The Harvard Z-List is about as close to the proverbial back door into power and prestige as currently exists in American society. What is it? A collection of roughly 60 students each year, all of whom are the children of powerful and influential families more often than not composed of Harvard alumni, who are admitted to Harvard on the basis of their families rather than their academic chops. That’s right, certain privileged students get into Harvard through a backdoor only accessible to the rich and famous. 

These students typically do not have the merit to have been admitted on their own. So, what’s the catch? Harvard requires each Z-listed student to take a gap year before their first year at the institution. This way, these students do not drive down Harvard’s admissions competitiveness as determined by such rankings as the U.S. News & World Report list. By matriculating a year after receiving their offer of admission, these students do not adversely impact Harvard’s reputation while still ensuring that the Crimson maintains positive relations with key donors, alumni, and public figures.

Who are the Alleged Members of the Secretive Harvard Z-List?

Unsurprisingly, conspiracy theories abound as to who may or may not have been admitted through Harvard’s secret back door on the Z-List. Allegations range from highly credible to rote speculation. For example, many people have speculated that Malia Obama (B.A. ‘21), daughter of former President Barack Obama, was admitted off of the Z-List. While neither of her parents could be considered Harvard alumni in the admissions sense (they both attended Harvard Law School, not Harvard College), being the child of a former U.S. president is more than enough of a qualification to make it onto the Z-List.

What do we at Ivy Coach think? Malia’s gap year prior to her freshman fall is certainly suspicious, but wanting to spend time with her family during the last year of her dad’s presidency is just as plausible of an explanation as the Z-List. There are some other Harvard alumni whose case for Z-list membership is far more difficult to deny.

Case in point: Jared Kushner. The real estate executive and former adviser to President Donald Trump is very likely to have been admitted to the world’s most prestigious institution without necessarily meeting the strict criteria for admission. According to Daniel Golden, author of The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges – and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates (2007), the former president’s son-in-law received an unlikely letter of admission despite lackluster grades and test scores in high school. 

But that’s not all: Jared’s father, business mogul Charles Kushner, made a conveniently-timed donation of $2.5 million to the institution just before his son was accepted. Helping the case to clear his name is the fact that he did not take a gap year prior to enrolling, but the college rankings racket was still in its infancy in the late 1990s when Kushner was accepted, so it is quite possible that the gap year requirement is of more recent vintage.

What is Life Like for Z-Listers on Harvard’s Campus?

Being a member of the infamous Z-List is a bit of an open secret on Harvard’s campus, and spotting one is not too difficult. Did a legacy student, who attended a major prep or boarding school, take a gap year prior to enrolling, a time that they remember fondly, if with a touch of embarrassment? That lucky Ivy Leaguer is probably a member of the Harvard Z-List. They are somewhat looked down upon by other Harvard students, who had to work hard to secure their place, but what do they care? They have cushy lives at the height of their respective industries ahead of them, all furnished by an elite education that will open any door otherwise closed to them. 

An offer of admission to Harvard, Z-List or not, is pretty hard to turn down, even for the most privileged among us. It’s somewhat of a charmed thought that even the likes of Jared Kushner would do anything for the chance at a Harvard education.