Education / Scholarship How to Make a Harvard CV So You Can Get Through Harvard University

How to Make a Harvard CV So You Can Get Through Harvard University

Harvard University  is perhaps one of the few world universities whose big name sounds familiar to almost everyone in the world. The oldest college in the United States, which has been established since 1636, has consistently remained at the top of the list of the best universities in the world.

Based on the ranking list of the world’s best universities for 2023 released by QS,  Harvard University  was ranked the 5th best, after  the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  in the United States , the University of Cambridge  in England , Stanford University  in the United States  and  the University of Oxford  in England.

In direct proportion to the quality of education it has,  Harvard University  is also known as one of the world’s most difficult universities to penetrate. The average acceptance rate at Harvard University is around 4-5% every year or in other words, out of 100 applicants who enter, only about 4-5 people are accepted as students at this prestigious university.

But don’t worry. Being a  Harvard University student  is still not an impossible thing to do. One of the important strategies when applying to  Harvard University  is to prepare all the registration requirements properly, including preparing a  Harvard CV  which is often one of the main requirements documents when registering.

Admission Procedure at Harvard University

To register at  Harvard University , prospective undergraduate students can use the  Common Application  or  Coalition Application –  while prospective postgraduate students can register through the website of each intended study program. Through this online registration portal, students are asked to upload the required documents according to the provisions. These documents include:

  1. English proficiency certificate
  2. Standardized test  results  according to study program requirements such as SAT or ACT (for undergraduate level) and GRE/GMAT (for postgraduate level)
  3. Other supporting documents ( supplemental material ) such as writing samples , essays and CVs

 

Difference between CV and Resume

Many people mistakenly think that CV ( curriculum vitae ) and resume are 2 (two) the same type of document, considering that both of them provide a summary of a person’s educational background, experience and expertise. Even so, CVs and resumes actually have quite basic differences.

Resume is generally used more when applying in the world of work and contains a summary of the experience and skills that are the candidate’s assets, which differentiate the candidate from the others. Meanwhile, although both include a summary of one’s experiences and expertise, CVs place more emphasis on information related to academic and research experiences, such as publications and presentations that have been made. Therefore, CV is more often used in academic circles. 

Format CV Harvard

Some of the sections that need to be included in a Harvard CV are as follows:

  1. Personal details
  2. CV Summary/Profile
  3. Education
  4. Awards
  5. Work Experience

Personal Details

In this section, the information that needs to be included includes:

  1. Full name (no title required)
  2. Residence address
  3. Contact email and phone number. Don’t forget to include the country code
  4. You can also include  your LinkedIn  or portfolio link, if any

CV Summary/Profile

In this section, write a summary of the experiences and qualities that are the highlights of the entire CV. This summary is written in concise and to the point language.

Education

In this section, enter experience or educational background that has been taken before. Enter information about the institution or college where you studied previously, the location of the college, the time period of study, the name of the study program or degree obtained and the name of the thesis/thesis that was previously written. Information about GPA (GPA) can also be entered in this section (optional).

Awards

In this section, enter information about previous awards or awards as well as the institution that gave the awards. Don’t forget to provide a brief description of the awards received.

Work Experience

In this section, enter information about past work experience. Complete work experience information with a description of the responsibilities held at work as well as achievements that have been obtained at work. 

Information about this work can be written in  bullet point  or paragraph format. For work experience that is still being carried out when writing a CV ( on-going ), you can use a verb in the  present tense  or  present continuous tense .

Additional Tips

Some additional tips that can also be used in writing this Harvard CV include:

  1. Information is written in  reverse chronological order , which means that the most recent information or experience is written before any other experience
  2. No need to use  pronouns  like  I  or  me  and no need to use  a full sentence  when writing academic and work experience on your CV
  3. Use letters that are commonly used when writing CVs such as  Times New Roman , with size 10-12.
  4. Pay attention to formatting and writing margins
  5. If there is, also pay attention to the requirements for writing a CV that may be set in the destination study program.

Good luck!