1. Recruited Athletes: Athletes that have been recruited have a 90% acceptance rate and make up 10% of the freshman class.
2. Director's List: The Directors List includes the names of generous philanthropists. The fortunate 42% of applicants who are selected for the Directors List make up about 10% of each class.
3. Deferred (Z-list) Admits: The Z-list is a group of around 60 students each year who would otherwise qualify for Director's List but are not yet ready to begin college so they are forced to take a gap year.
4. Faculty Children: The children of Harvard faculty have a 47% acceptance rate, and roughly 20 students of faculty apply per year.
5. Legacies: A legacy is defined as an applicant with at least one parent who went to Harvard or Radcliffe. They are admitted at a 33% acceptance rate, and make up 15% of each class.
This typically adds up to 60% of admissions. The remaining 40% come through 3 traditional metrics: Academics, Extracurriculars (ECs) and Personal Qualities (PQs)
Each applicant is scored across each facet on a scale from 1 (best) to 6 (worst), with +-s for more nuanced judgements.