Alumni/ current students: HARVARD SCEA-please chance!

<p>Thanks, everyone, for the replies. I plan on concentrating my supp. essay on the focus for neuroscience that they offer for undergrads, while hinting at the fact that I eventually hope to major in neurology. <– is that still fine? </p>

<p>Are neuroscience applicants over-represented, too?</p>

<p>Overall, I am confused at the ambiguous answers I am getting about applying early. Some say my chances are lower, others say higher, while still other people say it’s the same. Does any know the answer? (as proven by stats/ through experience) </p>

<p>One last question(sorry): do colleges care about representing different countries? I don’t think too many applicants who were born in Iran apply… (at least not as many as those who represent other countries like India&China)</p>

<p>I don’t think they are lower, even if they don’t accept you early, there’s a decent chance they’ll defer you into the regular round. (At least that’s the way it works at most schools.)</p>

<p>Yes, Harvard’s EA deferral rate is higher than its rejection rate. Why they defer so many people really confuses me, though. Especially since a VERY small percentage of deferrals are accepted in the regular decisions round. Do they reconsider all deferred applicants hollistically during the second round(RD)?</p>

<p>Collegeinfo, you’ve got the right idea. Figure out who you are, what you like and what excites you, and show the admission officer through objective proofs (like awards, recognition, active participation in certain activities) how you also happen to be really good at it at the same time. There’s no need to avoid medicine if that’s what you’re genuinely passionate about. Any college needs people interested in this area, so it might as well be you. </p>

<p>Besides those, make sure to use your essay to grab the attention of the person reading your file and communication who you are as a person. I thought your activities defined your academic and intellectual interests well, so maybe try something personal to make the reader remember you? I would definitely go for SCEA if I were you. Good luck with everything!</p>

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<p>Only a very small percentage of the applicants who have all the qualifications to be admitted will be in the end. Whether you’ll be accepted has as much to do with who else is applying from across the nation as how the admission officers feel at the moment they’re reading the files. Maybe they had too many artsy kids and wanted more math kids, or maybe that week they found themselves in a dearth of good applicants from the Southeast, and bingo, your app showed up on the table.</p>

<p>So my understanding is, in the early admission round, they don’t know what kind of students they’re going to need later on, so they defer any film that they think may come into use later.</p>

<p>Thank you for the clarification, xrCalico23! That makes sense. I think I will go ahead and take my chances with early application :)…and write reeally passionate essays!</p>