But sometimes, over-eager applicants divulge too much in their quest to please.

One applicant sent in all of his corrected papers—since kindergarten. Another applicant sent in a personal diary. A third applicant sent a huge pile of recommendation letters.

“We stopped counting at 80,” says Fitzsimmons. “Although we were happy to hear from the applicant’s orthodontist that the teeth had straightened out, we didn’t think it [was relevant].”

This veritable onslaught of extraneous information can sometimes detract from the substance of the applicant’s folder, according to Fitzsimmons.

Even smaller, creative gimmicks can sometimes flop.

One applicant wrote his entire essay with his foot, as demonstrated by photos taken by his girlfriend. His essay concluded with a line about his aspirations of leaving his footprints at Harvard.

But this attempt at being funny more often than not fails to impress.

“Humor is difficult to carry off,” Fitzsimmons says. “The danger is that it could actually obscure the substance.”

College counseling services say that, when they advise students, they try to stress the fine line students must walk between getting noticed and going over the top.

“The number one thing students should do is look unique,” says Stephen H. Kramer, president of College Coach, a college counseling service based in Boston. “But gimmicky things don’t work.”

Kramer says he urges his students to find a theme that “will run through their application.” The unique theme will attract attention and, in tying together different aspects of the applicant’s folder, will not seem frivolous.

Fitzsimmons says he cannot comment on whether specific ploys actually work—and on how admissions officers respond to items which may seem frivolous.

He says admissions officers keep in mind that overzealous parents, rather than the applicants, may be behind the extra efforts to influence the outcome.

“It isn’t always the idea of the candidate but [may come] from a well-meaning parent or friend,” Fitzsimmons says.

For that reason, Fitzsimmons says, he instructs the admissions staff to “look at the entire folder, even though there may be something frivolous inside the folder.”

—Staff writer Robert M. Annis can be reached at annis@fas.harvard.edu.