Chance a Powerlifter for Harvard REA and top schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics:
U.S. Domestic
DFW area of Texas
~2400 Population Public School
White/Caucasian
Lower-Middle class (~90k)
First sibling to attend university, only other member of family to do so is father who went to UTA.

Intended Majors:
Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology

SAT:
1540 Total
780 Math
760 EBRW

ACT:
34 Composite
36 Reading
36 Science
34 Math
29 English

GPA/Rank:
3.9 UW
100.6 W
21/595 Weighted Rank

School uses system where weighted courses gain an extra 10 points, so an 80 in AP Physics is a 90 when calculating weighted GPA

Coursework:

9th: AP Human Geography(4), Hon Geometry, Hon English, Hon Biology (LOR 1 Teacher), Band, German 1 & 2 (finished language credit)
10th: AP World History(4), Hon Algebra 2, Hon English, Hon Chemistry, Band, 2 Medical Courses
11th: AP Chemistry(4), AP English Lang(4), AP U.S. History(5), Hon Pre-Cal, Band

Awards:
Gold Medal at Texas State Championships
Bronze Award for Outstanding Performance in Band
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Area Finalist Marching Band
Certificate of Academic Excellence AP Chemistry (teacher selected school level award)

Powerlifting:
Won Texas State Championships and told alumnus during interview that I’m set to be breaking 2 Texas records and an American Record, which he said he can write down in the notes (so hopefully Harvard is aware) (9-12 and PG, 12 hours per week)

Marching Band/Wind Symphony:
Fitness and Hydration officer (executive position) gained by showing experience and expertise in health and fitness (position ties in with powerlifting and career goals) (9-12 and PG, 12 hours per week)

Science NHS:
Founding member of Chapter and Treasurer (12, 2 hours per week)

NHS:
Just a member (12, 2 hours per week)

Work(Paid):
Lifeguard and Swim Instructor (10-12 and PG, 10 hours a week), hoping Lifeguarding can tie in with medical dreams showing early interest.

On top of my main activities I also listed that I taught myself Python and C++, as well as that I’m currently self studying for the MCAT.

Essays/LORs:

1st LOR:

From Biology teacher who’s known me for 4 years, is the sponsor of Science NHS, and I spend probably an hour each week in her class for tutorials, definitely positive but hard to say if it’s “best student I’ve had” level

2nd LOR:

From AP Gov/APUSH teacher, known me for 2 years, was able to read it, very positive but not a 1 on Harvards scale by any means.

Essays:

Personal Statement was about my journey with a near career ending injury, and how during the process of sitting at home recovering I fell in love with medicine as I stayed up late nights researching potential treatments for my injury, reading medical articles, studies, etc. and how after I recovered I continued by taking medical courses (which are listed on transcript) and studying for the MCAT out of an old dingy book.

Main Supplement wrote about my family’s experience with debt and how it’s effected me as a student and as a child

EC Supplemental was about saying bye to Marching Band, and what that meant to me, very emotional and more so about the way those around me molded me, and as such will forever be a part of me.

Interview:

My interview went well, likely not a 1 in Harvard’s rating but it was great to talk to someone who’s gone, and to ask questions as well as give Harvard a better look at me as a student.

Obviously my family doesn’t make a TON of money, even to the point of limiting what I can do in my application (internships, research, etc). However, tuition shouldn’t be an issue, as many of the schools I’m applying to have generous financial aid, and my safety has in-state tuition.

My safety is UT Austin as I get automatic admissions going to a public Texas hs.

As for reaches, I’m applying Harvard REA, and regular decision I’m applying to Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Rice, UChicago, and Vanderbilt.

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It looks like you have one safety and everything else is a reach. Note that UCB and UCLA do not offer need-based financial aid to non-California residents, so you would be aiming for top-end merit scholarships that are rare and super-reach.

$90k is not “lower” middle class, although it may seem like it in comparison to college list prices. But you should be able to get estimates of financial at from each college’s net price calculator.

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If you look at this website for the Harvard admissions rubric, then it seems that your chances are decent.

You are likely to receive a 3+ in academics because of “Cum laude potential: Very good student with excellent grades and mid-600 to low-700 scores (29 to 32 ACT).” Your SAT is very strong, but your course rigor, AP scores, GPA and class rank will probably place you there.

You may receive a 1 in extracurriculars because your status as a national-level powerlifter matches “Unusual strength in one or more areas. Possible national-level achievement or professional experience. A potential major contributor at Harvard. Truly unusual achievement.”

For the personal rating, it is hard to judge, but with strong essays and a great interview you would probably get a 3+, 2-, or 2.

Assuming a 3+ academic, 1 EC, and 2- personal, your overall rating would likely be a solid 2. According to that website, your chances would be between 50-65%, so essentially a coin toss.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

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In my favor, based on the Early Action statistics individuals who received a 2 overall had an 88% admit rate, versus 65% in the RD pool.

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Congratulations on your strong academics and powerlifting achievements!

How far along are you on your applications? Did you apply to UCs?

As others have pointed out, UCs would not likely be affordable. I worry that you have not put enough research into fit and finances and have focused instead on prestige. Studying for the MCAT will not impress AOs — use that time to dig deeper and create a list that fits.

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Good catch, I just looked at combined REA + RD. Looking at an 88% acceptance rate, I don’t think you’re in too bad shape :wink:

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I would let you. in, great academics and excelling in a niche sport and interesting essays. But don’t rely too heavily on the 88% EA Harvard figure or other EA percentages that look enticing. The EA numbers include legacies, recruited athletes and different studies have parsed those categories and others out (kids from first generation families or national programs to help underrepresented groups be admitted) and with Ivy League and top 20, once you take out the picks, the actual admission rate is fairly close to regular admission rate. If you do a few searches there are some recent articles, I don’t have links right now. Not to be a downer, but it is deceptive. I hope you get in and maybe Texas and not richy rich Texas will help.

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Well in a single income household with only 1 parent making what would be considered a “middle class” wage, and the other parent making nothing, I would assume I’m lower middle class.

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530kg is an excellent total for anyone, let alone a 17-year old. Curious, are you using sumo or conventional for your deadlift?

Now that you’ve won a state level meet, are you planning to compete in Nationals since you obviously have a national qualifying total?

Just remember, using grips is cheating. :grinning:

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You have a great chance at Harvard….well above the typical applicant. However, you lack perspective: 90k , one parent works and one does not, is NOT lower middle class: it is above the median family income for TX, so you are the upper part of the middle class.

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That’s true I guess I just don’t get that perspective

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I pull sumo because of my hip mobility, and yeah I plan to compete at Nats and even tried to indicate that in one of my essays, and yeah I use hook grip so grips won’t be necessary, and this December I plan to hit 650 kg and break a few records.

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Even as an auto-admit, UT is not a safety. Most majors are competitive, and you may or may not get in to the major you want. You might want to include Texas A&M as a backup.

You won’t be able to afford UCLA or Berkeley. They cost around 65k a year, and don’t offer financial aid to nonresidents. The rest are all hyper competitive reach schools with an acceptance rate that ranges between 4% and 10%. If we play the odds, you’re going to get a big stack of rejections, and wind-up at UT-Austin with a less than 50/50 chance of getting the major you want. Hence adding A&M, and I would suggest adding another one, like UNT or U of Houston.

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I must say that you have quite an interesting story. I can see why Harvard decided to interview you. Its still somewhat random. But I think you have a decent shot. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Also - why not any ED2 colleges? UChicago and Vandy are both in your list for the RD round. Your chances will be boosted if you apply ED2.

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I assumed REA meant no other early privates with almost 0 exceptions, knowing that likely would’ve helped but it is what it is

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You will hear from Harvard REA before the ED2 deadlines, so that leaves ED2 on the table if you are not accepted to Harvard in mid-December.

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EA/ED1: You are allowed one application (sometimes more). Depends if school is single-choice restrictive or not. Deadlines usually in early November, answer by mid-Dec.

ED2: One choice, deadline early Jan, answer by mid February

RD: Unlimited, deadline early Jan, answer in late April/May

Only downside of ED2 is that you’re committed to attending if accepted. Sometimes you can get out of the agreement if financial aid is an issue. So run the NPC on the website ahead of applying to make sure your parents can afford. It gives a significant boost.

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yeah this is true I just don’t know if I can afford to commit in ED based on financials, also something that might help everyone get a better chancing picture is that my essays talk about how hard I’m working toward medical research and getting admitted to the Harvard-MIT PhD MD program and one of my LOR mentions how I’m “one of the hardest workers that I have ever had the opportunity to teach.” which may help impact my application

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ED schools do not really care if you apply to other EA schools, but you can have only one ED application at a time.

EA schools may or may not care if you apply early elsewhere. If they do, they have restrictions, such as the applicant not applying ED elsewhere and/or not applying EA to some subset of other schools.

So you can apply to any number of non restricted EA schools and up to one ED school. If any of your schools has restricted EA, you have to choose between it and other ED and/or EA schools that are restricted against.

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