announced it accepted 7.1 percent of 27,462 aspiring applicants--roughly one out of every 14 who'd applied. Those odds are, quite frankly, daunting, to say the least.

In Pictures: Top 10 Solutions for Educating Our Children

So right now, at a time when the realm of successful college admissions seems bleak and impenetrable, I decided it was necessary to pass along some lessons I've learned about the attributes of the perfect Harvard applicant. Aspiring members of the class of 2013 and beyond--and, more important, your parents--take note. Actually, take notes. On a Post-it, if they still make those in paper form.