Am I considered competitive?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hello all! This is my first post here in CC, so please kindly correct me if I do any kind of mistakes here. </p>

<p>I did look through various threads before I posted here, so I do know that there is no way to "Chance" people for a college like Harvard. So, I just want to get other people's opinions here to see whether I am a low/medium/highly competitive applicant, based on the info I provide here.</p>

<p>I am a rising junior, attending a large public school in Texas. It is located very close to the relatively high performing Plano schools, however, this school is very lowly ranked. </p>

<p>My SAT's don't seem to really be high, but I hope to pull them up maybe next time, because the first time I took it in a rush due to some requirement for some summer camp. </p>

<p>I have seen some threads with many people having huge lists of accomplishments in a variety of fields. By contrast, my list is rather small, so I am not very sure how I should feel. However, whatever I have done in the past two years, it was all very focused mostly in science. And I put to use whatever I learned in the science fair to practical implementation overseas. </p>

<p>SAT: 2100
Rank: 11/650
GPA: 3.95 (one B in history)
Course load: Most rigorous, persuaded my counselor's to let me take AP Stats sophomore year, alongside Pre-Calculus (usually I would just be taking Geometry, two levels behind, the norm at my school)</p>

<p>Major awards:
1st place at International Environmental Sustainaibility Olympiad (ISWEEEP)
3rd place Intel International Science Fair (ISEF)
Patrick J. Hurd Sustainability Award National 1st Place - EPA</p>

<p>ECs: Debate Varsity Member and Mentor (active member, represented the first CX team ever in my school), Science Fair, Arsenic Remediation efforts overseas</p>

<p>Work Experience: Founder of a non-profit organization, mainly aimed to provide underprivileged people abroad with technology jobs.</p>

<p>Volunteer Experience: Help in arsenic poisoning remediation efforts overseas </p>

<p>Summer: Attended 2 summer camps, 1 in 9th grade, 1 in 10th grade, both were done under full merit-based scholarships, and were related to Science and Engineering</p>

<p>Ethnicity/Country: South Asian, living in America</p>

<p>School: Large public school, approximately 55% of the 2400 kids there are economically disadvantaged, very new to state/national/international tournaments, I was the first from my school to even advance to regionals in the science fair, let alone state, national, and international. </p>

<p>Rec letters: I anticipate good recommendations from my principal, and counselor. They have written me recommendations for my attendance in other circumstances.</p>

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<p>Bump I suppose? Lol</p>

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<p>See: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1359671-before-you-create-chance-me-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1359671-before-you-create-chance-me-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I don’t understand why you are asking for a chance. It seems you finished senior year. Are you thinking of transfer? Wait listed?
Congrats on your cool invention</p>

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<p>OH MY GOD TERMINATORP. I think I know who you are. Remember myna?</p>

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<p>Terminatorp graduated already so this is baffling! Name begins with G. </p>

<p>I am curious where you got in? </p>

<p>Algae rocks!</p>

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<p>No, I’m pretty sure his name starts with a T! Look up the awards…</p>

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<p>No I am a rising junior. I plan on directly applying to college after senior year, just the usual thing.</p>

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<p>Gibby, thanks notifying me on that. But as I said in my original post, I did see many threads before posting, including that one, hence the reason why I said " I did look through various threads before I posted here, so I do know that there is no way to “Chance” people for a college like Harvard."</p>

<p>Knowing CC members are generally more engaged in college affairs than the rest of the internet, I was hoping of a gauge of my competitiveness versus other applicants.</p>

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<p>Haha I did go to Myna. Although I cannot quite recall who you are? Inbox me? </p>

<p>My name does start with a T :p</p>

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<p>Will a 2100 SAT score hold me back though? I noticed in the acceptance thread, many had 2300+ scores. And also I have only 3 extracurriculars, so is Intel ISEF really that highly seen upon?</p>

<p>Those two things were mainly the reasons why I thought to post here, as those were the two things I seemed to lack when looking upon acceptances.</p>

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<p>@termintorp: If you looked through those threads then you should know you have a competitive chance with your 2100 SAT. But, as so much of college admissions process depends on the “feelings” an admissions director gets when they compare your teacher recs, guidance counselor’s SSR and essays to other applicant’s, it’s impossible for anyone here on cc to say more than that.</p>

<p>After my daughter was accepted to Harvard, she was invited to a congratulatory reception at the Harvard Club in New York City. In attendance was Harvard’s Regional Admissions Officer, Sally Champagne, who has since retired. As each student introduced themselves (“Hi my name is …”) Sally recounted their essay. Sally knew each student by their ESSAY, not their SAT scores; they were never ever mentioned.</p>

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<p>Alright then sir, thanks for your input. I’ll keep that in mind when I do apply. And congratulations on your daughters acceptance!</p>