"The one great thing is the name recognition,"Fitzsimmons says.
The Harvard name, the place and its prominentscholars have become a symbol for something muchmore.
"I think it's because people see in Harvard akind of image of excellence in education,"Fineberg says. "It is built over this long historyof quality in education."
MISSION POSSIBLE
Despite its unchallenged prominence, however,Harvard is not planning to simply rest on itsreputation. The 21st century will be a time ofinternational outreach, on many different levels.
Having made it a point to travel around theglobe for the University, Rudenstine places"internationalization," as he terms it, at the topof his agenda. Last week, in an interview with TheCrimson, he listed international efforts as one ofseveral projects that will occupy the remainder ofhis tenure as president. He says the deans andvice presidents will be meeting with him andFineberg in the autumn to plan strategy.
In parallel with the administration's efforts,the admissions office is continuing to step up itsrecruitment of international students.
"Over the past 10 years or so, theinternational outreach has increaseddramatically," Fitzsimmons says.
The differences between international studentsand Americans become striking for admissionsofficers charged with international recruiting.They find themselves explaining the nature of theAmerican liberal arts education, repeating timeand again that Harvard College does not trainstudents for a particular profession, as studentswould expect in their home countries.
And admissions officers often find that theUniversity's graduate schools are more famous thanthe undergraduate institution.
"We spend a certain amount of time tellingpeople we are not the Harvard Business School,"Fitzsimmons says.
Alumni abroad can be effective recruiters. Theadmissions offices is using its internationalalumni to "open up a pipeline with new students,"according to Rosemary M. Green, associate directorof admissions who focuses on internationaladmissions.
In addition to marshalling alumni support,admissions officers routinely travel around theworld to meet with prospective students in Mexico,Central America, the Middle East, Europe and otherareas. This year, they will visit Turkey, Greece,Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Austria,France, England and Wales.
"In order to get the most talented Americans,you will have to recruit more and more abroad,"says Fitzsimmons, acknowledging the importance ofinternational students in maintaining theuniversity's reputation among Americans.
While Harvard is running hard to maintain itsworld-wide preeminence, it enjoys a head startthat may be insurmountable.
"It's very difficult for any institution tocatch up with Harvard as a research institution,"Stevens says. For example, Oxford University islosing some of its prospective students to schoolslike Harvard because it is impossible for auniversity with, as Stevens says, "a $2 billionendowment and a government that is hostile to it"to compete in research.
"Oxford and Cambridge...in the long run, theirfuture is certainly less assured than Harvard,"Stevens says, dismissing two of Harvard'schallengers.
Perhaps it is this head start that makes highschool counselors and administrators alikeconfident that Harvard will never be surpassed.
"If any other universities get the same statusas Harvard, I've never noticed it overseas,"Fineberg says.