<p>Unless you have straight A’s, you are pretty unlikely to get into Harvard nowadays. Recommendations help, but only among the straight A students they choose from. It’s ironic, because once you are in, they don’t kick you out if you get a few B’s.</p>
<p>^^ If you look on the most recent Common Data Set, 91.4% of admitted Harvard students had a 3.75 GPA (94.5) or better average. Percentage-wise, that would mean Harvard does admit some students with lower GPA’s with a few B’s on their transcript.</p>
<p>“Unless you have straight A’s, you are pretty unlikely to get into Harvard nowadays.”</p>
<p>This sentence could be shortened to:</p>
<p>“You are pretty unlikely to get into Harvard nowadays.”</p>
<p>That’s whether or not you have straight As.</p>
<p>But as gibby points out, one doesn’t need straight As to get into Harvard.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any feedback on the rec issue?</p>
<p>What kind of feedback are you looking for? </p>
<p>I think pretty much everyone agrees that teacher recommendations are important; there is disagreement though about exactly how important. Colleges are looking for your teachers to confirm your potential as a scholar in the classroom. A stellar recommendation can help your application, a tepid one may be a neutral factor, while a negative recommendation can torpedo an application. What more feedback do you want?</p>
<p>I guess I am wondering what specifics should be included in the rec. Is it a good idea to start by answering the questions posed here? [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)
How long should it be? Is it a good idea to back every statement up with a fact/example? Is it important to follow a standard format with X number of paragraphs?
Short of saying “John is the best student I have taught in my 20 years of tenure,” what makes a rec stellar?</p>
<p>Have you asked your teachers to write you a recommendation letter? </p>
<p>Usually when you ask a teacher for a recommendation letter, they will have a form with questions for you to fill out. Look at “Recommendations: Student Self-Assessment” on the College Board website: [Recommendations:</a> Teacher Tips](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/teacher-tips]Recommendations:”>Writing Recommendations: Teachers – Counselors | College Board)</p>
<p>“what makes a rec stellar?”</p>
<p>Specifics! Specifics inside and outside the classroom – your maturity level, your writing ability, how you led classroom discussions and were always one of the first students who had their hand raised ready to answer a question with a thoughtful response, how your opinions are respected by other faculty and fellow students, what they will remember most about you when you graduate, what activities you participated in at school, what activities did you participate in outside of school, how supportive your parents seemed to be in the process of your education, how ready you are to tackle the rigor of college level work etc. There really isn’t a standard format to a recommendation letter; most of them are not longer than a page.</p>
<p>“If you look on the most recent Common Data Set, 91.4% of admitted Harvard students had a 3.75 GPA (94.5) or better average. Percentage-wise, that would mean Harvard does admit some students with lower GPA’s with a few B’s on their transcript.”</p>
<p>Most of them are athletes or minorities. Unless you are an athlete, a minority, a legacy, or the child of a super-rich, you are unlikely to get in with a 3.75. That is also true for YPS. Sad, but true.</p>
<p>“You will soon be hearing…”</p>
<p>Or their parents. ;-)</p>
<p>My son didn’t get all As in high school. Mostly As. A few A-s. Even a couple of Bs. Even so, he was admitted.</p>
<p>Oh, and he’s not an athlete, a minority, or a legacy, nor are his parents super-rich.</p>
<p>It’s clear to me that Harvard is much more interested in the student who challenges himself with the toughest curriculum he can take, much more interested in the student who takes some academic risks, and gets a couple of less-than-perfect grades along the way, than in the student who plays it safe and makes sure he only takes courses in which he’ll almost certainly receive an A.</p>
<p>Thanks, gibby. The paragraph you wrote about specifics was really helpful!</p>