Absolute bare minumum GPA for acceptance

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>o7 college confidential</p>

<p>I am curious if Harvard and the ivy leagues have a dead minimum GPA setup. I have a 2.6 right now for my freshman year of high school. I'm an athlete, so I plan on getting in with help of coach (near impossible otherwise). The question is, will 2.6 cut it if I maintain this level? I see that Academic Index scores count a lot, however I'm very curious if a kid with a 2.6 GPA but top tier test scores that qualify him/her for AI scores in the 200's will qualify for admission by athlete standards. Gibby said that lowest GPA in a class a few years ago was a 3.0, but is there a rule?</p>

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<p>Sorry but i seriously doubt youll get in through athletics with a 2.6. Imho youd need at least a 3.5 and have stellar extra-curriculars to even be considered. Harvard is a top3 school in the nation. There are kids with straight 4.0’s who dont even get interviews. You have to really set yourself apart. Depending on what sport you play you should check out Ohio State, Duke and Vanderbilt. All 3 of those have good sports programs and dont have the requirements of Harvard. Remember very few athletes who make it to the pros go through Ivy League schools. Reason being that most people who go to ivy league schools are there to become proffesionals. Ivy Leagues arent for average joes frankly, Harvard has taught many Presidents and other very powerful people. Last but not least if you really have your mindset on Harvard you should buckle down and try extra hard this year. Join me in the road to a 4.0. Please noone lecture me on my grammar and or spelling. Im not stupid, im just incredibly lazy on the internet and dont feel like busting open pages to type an essay to this poor kid. See ya</p>

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<p>You have two things in front of you: 1) your past history – which predicts future performance, especially since more and more harder classwork comes your way.</p>

<p>2) your search for fantasy land: this fantastic SAT or ACT score when you’ve barely gotten but a few As in your freshman (and MOST EASIEST) year in high school.</p>

<p>3) your raw GPA means nothing to Harvard unless you’re taking an extremely rigorous courseload. How many honors courses are you currently enrolled in? Likely one or none? How do you get in more? By getting As and Bs. Will that happen? </p>

<p>Whatever Gibby says or whether a “rule” exists about a 3.0 basement cutoff – what does that do for you in the next eight weeks as you begin your sophomore year? More Cs in tests? How many missed homework assignments will you have by the end of Sept? These are the numbers you should be focused on – not fantasizing if you can become Harvard’s football player.</p>

<p>Elsewhere you’ve mentioned Harvard’s great Fin Aid. You don’t think other colleges give Fin Aid? But it’s predicated on both merit and income level. </p>

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<p>^ thank you to first poster for not raging to much. Yes you are right that Harvard is not for average joes, but for someone with POTUS and CEO goals, it is a good fit. As for the other poster, I am in 2 AP and 2 honors classes, and it got it by well… careful diplomacy :D. There is always a way to do things, and I went from needing an a and a recommendation, to getting in with a 2.6. I think I actually am taking more advanced classes than anyone in my grade. Now, for the poster that says I need 3.5, I only need to get a LL to be safe, and for that I need high AI scores so coach gives me one. I know AI is significant when it comes to recruitment and I’m curious if there is a minimum GPA, because in Harvard recruitment it just says the NCAA limit which is like 2.1. If that’s the limit I am safe, if not I gotta work (doing that anyways, as I need all the boost that I can get. Now please, assist me rather than insult me, because we are not getting anywhere.</p>

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<p>@Paul13375,</p>

<p>Why are you asking about the minimum acceptable GPA for Harvard? You’d previously told us that you were going to have astonishing grades your sophomore through senior years. You can still achieve a 3.5 or a little better by halfway through your senior year. Why worry about minimum GPA?</p>

<p>Anyway, how IS school going? You’ve been in for a week or two. T26E4’s questions about homework and initial grades are highly relevant. Have you had many homework assignments to date? Have you turned them all in? Received maximum points for them? Same for any quizzes?</p>

<p>Your school career is a long journey. So far, it’s been going in the wrong direction. You can make a u-turn, but you can’t recoup all the lost ground all at once. Once you’re going in the right direction, it requires taking one step at a time, each step in the right direction.</p>

<p>“Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.”</p>

<p>The path of academic success comes from studying EACH NIGHT. From doing one’s homework, EACH NIGHT, and then TURNING IT IN ON TIME. It come from studying for each and every quiz, sweating the details, and because you’re paying attention each step of the way, getting great grades on quizzes. It comes from laboring over the papers you write, unafraid to write and re-write them as often as is needed, asking others to comment on your writing, suggesting ways to improve it, to write better. Doing each of these things, constantly reviewing, going back over what you’ve already learned, those are the individual small steps that strengthen your grasp, turning competency to mastery of the material, and lead almost naturally to excellent scores on your exams. Inch by inch.</p>

<p>You will need to turn around your grades. First - you’d practically have to be ready for the pros for Harvard to take you with a 2.6 GPA. Second - if you want to score well on the standardized tests, the best way to do that isn’t through prep courses or cramming, but from diligently working to get good grades in the classes that you take, to study every day and night, to do every assignment, to practice ceaselessly, to write and write and write. All these things build on each other, and they build you up intellectually, they become part of you, giving you the knowledge and skill to score highly on the standardized tests. Inch by inch. </p>

<p>And if you don’t score exceptionally well on the standardized tests, and your GPA remains in the gutter, you can pretty much write off any chance at a top school, football or no.</p>

<p>So, the question is - have you completed every homework assignment so far, turned each one in on time, and received all the points possible for each assignment?</p>

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<p>@ThatguyfromPR‌ Duke has the requirements of Harvard…</p>

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<p>^ I start next Thursday. I will let you know how it goes, however I really intend to turn things around, and your advice is helping. </p>

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<p>Paul,</p>

<p>I am absolutely mystified by this ongoing series of posts in which you attempt to find out if you – to date an absolutely mediocre student – can somehow get into Harvard so that you do not have to pay for your education. It is clear you know nothing about Harvard, except for the name and its financial ability to provide excellent aid. It is not for absolutely mediocre students looking for free rides. You need to quit asking about how to finesse an acceptance with truly sub-par statistics. Or with some sub-par statistics and fantasies of being the next great thing in football.</p>

<p>Harvard is NOT a Big Ten school. It is one of the most rigorous academic institutions on the planet. It’s mission is an academic mission, not a sports mission. If you are not a top academic star student in your school, or at the very least a superb student AND top-flight athlete, you simply will not be admitted to Harvard. You will not be admitted. As notjoe says, if you are already at the level of a professional football player, there might be some leeway in your gpa, but not a 2.6. With a 2.6 gpa, it will be clear to admissions that you are not capable of doing the academic work at Harvard. Stop kidding yourself here. Harvard is a top academic institution and you need to be able to work at an absolute top academic level. Saying you can means nothing without the transcript and achievements to back up your boasts.</p>

<p>Instead of asking that your fantasy – of being a mediocre academic student somehow getting into Harvard – be validated by College Confidential, why don’t you do what actually might serve you well? Why don’t you try to be an academically great student who – by dint of hard work and true, recognized academic achievement – molds himself into someone who is academically qualified for admission to Harvard and is capable of handling the workload? There are no guarantees, of course. But you stand a much better chance of having your application taken seriously – of being an actual competitive applicant – if you are an outstanding academic student and not some dreamer with mediocre stats and a fantasy football scenario.</p>

<p>It seems clear to me – as someone who attended Harvard and taught Harvard undergrads – that you have no real understanding of what Harvard is or what it expects of successful applicants. It is not looking for mediocre students who are decent, or even good, football players. It is looking for superb students who, if recruited as football players, are principally fine students. You cannot be one or the other. You cannot be a mediocre student who as a good football player is admitted to Harvard. You must be a great student who, if depending upon football as your in, is also an excellent athlete. You must be both.</p>

<p>You seem to be fixated on ways to get into Harvard without actually putting in all the hard work it takes to be an academically great student. There is no such way. If you are not a great student you will not be admitted. There are many ways, of course, of defining what makes an individual student great. But I can assure you that being naïve, unrealistic, intransigent, and steadfast in maintaining that mediocrity can persevere…well, these are not the traits of great students. This is wishful, unrealistic and, ultimately, not smart thinking.</p>

<p>I am sure you are going to argue…But as someone who has never been to Harvard and reveals real misunderstanding of it every time he posts, you are not in a great position to argue. You might be well served taking the advice of notjoe and others who have kindly advised you to work on being academically excellent. If this is not something you will do, or are not capable of doing, stop fantasizing about Harvard because it won’t happen for you.</p>

<p>Another trait of really top students is a capacity to learn. Instead of constantly arguing with posters here from your position of real ignorance about Harvard, it is time to see if anything anyone has told you has sunk in. Have you learned ANYTHING on your time in CC constantly arguing about how to get into Harvard with nothing but mediocre grades and fantasies? If so, it is time to put together a personal plan for achieving true academic excellence. Without academic excellence you will not be admitted to Harvard, so stop trying to finesse lowest possible gpa+sports as a golden ticket to Harvard. </p>

<p>Your job now is to get real about Harvard and stop with the fantasizing. If you are serious, do what smart students do: stop worrying about the lowest common denominator for admission and try to become a great student. And do it because you love learning. If you do not love learning, why this Harvard fixation, anyway? Become a great student and your options will be unlimited. So…stop posting here for chances and try to become a great student. Stop fantasizing about sports or some belief in the power of dreams with no substance, and…try to become a great student. Football or not, your only shot into Harvard is to be a great student. Football is just the icing on the cake. There are no shortcuts to Harvard. And to continue to spin these fantasies is a waste of everyone’s time, and especially your own. </p>

<p>Get real, Paul, about Harvard and stop with these silly fantasies of getting in with a 2.6. You won’t. With that gpa you wouldn’t even be able to do the work. And work now needs to be your focus. Stop dreaming and start boosting that gpa. </p>

<p>I am not trying to be cruel and dash your hopes. But your hopes are based on ignorance and fantasy. If you want Harvard that much, start working for it and stop arguing with people who know more about Harvard than you do. We are all telling you the same thing: you need to be a top student in your school. NO shortcuts. You have three years to become such a student. My advice: get to work! If you choose to believe in your fantasies and not in our facts, I am prepared to say unequivocally, you will not be admitted to Harvard.</p>

<p>Now, get real. Get to work!!! You have time to turn it around. Go do it! And…good luck!</p>

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<p>^:D, will do friend, thank you. I have 4 days until I start school, this is going to be a fun ride.</p>

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<p>And keep us posted!!! I really want it to work out for you, but I also want you to be realistic about what you need to do! It is clear to me that you are smart, Paul. But now you need to start working academically to that level.</p>

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<p>Do you intend to play in the NFL, if so, is your plan of action NFL -> CEO -> POTUS?</p>

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<p>^ That was my true original plan, however a few years ago after learning of nearly 50 percent of retired players suffering from serious brain damage and problems, I decided to drop NFL. I won’t lie that I would seriously consider it, as it’s a GREAT way to get starting capital for CEO plan, however I would need to really think about it. In addition, working for that option will be a serious time commitment, and I need to focus on several other things at once.</p>

<p>Assume for now that it’s CEO -> Politics, with startup team complete with the best from Harvard college, or the best underdogs that I can assemble if H plan does not work out (no college like a boss then). If you wish to further give advice on Harvard or career goals, please feel free to post. </p>

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<p>Paul: I’m curious. What do you think a “CEO” does? How does one become one? The owner of the corner gas station could be considered a “CEO” by some definitions – but I suspect you mean something else… right? </p>

<p>For that matter: what do you think is “politics”? What do elected officials do? How do they get there? Ever wonder that? </p>

<p>I’m fearing you have a misty view of “titles” and little actual understanding of what those roles really entail… and a pattern is emerging; that’s pretty clear.</p>

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<p>@Paul,
Ask yourself, if u were a Harvard admissions officer, would u admit someone w your profile if u had 30,000+ applicants to chose from?</p>

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<p>^ A Central Executive Officer is the man or woman generally in charge of day to day strategy and operations of a corporation, one that is large enough to have a board of directors and shareholders. A politician, (at least what they are supposed to do), is be the hand of the people, able to lead the country and make new laws based on the will and the need of the people. You can become using several ways, buttering up to a corporation or group of them and get significant contributions to your campaign, buttering up to other politicians in your party, or be a true man of the people and run on donations. </p>

<p>I do not have a misty view of titles, rather I simply know what each title means and the responsibilities of each position. A CEO’s job is to lead a corporation, a presidents job is the lead the country, with his decisions controlled by the wisdom of the senate, and the will and needs of the people. I don’t understand why everyone thinks that these titles are god like, only achieved by the greatest people in the world. I always thought when I was young that school is the answer to anything that I ever wanted. However whenever I wish to seek good advice from my elders, they always seem to say the same thing.</p>

<p>Getting the titles is easy, register a corporation for 400 dollars and call yourself the CEO, or simply kiss enough ass and lie and plot enough in order to get yourself to the top of the executive branch. It’s not the titles, rather it’s what you do with them that truly matter. I expect that the pattern that you think is emerging is that I am an crazy kid with delusions of grandeur, I thus ask you, why is their a delusions of grandeur in existence? Is it because people who don’t want to reach the top have to label people that do? Is it because only kids from the top 3 colleges have the right to do more, or is it to keep people in line… Honestly, whatever the reason, I want to assure you that Harvard is not my end all goal, rather it is a additional stepping stone, where I can learn from the best. If I do not get accepted, I go straight into the real world guns blazing.</p>

<p>If I was a Harvard admissions officer, I would simply ask myself this, while looking at this application. What will this guy become, and can my school help him in his path.</p>

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<p>^^ Harvard publishes a list of things they look for and that question isn’t on their list. Here’s what I think an AO is going to see: <a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look”>https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look&lt;/a&gt;. </p>

<ol>
<li>Have you reached your maximum academic and personal potential? (No, you have not.)</li>
<li>Have you been stretching yourself? (No, you have not.)
3 Have you been working to capacity in your academic pursuits (No, you have not.)</li>
<li>Will you contribute something to those around you? (In 82 posts on CC, your writing comes off as egotistical and self-centered, full of pipe dreams. While you may think that’s what Harvard is looking for, William Fitzsimmons has been vocal about seeking just the opposite – admissions is looking for students who make others around them better.)</li>
</ol>

<p>IMHO, you are asking the wrong question. Harvard doesn’t look at students and ask “. . . can my school help him in his path.” Rather, Admissions looks at applicants and asks “How can this student make my campus a better place? If I admit this student, what will they contribute to my school? What is their add-on value?”</p>

<p>I applaud your chutzpa, but you really need a dose of reality.</p>

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<p>

Looking at a 2.6 GPA, the Harvard AO will say this guy is all talk and no action.</p>

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<p>Well then, let’s get’s some action then. I must ask however, and I’m completely serious. Will doing good at school be beneficial to me as a person? I don’t care about college etc, I mean will I be a better person. As I am a few days away from starting school, I ask you gents who got the 99 in every class to tell me if it’s worth it. Something like, will my EQ, and average intellectual capacity increase, will I become more likeable etc. Because I have 2 choices right now, work hard at football and school for Harvard, or begin planning for my CEO plan. And honestly, as a 15 year old, I don’t have a clue on what to do :D.</p>

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<p>MIT has some great advice: <a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Paul, do you really need to ask the question? Don’t you already know the answer? At least when you think about it?</p>

<p>Real education always makes you better. That, in fact, is the fundamental purpose of education, especially a liberal arts education (which is what Harvard is all about): to make you a better person. To help you be more you. The best you. To enlarge you, to deepen you, to help you to be your excellent self.</p>

<p>Not job or title or fame or fortune. Just to become your best self.</p>