The New York Times | By Jal Mehta PhD 2006 and Sarah Fine. Debate, drama and other extracurriculars provide the excitement many classrooms lack. And they can help overhaul the system, Mehta and Fine argue. The authors spent six years traveling the country studying high schools for their book, In Search of Deeper Learning, just published by Harvard University Press. Mehta is Associate Professor of Education at Harvard. Fine runs a teacher preparation program at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education in San Diego.

Kevin Ballen didn’t plan on taking two gap years. But he did intend to live a life less constrained by society’s expectations.

“In high school, my goal was to shift civic engagement from transactional hour requirements to a meaningful, everyday opportunity to make ourselves and those around us better,” he said.

The 20-year-old first-year, who lives in Holworthy Hall, described his early years of community action — volunteering every month at a homeless shelter — as rote. “It’s just what we did, because it was the right thing to do,” he recalled.

But a single moment made him...

At 7 this evening, regular-action decisions were sent to applicants to Harvard College’s Class of 2023, and 1,950 students were officially admitted.

“The Class of 2023 is remarkably accomplished and promising by any standard,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid. “Reading their applications and getting to know these individuals through their unique experiences and talents inspires great confidence for the future of Harvard College and our society.”

This year’s admitted class hails from every state and from 89 countries throughout the world.  ...