Common Data Set: What Harvard and Top U.S. Colleges Really Consider

There is a public document that can tell you what a U.S. university says it considers when evaluating applicants.

Harvard publishes it.

Most parents never read it.

It is called the Common Data Set (CDS).

The most useful part for families is Section C7: Basis for Selection. It asks universities to classify admissions factors as Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered.

And sometimes, the most important answer is “Not Considered.”

Take Harvard.

In its latest published CDS, Harvard lists “level of applicant’s interest” as Not Considered. That means demonstrated interest is not listed as a factor in its general first-year admission decisions. Harvard's own institutional research office currently lists its 2024–25 CDS as its latest submission.

So if your child spends months attending webinars, emailing admissions officers and trying to prove they are interested in Harvard, that effort is not supported by Harvard's own C7 data.

That is why the CDS deserves a place in every serious college-application strategy.

What Is the Common Data Set?

The Common Data Set is a standardised annual report that allows colleges to publish admissions, enrollment, financial aid, and academic information in a common format.

It is not a secret document.

It is public.

The advantage is that you can compare what different universities say about their admissions process instead of relying entirely on rankings, social media or admissions folklore.

Universities including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Michigan publish CDS reports through their institutional research offices. Yale describes the CDS specifically as a common format designed to make institutional data easier to compare.

For applicants, C7 is the section worth bookmarking.

The C7 Grid:

What Top Universities Say Matters

Below is a concise snapshot of C7 for 20 high-demand U.S. universities.

Not Considered = the university says it does not use the factor

Considered = it can enter the evaluation, but is not rated at the top level

Important = carries greater stated weight

Very Important = among the highest-rated factors

The grid focuses on the factors that are most useful for students: academics, essays, recommendations, activities, character and applicant interest.

Harvard

Very Important: None specifically marked

Considered: Academic rigour, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character, first-generation status, alumni relations, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Class rank, state residency, religious affiliation, applicant interest

Yale

Very Important: Rigour, class rank, GPA, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: Testing, interview, first-generation status, alumni relations, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, religious affiliation

Princeton

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: Class rank, interview, first-generation status, alumni relation, geography, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, state residency, religious affiliation

MIT

Very Important: Academic preparation and core application qualities

Considered: Factors such as essays and other contextual elements

Not Considered: Applicant interest

Stanford

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Important: Standardised tests

Considered: Class rank, interview, first-generation status, alumni relations, geography, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, state residency, religious affiliation

Columbia

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: Standardised testing and several contextual factors

Not Considered: Applicant interest, interview, religious affiliation

Brown

Very Important: Rigour, class rank, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, talent, character

Important: Extracurricular activities

Considered: First-generation status, alumni relation, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, interview, religious affiliation

Cornell

Very Important: Rigour, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Important: Class rank, GPA

Considered: Testing, interview, first-generation status, alumni relations, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, religious affiliation

Dartmouth

Very Important: Rigour, class rank, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, character

Important: Talent/ability

Considered: Interview, first-generation status, alumni relation, geography, volunteer/work experience, applicant interest

Not Considered: State residency, religious affiliation

Takeaway: Dartmouth is a useful example of why parents should check each university separately. It reports applicant interest as Considered.

Duke

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Important: Class rank and application essay

Considered: Testing, interview, first-generation status, alumni relations, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience, applicant interest

Not Considered: Religious affiliation

University of Chicago

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: First-generation status, alumni relation, geography and other contextual factors

Not Considered: Applicant interest

Johns Hopkins

Very Important: Core academic preparation and application qualities

Important: Extracurriculars, talent, character, volunteer/work experience

Considered: First-generation status and geography

Not Considered: Applicant interest, alumni relation, state residency, religious affiliation

Vanderbilt

Very Important: Rigour, class rank, GPA, essay, extracurriculars, character

Important: Testing, recommendations, talent

Considered: Interview, first-generation status, alumni relations, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, religious affiliation

Rice

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, testing, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: First-generation status, alumni relation, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience, applicant interest

Not Considered: Interview, religious affiliation

USC

Very Important: Character/personal qualities

Important: Extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: First-generation status, alumni relation, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, interview, geography, state residency, religious affiliation

University of Michigan

Very Important: Rigour, GPA

Important: Recommendations, testing, essay, character, first-generation status

Considered: Extracurriculars, talent, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience, applicant interest

Not Considered: Class rank, alumni relation, religious affiliation, interview

UCLA

Very Important: Rigour, GPA, essay

Important: Extracurriculars, talent, character

Considered: First-generation status, geography, state residency, volunteer/work experience

Not Considered: Applicant interest, recommendations, interview, alumni relations, religious affiliation

UC Berkeley

Very Important: Academic preparation and core application qualities

Considered: Several contextual and personal factors

Not Considered: Applicant interest

Boston University

Very Important: Rigour of the secondary-school record

Important: GPA, essay, recommendations, character

Considered: Testing, extracurriculars, talent, first-generation status and other contextual factors

Not Considered: Applicant interest

Northeastern

Very Important: Core academic and application factors

Considered: Applicant interest and selected contextual factors

What Should Your Child Actually Focus On?

The biggest mistake is reading the grid as a checklist.

If a university says extracurricular activities are Very Important, that does not mean your child needs 15 clubs.

If an essay is Very Important, it does not mean writing a dramatic essay is enough to compensate for weak academics.

And if applicant interest is Not Considered, there is no reason to spend months trying to “prove” interest.

Instead, look for the factors that repeatedly appear near the top:

Academic rigour.

Grades.

Essays.

Recommendations.

Extracurricular depth.

Character and personal qualities.

Those are the areas where students have the most control.

Why This Matters

Indian students often face an especially dangerous version of the “more is better” problem.

More Olympiads.

More certificates.

More internships.

More webinars.

More competitions.

More campus visits.

More emails.

But admissions is not a competition to collect the longest list of activities.

A student who spends a year building one meaningful research project may have a stronger story than another student with 12 unrelated certificates.

A student who takes the most challenging courses available at their school may benefit more than one who deliberately chooses easier subjects to protect their percentage.

The CDS does not tell you exactly what your child should do.

It tells you where to look.

How to Use the Common Data Set

For every university on your child's list:

1. Find the latest CDS.

Use the university's own institutional research or data office whenever possible.

2. Go straight to C7.

You don't need to read the entire document.

3. Highlight three things.

What is Very Important? What is Considered? What is Not Considered?

4. Compare the schools.

The differences can be surprisingly useful.

5. Then read the admissions website.

C7 is data, not the complete admissions philosophy.

The result is a much more rational application strategy.

The Real “Secret” Isn't the Document

The Common Data Set isn't secret.

Harvard publishes it.

Yale publishes it.

Stanford publishes it.

Michigan publishes it.

Many other universities do too.

The secret is simply that most families don't use it.

Parents often spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to decode what colleges want.

Yet the universities themselves are publishing standardised information about the factors they say they consider.

That doesn't give you an admissions formula.

It gives you something more useful:

a way to stop wasting effort.

If Harvard says applicant interest is Not Considered, don't build your Harvard strategy around applicant interest.

If Dartmouth or Duke says it is Considered, genuine engagement may be more relevant.

If a university says rigour and GPA are Very Important, the student's academic choices deserve far more attention than another random certificate.

That is the real value of C7.

The Bottom Line for Parents

Don't ask:

“What admissions trick will get my child into Harvard?”

Ask:

“What does Harvard say it values, and does my child's application demonstrate those qualities?”

Then ask the same question for every university on the list.

That is a much smarter way to approach U.S. college admissions.

Disclaimer: C7 is institutional, self-reported data—not an admissions formula or guarantee. Ratings can change by the admissions cycle. Always check the latest university-published CDS and official admissions guidance before making application decisions.