Winthrop Acceptance Letter: Fill & Download for Free

In response to the answer given by Pete Feigal, who wrote:“because he was NOT a Greek, he was a Macedonian. If he were here today he would be PISSED to be called a Greek.”The truth is that Alexander was not just a Greek; he, in fact, also took great pride in his Greekness. To begin with, the Macedonians were a Greek people; they spoke Greek and shared the same religion, cults, and customs, with the rest of the Greeks. Moreover, they identified themselves as Greeks:“Now that these descendants of Perdiccas [i.e: the Macedonians] are Greeks, as they themselves say, I myself chance to know and will prove it in the later part of my history.” (Herodotus, “Histories”, 5.22.1)The Macedonians claimed descent from the Temenids of Argos, Peloponnese (southern Greece), hence the names “Argeads” and “Argives” for their dynasty.“The Macedonians boast their descent from Argive kings.” (Appian, “Macedonian Affairs”, 1)Caranus, the mythical founder of Macedonia, was a Greek from Argos, Peloponnese:“In this period, sixty-five years before the founding of Rome, Carthage was established by the Tyrian Elissa, by some authors called Dido. About this time also Caranus, a man of royal race, eleventh in descent from Hercules, set out from Argos and seized the kingship of Macedonia. From him Alexander the Great was descended in the seventeenth generation, and could boast that, on his mother's side, he was descended from Achilles, and, on his father's side, from Hercules.” (Marcus Velleius Paterculus, “History of Rome”, Book 1 ch6, LacusCurtius • Velleius Paterculus)“This was the end of the war between the Romans and Perseus, after four years of steady campaigning, and also the end of a kingdom famed over a large part of Europe and all of Asia. They reckoned Perseus as the twentieth after Caranus, who founded the kingdom [Macedonia].” (Titus Livius, The History of Rome, Book 45, 9)“But Caranus, accompanied by a great multitude of Greeks, having been directed by an oracle to seek a settlement in Macedonia, and having come into Emathia, and followed a flock of goats that were fleeing from a tempest, possessed himself of the city of Edessa...” (Justin, “Epitome of the the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus”, 7.2)“The Macedonians say that Caranus, king of Macedonia, overcame in battle Cisseus, a chieftain in a bordering country. For his victory Caranus set up a trophy after the Argive fashion, but it is said to have been upset by a lion from Olympus, which then vanished. Caranus, they assert, realized that it was a mistaken policy to incur the undying hatred of the non-Greeks dwelling around, and so, they say, the rule was adopted that no king of Macedonia, neither Caranus himself nor any of his successors, should set up trophies, if they were ever to gain the good-will of their neighbors. This story is confirmed by the fact that Alexander set up no trophies, neither for his victory over Dareius nor for those he won in India.” (Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.40.8)“As for the lineage of Alexander, on his father's side he was a descendant of Heracles through Caranus, and on his mother's side a descendant of Aeacus through Neoptolemus; this is accepted without any question.” (Plutarch, “Alexander”, 2.1)Alexander took great pride in his Greekness, which he spread throughout his empire:“O wondrous power of Philosophic Instruction, that brought the Indians to worship Greek gods, and the Scythians to bury their dead, not to devour them! We admire Carneades' power, which made Cleitomachus, formerly called Hasdrubal, and a Carthaginian by birth, adopt Greek ways ... But when Alexander was civilizing Asia, Homer was commonly read, and the children of the Persians, of the Susianians, and of the Gedrosians learned to chant the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides. Yet through Alexander Bactria and the Caucasus learned to revere the gods of the Greeks. Alexander established more than seventy cities among savage tribes, and sowed all Asia with Greek magistracies ... Egypt would not have its Alexandria, nor Mesopotamia its Seleucia, nor Sogdiana its Prophthasia, nor India its Bucephalia, nor the Caucasus a Greek city, for by the founding of cities in these places savagery was extinguished and the worse element, gaining familiarity with the better, changed under its influence.” (Plutarch, “Moralia: On the Fortune of Alexander”, I, 5, 328d, 329a)“But when he [Alexander] came to talk with Diogenes himself in Corinth, he was so awed and astounded with the life and the worth of the man that often, when remembrance of the philosopher came to him, he would say, ‘If I were not Alexander,I should be Diogenes,’ that is to say: ‘If I did not actively practise philosophy, I should apply myself to its theoretical pursuit.’ He did not say, ‘If I were not a king, I should be Diogenes,’ nor ‘If I were not rich and an Argead’ ; for he did not rank Fortune above Wisdom, nor a crown and royal purple above the philosopher's wallet and threadbare gown. But he said, ‘If I were not Alexander, I should be Diogenes’; that is to say: ‘If it were not my purpose to combine foreign things with things Greek, to traverse and civilize every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest Ocean, and to disseminate and shower the blessings of Greek justice and peace over every nation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me, Diogenes, that I imitate Heracles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysus, the divine author and progenitor of my family, and desire that victorious Greeks should dance again in India and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels among the savage mountain tribes beyond the Caucasus. Even there it is said that there are certain holy men, a law unto themselves, who follow a rigid gymnosophy and give all their time to God ; they are more frugal than Diogenes since they have no need of a wallet. For they do not store up food, since they have it ever fresh and green from the earth; the flowing rivers give them drink and they have fallen leaves and grassy earth to lie upon. Because of me even those faraway sages shall come to know of Diogenes, and he of them. And I also, like Diogenes, must alter the standard of coinage and stamp foreign states with the impress of Greek government’.” (Plutarch, “Moralia: On the Fortune of Alexander”, De Alexandri magni fortuna aut virtute, 1.10)Alexander the Great:“There are Greek troops, to be sure, in Persian service — but how different is their cause from ours! They will be fighting for pay — and not much of at that; we, on the contrary, shall fight for Greece, and our hearts will be in it. As for our foreign troops — Thracians, Paeonians, Illyrians, Agrianes — they are the best and stoutest soldiers in Europe, and they will find as their opponents the slackest and softest of the tribes of Asia. And what, finally, of the two men in supreme command? You have Alexander, they — Darius!” (Alexander addressing his troops prior to the Battle of Issus, Arrian, Anabasis, book 2, chapter 7, section 4(Greek original:ὅσοι τε Ἕλληνες Ἕλλησιν, οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν μαχεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ξὺν Δαρείῳ ἐπὶ μισθῷ καὶ οὐδὲ τούτῳ πολλῷ κινδυνεύοντας, τοὺς δὲ ξὺν σφίσιν ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἑκόντας ἀμυνομένους )You said:“Macedonia is a country just to the North of Greece who had been snubbed, bullied, taxed and threatened by Greece for centuries.”Wrong, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM, now North Macedonia) actually corresponds to ancient Paeonia, NOT to ancient Macedonia, which was - and still is - a part of Greece:Strabo, ancient geographer: “Macedonia, of course, is a part of Greece.” (Strabo, “Geography”, 7, Frg. 9)“Paeonia is to the east of these nations, and to the west of the Thracian mountains; on the north it lies above Macedonia.” (Strabo, “Geography”, 7, Frg. 4)“The so-called Republic of 'Macedonia' [now North Macedonia] is located in what was ancient Paeonia.” (Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge, UK)“Paeonia, roughly where the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is today.” (Timothy Howe, Jeanne Reames, “Macedonian Legacies”, Regina Books, 2008, p.239)“Ovid was lax in his geography, not least over Paeonia (in fact roughly coextensive with the present Slav republic of Macedonia).” (Ovid [Author], Peter Green [Translator], “The Poems of Exile”, University of California Press, 2005, p.319)“Besides the former kingdom of Macedon, the Roman region included the territories of Paeonia where the contemporary FYR Macedonia rests.” (Ridvan Peshkopia, “Conditioning Democratization”, Anthem Press, 2015, p.189)“Macedonia was - and still is - a territory of northern Greece. The Ancient Macedonians were of Greek origin and spoke a broader rougher dialect of Greek.” (Stephen Batchelor, “The Ancient Greeks for Dummies”, 2008)You may also wish to read the following letter sent to president Obama, signed by more than 370 classical scholars from all over the world:”The land in question [North Macedonia], with its modern capital at Skopje, was called Paionia in antiquity. Mts. Barnous and Orbelos (which form today the northern limits of Greece) provide a natural barrier that separated, and separates, Macedonia [Greece] from its northern neighbor [North Macedonia/Paionia].While it is true that the Paionians were subdued by Philip II, father of Alexander, in 358 BC, they were not Macedonians and did not live in Macedonia. Likewise, for example, the Egyptians, who were subdued by Alexander, may have been ruled by Macedonians, including the famous Cleopatra, but they were never Macedonians themselves, and Egypt was never called Macedonia.Rather, Macedonia and Macedonian Greeks have been located for at least 2,500 years just where the modern Greek province of Macedonia is. Exactly this same relationship is true for Attica and Athenian Greeks, Argos and Argive Greeks, Corinth and Corinthian Greeks, etc.We do not understand how the modern inhabitants of ancient Paionia [modern North Macedonia], who speak Slavic – a language introduced into the Balkans about a millennium after the death of Alexander – can claim him as their national hero. Alexander the Great was thoroughly and indisputably Greek.”(John Duffy, Professor, Department of the Classics, Harvard University USA, Antony Snodgrass, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge, UK, Robin Lane Fox, University Reader in Ancient History, New College, Oxford, UK, Luigi Beschi, professore emerito di Archeologia Classica, Università di Firenze, Italy, John Dillon, Emeritus Professor of Greek, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, R. Malcolm Errington, Professor für Alte Geschichte, Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany, Pontus Hellstrom, Professor of Classical archaeology and ancient history, Uppsala University, Sweden, Marion Meyer, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Austria, Christina Leypold, Dr. phil., Archaeological Institute, University of Zürich, Switzerland, John Richard Melville-Jones, Winthrop Professor, Classics and Ancient History, University of Western Australia... Macedonia Evidence)Summing up,“Not much need to be said about the Greekness of ancient Macedonia: it is undeniable.” (Ian Worthington, “Philip II of Macedon”, Yale University, 2008)Conclusion: Pete, by saying that “Alexander was not a Greek, he was a Macedonian and if he were here today he would be pissed to be called a Greek”, you have either been deceived, or, worse, you try to deceive others.

Ministers talk about belief, people believe and stop. A dead end, awaiting change.Jesus talked about KNOWING, gave instruction, said to seek, to ask, talked about persistence, the old lady who wanted something from the judge…He talked about ever learning (much rubbish from those who don’t know) and never coming to a knowledge of truth. Any belief can be right or wrong, but knowing is found solely by truth seekers.The priests are worse, they tell you what you will believe.Start following Jesus’ instructions so that you can move to knowing, vast treasures 10,000,000 times bigger than the stuff you think you know, and no need to believe because the whole universe, countless angels and Infinite Holy Spirit have shared with you. You know it is true, light from Great Spirit some here would say.Belief is for little children, hopefully they have a knowing parent. But even the young are starting to get far ahead of the middle aged nowadays. And some older have never sought.I am not asking you to believe you know what you now merely believe.I am asking you to recognize that God has vast treasures of knowledge and wisdom. Do you know what that means? Greater than all you’ve ever learned, millions of times bigger and better. Endless truth, see? Vast light, a path, in the groove at last. Out of the darkness !Direct heavenly relationship. True Reality.Find the God you only believe in now, THEN learn what you need for teaching others. They will remain lost until you do that, because you offer only belief which is either right or wrong, but there is no meat to the rightness.Further every person must do this for themselves, YOU cannot do it for others, only for yourself.Do you recall the parable of the 10 virgins and their lamps? Some had bought the oil, some were unprepared. And the Day of The Wedding Feast came. SUDDENLY. Give us of your oil they cried to those who had sought diligently.To whomever has, more shall be given. Those who have not, are they not empty lamp holders? No, we won’t see, so long as we rank the precepts of men above what Jesus taught.No, I cannot do it for you, but I work to share best guidance. The wedding feast is nigh. Seek, find, knock.Isaiah too warned about the precepts of men. Jesus talked of the blind leading the blind and all falling into the ditch.What do you think? Spiritually blind versus spiritually seeing? Or do you think he was talking about those who cannot see the letter chart at all versus those who can see it? Do you know that many blind are spiritually seeing?You can look in your Bible which has been changed in places by the plotters. I see you want to DEFEND mere belief. Why not ask God? Directly. “If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.”James 1:5 — they could not change everything in the New Testament.Do parables consist of words? Do not readers see the words just as hearers can hear the words?Did not Jesus say some would see, some would not? He was talking about spiritually seeing and understanding hearers and readers. The ones who got the message and sought diligently for more.Ask of whom? Should you pray to your bible? Will it resurrect you? Who resurrected and said “I am the resurrection and the life”? Does God want a library or seeing and understanding people of light?Does God want fixed power lights or growing lights? What do you think?I am a scientist, but I did like doing seeking work for spiritual knowledge. I may not ever know everything. MUCH work, growing light. I understand that spiritually lost scientists (not all are so) will not accept your views. Show me your work, your fruits.Jesus had vast light, He was not accepted by many, both then and now. The servant is not above his Master. Many do not accept my light.I am advising you to save yourself. Move up the path, LEAVE the stagnating spot in which you stand. Time is short. Fix yourself, find God first. Change from believing to knowing. Knowing more, not all.Then you can look to those on path entrances or behind and offer help for the next step, a little light, not blindingly. If so you will have GREAT LIGHT soon enough, but Jesus had more and never used it blindingly.He reached down lovingly and shared, never to promote himself, only God the Father. That is whom you ask for guidance and understanding.It’s like the oil in the lamps, which belongs to God’s child who worked for it. Sought it. Daily. You can’t take it all out, hand it to another. If you could do that, you would have none.But you can explain how you did it, if you really did, and Jesus actually said some people would do greater. There will be LOTS of better people in the New Heaven and New Earth soon coming.People will be taught by the KNOWING. Big difference.We have to work on many spheres on the way to Paradise. Even there, you are perfect enough at last, but evermore perfecting. Astounding Teachers. That’s much later, but we are moving up some now. All things are altering, as Enoch prophesied.We qualify for higher by increasing perfections. With God’s help you co-create your own. You will become DIFFERENT from all others in the process. You help others find THEIR path of light. Relationship to God applies to all.No two paths will be the same. No two beings in entire cosmos are completely identical. It may be each occupational group relates better to its own who have found enlightenment.Jesus did not succeed with everyone. It’s a sure bet I won’t, you won’t. Maybe you don’t like the lost scientists and don’t like me either. But I like lots of them, even atheist Bertrand Russell. God gave us all free will.Think of it this way, we are all learners in some things, not so in others, Just do your own work well, the best you can, and let God judge others. I don’t know all that will happen in next 10 years, even with my experience. I still make mistakes, get tired, vent. Have not overturned tables (plural). I write.One thing I do know. It will be amazing.* A story that rolls on for a very, very long time. Big ripples in eternity. Ripples everywhere.What will your part be? Any left behind might choose to come along later.*It’s so amazing I have no real idea how many others are watching. Maybe trillions. A guess. They understand better having gone through the same, but The Event is rare in a given cosmic locale. Amazing, so they watch. Some even volunteered to be with us as humans, they are amazing, younger than I am.Let me be candid, I did not like all here to say the least; it will get better. I notice the volunteers want a higher place too, they are hard at work, helping in whatever way they can.Advancing Consciousness Road. It leads to better and better. The Helpers likely have more appeal, I am ‘old school’ with road injuries and may or may not see 2030 here, but I will return some day if I do not stay long enough for the big changes. We all just change form and consciousness really.We are experientially perfecting rather than existentially perfect. For us it is an evolution, another word you will only like better when you see what further light God has for you.Eventually the Perfect and the Perfected will work together on Transcendental Perfections. Until then love and mercy are for advancing, perfecting humanity. There is a generous sustenance appointed for all who desire to do this work.

You said “Harvard” which is a broad question, since “Harvard” has 13 schools (depending on who’s counting), each of which would possibly have slightly different answers. So, I’ll provide a general Harvard answer (to include College, Law, Kennedy, Business, Medical, Theology, Design, etc. etc. etc.) and one to include Extension—a very different animal all together.HARVARD COLLEGE / LAW / MED/ GSAS / ETC.All of Harvard’s Schools - with the exception of Harvard Extension - is looking for a “package.” Remember that word, it’s important (or so I think). What is your overall package and how well have you presented it? You need to think in terms of telling a pertinent story, it needs to have a point… not just a bunch of random accomplishments. However, accomplishment is expected to even gain consideration. But everyone applying should already have that.Numbers. If you’re applying to Harvard College you want an excellent HS-GPA, SAT scores, etc. If you do not have these, I would strongly suggest you reconsider your goal for Harvard (not saying it couldn’t be done, just that you take a close look). If you’re applying to Harvard Law, you want excellent UG-GPA (3.75 or above keeps you competitive) as well as an excellent LSAT score (170 would be the lowest, and you should shoot for 175+). The same would be true for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences… you want very competitive GRE scores (in the 160s for both verbal and quantitative). Obviously MCAT would be relevant for Harvard Medical, etc. From what I’ve heard (as I’m not a Harvard Law alum) about the only school that you can ALMOST assume you’ll get an offer from, based solely on numbers, is Harvard Law. For example, I would assume that if you had a 3.95 UGGPA + 178 LSAT, you are ALMOST guaranteed an offer. I’ve heard this from several HLS alumni.Side note: It’s worth mentioning that where you got your GPA numbers from, does matter… attending University of State at (enter extension city here) might hurt a bit (excluding obviously well known places like UC Davis/Berkley, UC Illinois/Chicago, etc.). But I don’t think that would kill you if the rest of the package is extremely strong.Experience (non academic). If you’re applying to Harvard College you want to show that you’ve been highly involved with your high school and municipal communities. Were you drum major? Even better, were you a tiny chick who played TUBA, and taught color guard, and served as drum major for two years in a row!? ;) (See how that’s memorable and interesting?) Where you a top notch athlete that spent weekends at poetry slams? Did you volunteer your time at your local hospital or spend time shadowing geriatric M.D.s on his/her nursing home rounds? Are you highly religious, and see a need to study the field of (fill in the blank) to better serve your religious community? I’m not saying you have to work in a soup kitchen in the poorest parts of Africa, but you do need a real-life experiential piece to your “package.” Make sure this experience some how ties in with your overall packages. Don't just list a bunch of random cool accomplishments - trust me, everyone applying to Harvard has that, too. Make yours pop.Experience (academic, if applicable). For graduate students, do you have experience that makes sense with your package? If you are wanting to go to Harvard Law, what is your undergrad degree in? Does it make sense? Criminal Justice is “generally” not impressive to law schools. Nor is legal studies. But even that has a caveat… e.g., are you an peace officer, or probation officer, with an established career in leadership and maybe research, with plans to stay in the same line of work? THEN it makes sense. Good general majors would be Psychology, Business (especially for corporate law), English (especially technical writing), Philosophy (especially logic-heavy), and of course, PolySci. But, if you have B.S. in Kinesiology, that does’t mean you aren’t a good candidate - it just needs to fit into your package. And you should be prepared to articulate how it does. Harvard especially loves diversity. So if you have an odd or unexpected degree, grad schools MAY look very favorably on that, if it makes sense. How many B.Arch.s do you think there are at Harvard Law? I would guess that a seasoned architect who wishes to move into a related field of law, would have a good story to tell. Or… an architect wishes to move from practice to policy would be a great candidate for the Kennedy School. If you are the student that shadowed a Geriatric Physician in nursing homes during HS, then completed a B.S. in Biology, only later to go into Social Work and earn a M.S.W. with a focus on the aging population/services - that is starting sound not only like a GOOD candidate to Harvard Medical, but an INTERESTING one, as well (especially with a good GPA for the BS and MSW, plus great MCAT scores). Just be prepared to defend your previous college experience in your overall package - or at best, talk about its seemingly unconventional nature, and TURN IT into something interesting and relevant.Cheer Leaders (LoRs). I think this is a more cheerful term than Letters of Recommendation (LoRs). These LoRs should really fit into and compliment your package. Don't choose random people that just happen to like you. Also, I love Granny too, but don't choose her. If you are the tiny tuba playing, flag tossing, drum major, then a great candidate for an LoR would be Fancy Musicologist, D.M.A. from the local university where you volunteered to help at a public band-camp for kids, sponsored by Blank University. See how that fits into your package? It helps tell your story. You can also use an LoR to introduce an unexpected aspect of your application that might add depth to your “package.” For example if you are applying to Harvard Graduate School for a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (I say that only because it’s my field), then how about having your undergraduate advanced psych professor write an LoR, but in it have him/her discuss how you used your experience learning about psychology to teach a YWCA course on diversity and acceptance… especially if the faculty member you wish to do research with specializes in diversity as it is found in public programs? (Note about GSAS/Ed/Etc… you need to be applying to a particular faculty member’s interests for a reason, not just “because” you want a Ph.D. or Ed.D. at Harvard.)Written Personality. Harvard gets to pick whoever the hell they want, from the best of the best. You want the admissions team to like you, even fall in love with you …all without them getting to physically meet you. If you are not a gifted writer or communicator, then you should by all means seek coaching in this area. Your essays are your chance to tie everything together. Here is where you tell your story. And you must do so in an engaging (but not necessarily entertaining, that could bomb) way. In other words, no poem-essays. You have ALREADY shown them you have the numbers. You’re as competitive as just about anyone else applying. You have plenty of APPLICABLE experience to talk about from all your volunteer work, your extra curricular activities, your summer jobs, your previous career, etc. You have excellent APPLICABLE letters of recommendation that relate closely to the package you’re presenting. So now tell the admissions committee how it all comes together - and be charming. This is where you tie the bow. Be hella charming, but not douche-bag-ey or goofy. Work on your essays over and over. Don't just throw something down on paper at the last minute (unless your scores are perfect, and even then half-ass-ing it could be seen as insulting or arrogant). Be humble. If you have life experiences relevant to your package (and you should) talk about those IN CONTEXT… don’t just drone on about the time you went to India with your church group. Make it make sense.Also, don’t just re-hash what’s already going to be obvious from your transcripts. Use the real estate on your paper very wisely.And if all else fails, by all means consider a quick spritz of your favorite perfume on your application stationary (kidding, Legally Blonde reference).If you’re serious about Ivy League admissions, as a traditional student (ironic term since my advice is to be nontraditional statistically lol), I strongly suggest you read How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, by a Harvard Alum by Allen Cheng. He uses the well-rounded vs spike illustration, in lieu of my “intentional package” analogy. Allen’s article is incredibly thorough and a must-read.If none of that ^ appeals to you… read on...HARVARD UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SCHOOLI was looking into options for a masters degree, locally, in Texas. I was interested in both law and psychology. So was exploring, for example, U-Texas at Dallas’ M.A. in Con Law (which I was accepted to). At the same time I started interviewing and exploring Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs. Torn, I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I loved both law/business (my UG degree) and psychology (many of my electives).I stumbled on Harvard University’s Extension School… totally by accident. It offered me the chance to explore psychology courses and law courses, offered by some brilliant Harvard professors. It was exactly what I needed. I left Harvard with a new intentionality, curiosity, clarity, drive, motivation, excitement… that I didn’t have before.So, if someone asked me, personally, “what is the BEST WAY to get into Harvard,” my answer would be absolutely through the Extension School, taking ALL things into consideration, and putting less (but still some) emphasis on prestige.All (well, most) of the admissions rigor discussed above becomes irrelevant. Harvard Extension does not (usually) care who you are, or what you did, prior to your involvement at Harvard (assuming you have a bachelors degree if you want an ALM). They care whether or not you NOW have what it takes to earn an ALB (Bachelor of Liberal Arts) or ALM (Master of Liberal Arts). And this school, and only this school, affords students the opportunity to prove it without [too many] admissions hurdles.Don’t get me wrong, it is far from easy. In fact, I believe (though I have no proof or even anecdotal experience upon which to base this belief lol) that Harvard Extension is pressured by Harvard Proper to make the program incredibly difficult… for the sole purpose of severely limiting the amount of students who finally matriculate with an actual Harvard degree.For example, the thesis is like NOTHING I’d done or seen before. It’s more comparable to a small dissertation. In fact, the ALM thesis is more rigorous than dissertations at some schools (actually, having read many ALM theses and non-Harvard dissertations, I can say I know this to be factually true, in many cases at least). Of course, all of this is highly dependent on what you get your degree in, who your mentor is, who your advisor is, etc.As if avoiding the rat race of admissions isn’t reason enough (for me, it absolutely was, I just wanted to enjoy being at Harvard and learning from the best)… consider the cost. It’s about 1500 per undergraduate course, and 2500 per graduate course. This is HIGHLY competitive, and BLOWS Harvard Proper out of the water. I can honestly say that even if I did apply to the Graduate School (and I had semi-competitive GRE scores, a 3.9 UGPA, and fantastic applicable LoRs) I would have easily turned it down once I saw how much more affordable an ALM is compared to an AM. I simply never knew Harvard Extension ‘was a thing.’As an extension student you get the same professors [usually], the same libraries [less Harvard Law Library], the same benefits en totum, minus the house affiliation (Adams, Quincy, Lowell, Winthrop, etc.) and minus the massive debt (excluding the option of scholarships or full rides of course).My partner and I have discussed this A LOT: when/if our children want to go to college (as if it’s negotiable, right?) and they expect their dads to pay for it, there will only be one option: Harvard Extension. If they want to go somewhere else, they’ll need to earn it or have an excellent argument for it, over HES. There is NO other University program in this county (I believe) that offers the depth of richness and experience at such a reasonable cost, as Harvard Extension. The best library. The most beautiful campus (sorry Stanford & Yale). [Some of] the most accomplished and brilliant minds in the country. The latest and greatest research. The best alumni network in the U.S. The most open doors for graduate and post-graduate education. Oh, and the most amazing Winters (for a Texan at least).I can only think of one downside: There are only three conveniently located Starbucks around campus (Square, Church, & Broadway), and Dunks, on the other hand, is EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK in New England. Ugh. Yuck.Best of luck to anyone considering Harvard.-R.