JFK's Harvard Application: Would He Have Gotten In Today?

John F. Kennedy's Harvard application shows just how far college admissions have come in the last 75 years.

The 26-page document, recently released by the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, lacks praise for the young Choate student. The future president is described by a family friend as "reliable and dependable," and a note from his father states that young Jack tends to "lack application."

Would Kennedy have gotten into Harvard today? Well, he has some factors in his favor. For one, according to college consultant Barbara Cooper, he's a legacy, and legacy applicants have a decided edge in the admissions process.

But the piece de resistance of any college application, the why-I-want-to-go-to-this-school essay, might have hurt Kennedy's chances.

"The reasons that I have for wanting to go to Harvard are several," he wrote. "I feel that Harvard can give me a better background and a better liberal education than any other university. I have always wanted to go there, as I have felt that it is not just another college, but is a university with something definite to offer. Then to[?], I would like to go to the same college as my father. To be a 'Harvard man' is an enviable distinction, and one that I sincerely hope I shall attain."

To say it's a bit lacking would be an understatement. "The essay itself, from today's point of view, is missing a true understanding of the unique features of Harvard's offerings," Cooper said. "It's not even clear if he visited or attended the information session, which many schools say is essential to indicating that you have an interest."

Harvard received a record 35,000 applications for its class of 2015.

Read the application in full below.

LOOK:
Jfk Harvard Application Materials

Comments

[bynddrvn5]

11:13 PM on 03/16/2011

Of course, back then students were competing against the best and brightest in America, now students have to compete against a global pool of applicants.

[Flor Arellano]

04:40 PM on 02/22/2011

I'm so annoyed by seeing his college application. I had better grades in high school and didn't get into Princeton. I'm sure Dubya's application would be much more interesting to see.

[joebaggadonuts]

02:05 PM on 02/22/2011

It was a good choice for Harvard then. It would be a good choice for Harvard today., if such a thing were possible.

[demilieu]

05:36 PM on 02/21/2011

Interesting question - How many members of congess have a pedigree from any of the 'elite 3' - Harvard, Princeton and Yale?

[demilieu]

05:34 PM on 02/21/2011

At the time elite colleges were more interested in attracting 'the right people' and not necessarily the brightest. Yes, of course he would get in today! But would they offer him any financial assistance?

[OregonCHG]

12:38 PM on 01/18/2011

All things being the same JFK would still get in today because of who his father was. Regardless of his grades in HS he, like many, found his stride in college and did well. The most depressing part of the story is that the world will never know how great of a president and statesman in his post-presidency he could have been.

[atexasdem]

10:08 AM on 01/18/2011

Reality is that certain applicants will always be accepted to Ivy League and major universities. Just as George Bush was virtually assured acceptance at Yale, Kennedy was assured acceptance at Harvard. As much as I hate destroying certain idealistic bubbles, life really is different for the ultra rich, the politicaly connected and the powerful. Be heartened though. It's not the education itself that matters. It's what you do with that education that matters.

[demilieu]

05:38 PM on 02/21/2011

Bush's great grand father served as President of Yale...

[rjaxone]

12:25 AM on 01/18/2011

Obviously, Ted Sorenson wasn't available to help JFK with his application...

[Carlos Quintero]

10:01 PM on 01/17/2011

I was just at the JFK Library and one of the exhibits was JFK's Choate grades. I was unimpressed. Nonetheless JFK is one of the most admired Presidents in US history.

[demilieu]

05:42 PM on 02/21/2011

Joe Kennedy had Joe Jr. in mind to satisfy his political ambitions. JFK had been a sickly, unimpressive child while Joe Jr. had always been the family star. Opinions about the younger child changed after Joe Jr. was killed in the war.

[JoeGdr]

09:29 PM on 01/17/2011

I would LOVE to see Dubya's application to Yale.

[bynddrvn5]

11:14 PM on 03/16/2011

Wonder if it references the book, "My Pet Goat."

[Lakme]

08:51 PM on 01/17/2011

College admissions should be anonymous, using assigned numbers rather than real names.

[D Blackmon]

09:00 PM on 01/16/2011

JFK would have gotten into Harvard. With NO Problem. The Kennedy Name is all that was
needed than and now.

[Bobotheclown]

02:48 PM on 01/16/2011

His essay aside, his grades at Princeton, his legacy status, and his families connections to wealth and politics would get him into Harvard even today. At the time when he applied, in the middle of the depression, his application was completely sufficient and better than most. But it is a losing game to try and compare the pre world war world of the 1930's to today's post millenial world of cut throat competition. Historians try to place a man in his times as the best way to gage his true stature. JFK fought his way up from an unknown student to war hero, to Senator, and to President. He was the youngest President in history and when he died he was by far the most popular President since FDR. His achievements are genuine, original, and breathtaking. He would have had no trouble being re-elected in 1964 and he was destined to create a second wave of liberal progressive government that would have lived on long after him. Much more was lost when he died than a single politician. More than anyone in our century, Kennedy became an ideal, a person people held up as the image of what greatness looked like. The world that Kennedy wanted to create for us has not come to pass because of his brutal unsolved murder. Insinuations of this kind about old college records toward a man who can no longer defend himself are dishonorable and we as a people should reject them.

[veritas88]

06:39 PM on 01/16/2011

What do you mean "his grades at Princeton"? JFK never went to Princeton.

Also, technically Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest President ever at 42 when he assumed the presidency from VP upon the assassination of McKinley but Kennedy at 43 was the youngest ever elected.

[veritas88]

06:45 PM on 01/16/2011

Oh, sorry, I'm incorrect. JFK did briefly attend Princeton. I never knew that. But apparently he was only at Princeton for 6 weeks so I'm not sure he would have had final course grades.

[Bobotheclown]

01:02 PM on 01/17/2011

He dropped out because of a bout of Addisons disease. The application to Harvard that was referenced above was in a sense a transfer from Princeton. Since he was admitted to Princeton, Harvard (at the time) would tend to honor that admission as well. Six weeks is not a lot of time but he still went to classes during that period. The point is that college admissions is not a great standard for evaluating later greatness. JFK was an inexperienced Senator who tended to follow the lead of party leaders until he decided to make his unexpected run for President. Once elected President he started slow and made serious mistakes. But he learned from them. He probably learned faster than any modern President and saw clearly the unbridled power of the military-industrial establishment that Eisenhower warned about too late. We forget that there were maniacs on both sides of the cold war and that everyone thought that eventually the US and the Soviet Union were destined for war. And there was no doubt that it would be nuclear. We are lucky that in that very sensitive and critical time we did not have a business as usual consensus taker as President but rather a young bold leader who took unprecedented steps outside all normal diplomatic and military channels. He was able to reach a personal understanding with Khrushchev that allowed both sides to back away from appocalypse. We are all here today because of JFK.

[justlw]

02:06 PM on 01/16/2011

Having recently gone through the essay process with my son, i have to say this is one of the more precious examples of button-sorting you'll find in life. I really dislike make-work, and the classic application essay strikes me as nothing more than that.

Presumably the university already has the student's English grades and standardized test scores at hand, so there is no value in Yet Another Essay from that perspective. Minus that, it remains only a proof point that you've mastered the art of apple polishing.

"Please tell us why we are awesome, and expound on your own central role in the universe. Points off for being too obviously a suckup and/or narcissist, but be complete in your effusive praise for us and, of course, yourself."

[Torpedo54]

02:02 PM on 01/16/2011

Do chickens have lips?