Harvard Club of Naples Schools Committee
Harvard Club of Naples
2021 Annual Meeting
Schools Committee Report
- In addition to dealing with the pandemic, the combination of the Harvard Club of Naples and Harvard Club of Lee County more than doubled the number of high schools in our coverage area; we now interview applicants from Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry Counties.
- We are pleased to announce that four applicants from our coverage area have been admitted to the Class of 2025! These students include Alexandra Dorofeev (Fort Myers High School), Alexander Garcia (Immokalee High School), Chase Melton (Naples High School) and Cecilia Nakfoor (Community School).
- Continuing our long-standing success, we achieved an admission rate of 3.8%, slightly beating the 3.4% blended admit rate for the College as a whole.
- We also are pleased to announce that a record thirteen applicants have been placed on the waitlist from our area. Although the probability of being pulled from the waitlist is low, we have had two applicants gain admission this way over the past three years.
- We received a total of 104 applications this year. It is difficult to compare from prior years where we focused only on Collier County; however, applications this year were unquestionably up for our area. Overall, Harvard experienced an increase of 43% in total applications from the prior year, mostly attributed to the College dropping the requirement for standardized testing (which could not be administered given the pandemic).
- The Schools Committee managed to interview 72% of our applicants, an amazing accomplishment that was only possible with the addition of the Lee County interview team, many of whom brought significant prior interviewing experience. In addition, a number of recent graduates signed on to help even though most of them now live outside of Southwest Florida.
- Fortunately, our club began spearheading Harvard’s entry into virtual interviewing three years ago. For that reason, we were well positioned to adapt quickly to the pandemic. All interviews this past season were conducted via videoconference.
- Unfortunately, our Spring Reception will not be held again this year. We anticipate a return to our regular programming in the spring of next year, with our fingers tightly crossed!
- Finally, if you graduated from the College and are interested in participating in the admissions process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at pgeorge@post.harvard.edu.
Patrick George '93, MBA '99, Chair