Am I crazy for wanting Harvard? Not your typical chance thread

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Before I begin, I want you guys to know that I really appreciate your taking the time to read this post. Please offer me your sincerest opinion. I made a TL;DR at the bottom if you don’t feel like straining your eyes for an internet stranger.

First, I’m an international student so I have both the misfortune and privilege of competing with the most brilliant minds from all over the world. I got a 34 on the ACT (should I retake it in October? I got a 34.25 and took it right after my school exams. I feel like I could achieve a 35/36 if I studied more). I have yet to take any subject tests but I’m going to take Math II and Lit in October. I go to a competitive private school that sends about 5-10 people to the ivies each year out of 60 people who apply. My school grades put me in the top 10% of my class but my school does not rank. I have been taking challenging/advanced classes that I’m genuinely interested in and didn’t care about my grade as long as it was above 90 (for school awards). I have the usual ECs of your average committed high schooler, enough to fill the empty boxes on common app but only 2-3 that I’m very involved and hold leadership positions in. I think my teacher recommendation letters will be good because I have a high grade in one teacher’s class and work with her outside of class, while the other teacher has taught me every year of high school and witnessed the transition in my work. My guidance counsellor is not the most experienced but she is nice and I will definitely take initiative in the application process.

Now here is my dilemma. I took two summer school course at Harvard and received a B and a B+. They were challenging courses, one was 70% working adults and one was 40% university students. I worked hard in both of them and the exams were impossible. I personally think they are good grades, but after searching around the forum, it seems that everyone who has attended the program and gotten accepted to the college has at least an A- in their summer school course. I applied for the program because I wanted to learn something this summer and I don’t expect it to help me at all in the application process. However, now that I have received two average grades, I was wondering if this program could possible hurt my already minuscule chances? This program has changed my life. One of the courses completely changed my career plans. The professors, students, and the place has changed my perspective on myself and life. I wrote an essay about my experience and another essay about my change in academic interests and I think they are great, though they still need to undergo intensive editing (I realize its hard to judge your own writing so they could be completely terrible for all I know).

Unlike most of my friends who’ve always dreamed of going to Harvard but decided not to apply in the end, I always thought Harvard was an overrated cliche until I spent my summer there.

I’ll be happy getting accepted and attending any school that I choose to apply to, but Harvard will always have a special place in my heart.

Here are my options:

  1. Apply to Harvard SCEA (16.5% acceptance rate but I know it's because of recruited athletes & stronger pool)
  2. Apply to UChicago EA and Harvard RD (higher chance at another school that I like, but a bleak 3.5% acceptance rate at H)
  3. Apply to Columbia or 4. Cornell ED (I have my reasons for liking these schools)

What do you guys think I should do?

TL;DR - International girl. Average grades. Typical ECs. Ordinary test scores. Unimpressive summer school grades at Harvard. Optimistic dreamer. Still wants to apply to Harvard. Seeking affirmation from others. Yet still wants the cold hard truth.

Deep down inside I feel like I should follow my heart and apply to Harvard SCEA, but then I compare myself to other applicants and know it’s inconceivable… sigh

2

Ignore percentages and apply early at the school you want to go to most (which seems to be Harvard). If that doesn’t work out, have some safeties as back ups and move on.

3

@virsha24 Thank you for the encouragement! Do you think my mediocre summer school grades will make admissions officers think I’m incapable of handling the curriculum at Harvard. If so, I’ll feel very guilty for wasting my parent’s money. The experience was amazing but it could also have come at a lower price :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Honestly, they probably won’t even look at the grades you got there

5

@virsha24 I think if they are seriously considering an applicant they would examine everything. If an admissions officers looked at it, what would they think?

6

a B for a high school student at harvard isn’t as bad as you’re thinking

7

@virsha24 Lol thanks. It’s just that exceptional students would be capable of getting As. Most people get Bs and a few get C or lower. Hopefully they won’t see it in a negative light. I will just go with my heart because my brain is overanalyzing everything.

8

Yeah to just respond to that, I guarantee that they either will not weight it significantly at all or they will not look at it all. Of all the things to be concerned about, that isn’t one of them. I think your best chance is to apply to Harvard SCEA, UChicago, Cornell, AND SOME SAFETIES RD. Harvard is going to be a high reach, so you’ll need a backup (Also, know that UChicago and Cornell aren’t backups for anyone.)

9

You’re not incapable of handling Harvard curriculum; you’re just not as capable as some of the other choices they will have. That, BTW, applies to the other stats you supplied as well.

You should probably put the application in, however, as you will spend the rest of your life obsessing about it if you don’t.

10

The notion that every student admitted to Harvard (or Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc) is a genius, a double legacy, or an athlete is far from accurate.

I’m reminded of a remark by John Oliver some time ago. After streaming a video of the unfortunate incident at Yale when some idiotic frat boys were caught on camera chanting “No means yes, yes means (redacted),” he declared “Yale has a 6% acceptance rate. I’d like to see the people they reject” (or something of the sort.).

The other takeaway, besides the fact that some very dumb kids go to these schools even in the age of 5% acceptance rates, is that nowhere does it say a student at (insert Ivy here) is a better person than you will be even if you’re rejected from Harvard. 95% of students don’t get in, and about 80% of that 95% are very much qualified, so it’s nothing to feel bad about.