<p>Who cares?</p>
<p>I do...I'm Mexican.</p>
<p>That's good for you. I'm Jewish. You shouldn't expect to get into any school based on your ethnicity. Work hard in school, do your best and follow what you love, regardless of what color your skin is or what country your ancestors are from.</p>
<p>Along with hard work, I am counting on it.</p>
<p>Listen, as a Mexican you are no better or more qualified than any other person--white, black, Asian, or Icelandic--based on your race. If it helps you in admissions, as it probably will, then take it and don't complain. But to count on it and rely on it is asking for something which you haven't earned and which you don't deserve and I see something very wrong with that attitude.</p>
<p>Since when did getting into Harvard involve morals?! ;)</p>
<p>:-0 (10 characters)</p>
<p>why do people in the harvard thread, seem to feel pressure to type in perfect english...seriously..stop being so insecure. i know at least half of you are dying to type comfortably, without having to check for errors and stuff...and dont give me no ish about how this is the harvard thread....greatest leaders of america,..best university,,greatest minds...best english n grammar....ion care</p>
<p>Wow, that's a little harsh. I don't know about others, but I'm just an OC grammar person. As in I can't stand it when the "boys' bathroom" has a misplaced apostrophe and is spelled "boy's bathroom". Is there only one boy or something?</p>
<p>Yes, I need help. A lot.</p>
<p>Dude, GuitarMan, chill out, glucose didn't say anything even remotely incinuating he was better than anyone else based on his race. where could you possibly have gotten that from? He also didn't say he was relying on it to get something he didn't deserve, and that's also an unsubstantiated infrence. So what are you talking about?</p>
<p>Hmm, yes, it wasn't right of me to imply he thought he's better based on his race, that definitely isn't the case. I do think, however, one should never count on something they haven't earned in an arena such as college admissions which is supposed to be (and often isn't) a meritocracy.</p>
<p>Amen, Guitarman! Oh, and Jew pride!</p>
<p>Anyway, within any pool (including minorities), only the most exceptional get into HYPS. Whether the most exceptional among underrepresented racial minorities is less talented than the most exceptional among, say, Jews, is not for me to say as I don't know, but they doubtless put as much work into being the best as any other group does. Therefore, assuming you'll get in based on race is a complete fallacy because, like anything else, you have to be an exceptional member of your race to get into HYPS and no matter how brilliant you are, there could always be someone else who fits at a school like Harvard (or any other school of that caliber) more than you. Ergo, the only way to be confident about your chances at Harvard is to do everything in your power to pursue excellence, as that is what they will demand of you there.</p>
<p>Thank you, now let me get off this soap box. ;)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, exceptional is a variable standard. (Please understand that I am not trying to attack anyone) "Exceptional" means different things in Indo-American culture, where many students are Math/Sci oriented, and in Mexican-American culture, which I do not feel qualified to comment on. If culture A puts forth one good student, and culture B puts forth ten good students, all eleven of whom are equivalent in the major categories (for simplicity's sake, bear with) is it fair for culture A to garner as many spots as culture B? With that you are getting into affirmative action, something very messy and very polarizing.</p>
<p>I have 2 questions and I am hoping that someone out there can help me.</p>
<p>1) I recently received my SAT II Math and Chemistry scores. They are 780 and 770 respectively. I am wondering if anyone can tell me whether these scores put me in the top 10% of the applicant pool for Harvard?</p>
<p>2) If I were to take the SAT II Math and Chemistry again would I have the option of sending in only the better score or would both scores be sent in to the colleges?</p>
<p>Both scores will be sent but they'll only consider the scores you actually put on your application, as far as I know. 780 and 770 are amazing scores and you should be fine with those. Taking them again might even hurt you! Realize that those are as close to perfection as you'll need for admissions. The one recommendation I might make is to take the Math IIc test if that 780 was on Ic. The IIc has a great curve and you could possibly score better, and some schools which you may be considering (e.g., Caltech) do require that particular test. Well done!</p>
<p>The scores are fine, pretty nice even for Harvard, but it's going to take a lot more than snappy SAT IIs to be admitted. Actually, the curve on SAT math 2 sucks, and a 780 is only 82nd percentile nationwide. A 770 on Chemistry puts you in the 91st. Making the fair assumption that the applicant body of Harvard has a higher mean SAT scores than the nation as a whole, it's obvious that your score on Math level 2 must be well below the top 10 percent, and extremely likely that the same applies for your Chemistry score. </p>
<p>However, you must remember that adcoms don't simply line up applications in terms of test scores and take the top 10%. They're well aware of the variance that any student will naturally have between tests (you would not necessarily get the identical score on a different version of the test) and there's no way those scores will at all hinder your application. They are excellent, and there's no way you'd be denied because of low SAT II scores.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you need to have something good EC-wise for your admission. That's really the only way applicants can truly stand out nowadays.</p>
<p>nikeswooshguy--About IIc, are you sure? I got an 800 and answered 41/50. Maybe it was just that test....?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help. And yes i took the Math IIc and got a 780. I was surprised that my percentile was only 82% well i guess there are many more people who got 800s and 790s. Nonetheless thanks for answering my question.</p>
<p>I saw Byerly and other's posts, and I'm trying to figure out what happens to your chances after being deferred.</p>
<p>There were only 94 admits (for class of 09) out of the 3187~ that were deferred. When you look at the admission rate for RD, I guess that's 6.1%, however, for both RD and those deferred SCEAs, the percent if 5.6%. I guess the difference is minimal, but I was just surprised that only about 3% of those deferred were later admitted.</p>
<p>It is not the same every year. It might be twice or 3 times as high this year - you never know.</p>