Am I on the right track for Harvard?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey this is my first post so I really hope someone can help me. </p>

<p>My dream school is Harvard like so many others. My connection with Harvard is that my Cousin donated 2-3 million dollars to Harvard. I am going into my sophomore year of high school. White Male</p>

<p>Freshman Year: I was severely affected by bullying and anxiety.</p>

<p>Semester 1:
Foods (A)
Spanish 1 (A)
Honors World History (A)
Honors Biology (B)
English 9 (A)
Geometry (B)
Physical Science (A)
On the Honor Roll. </p>

<p>Semester 2:
Art (A)
Spanish 1 (A)
Honors World History (A+)
Honors Biology (A)
English 9 (A)
Geometry (A)
Physical Science (A)
Principles List.</p>

<p>Class Rank: About maybe 30/500, estimate. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars: JV Boys Tennis, Freshman Ambassadors (That's it, Pretty Lousy) I am also volunteering at a local Hospital for the Summer. </p>

<p>In my free time, I am teaching myself Spanish, French, German, and Italian with the help of Rosetta Stone and other material. I am also in my schools Science academy</p>

<p>I am going to get involved in DECA and FBLA, Vice President of FCCLA, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honors Society, Cello Lessons, National Technical Honors Society, Special Olympics Volunteer, School Play Stage Crew, Knowledge Bowl, Key Club, Energy Saving club and Maybe Model United Nations. </p>

<p>Planned Sophomore Load: Spanish 2 (or 3 I might Test out), Finance and Marketing, Business Intro and Health, APHumanGeo, Chem, Honors English 10, Algebra 2, Cell Biology, and Seld-Study AP Psychology</p>

<p>Planned Junior Load: Spanish 3 or 4, Advanced Marketing, Humanities and Advanced Foods, APUSH, AP Chem, AP Lang, Pre-Calculus, and AP Euro His</p>

<p>Planned Senior Load: Spanish 4 or AP Spanish 5, Marketing Leadership, APES, APUSGov and Speech, APBio, APLit, and AP Calculus AB and BC Block.</p>

<p>An I on the right track? What should I do to improve?</p>

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<p>It seems like you are taking a lot of filler classes.
Just keep in kind that Harvard only accept around 5% of their applicants-- you could discover the cure for cancer and not get in. So many people apply there that it is a real crapshoot after they nix the ones that clearly aren’t qualified. It’s good to have big dreams, but make sure you keep options open and explore other schools so you can find one you like if you don’t get in to Harvard.</p>

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<p>@lovethekiller: any suggestions to improve my chances. And by filler classes do you mean like AP Chem or too many classes because I am taking 8 classes the next three years instead of the Max 7</p>

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<p>@legoo: I’m really not that rich which is one of the reasons I was bullied. Anyways, thank you for your honest opinion and I understand that my grades and test scores aren’t awesome so do you please have any input on how I could become better :)</p>

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<p>No, I mean you are taking a lot of classes that seem like blow off classes. Humanities and foods? Business intro and health? If you need to do some stuff for grad requirements, then do what you gotta do. But taking too many classes like that make it seem like you’re trying to pad your GPA. It’s hard to say what you need to do to improve, as all schools are different. At my own high school, people on the fast track take AlegebraII/trig freshman year. But it looks like you’re planning on ending up in BC anyway.</p>

<p>You definitely need to work on ECs. The answer isn’t to play the “I’m going to…” game. Just DO. And do something you enjoy, not just something you think will look good. You’ll excel more at the things you enjoy.</p>

<p>You may not want to throw around to people that your cousin donated that much money. People like this legooo guy will get jealous and bring you down. If having a generous relative helps you, sweet. But unless that happens, it’s best to assume your application will go in the pile with everyone else’s; it’ll get rid of the jealous ones, and motivate you more.</p>

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<p>@lovethekiller. Thanks you so much for the great advice. Your right about the padding My schedule to much. I have to take Humanities and Health to graduate but do you think that I should take them over the summer like I am doing PE and take physics instead? I had to take Foods for PE credit and I will switch out speech and advanced Foods for AP Micro and Macroeconomics.</p>

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<p>I would highly suggest talking to your guidance counselor. It’s their job to help you, and most will be glad to give you advice about your schedule. My counselor this past year was amazing-- she spent two hours with me once figuring out how to fit the classes I want to take and the classes I have to take in the same schedule. Her advice cleared up a lot of questions I had and made me a lot more confident with some of the decisions I made with my schedule.</p>

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<p>That’s really great advice, I will be sure to do that when school resumes. Are you aiming for Harvard to?</p>

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<p>No… Not really my style. My top choices in general are WashU and Rice. They may not be quite as prestigious as Harvard, but they have the personality and atmosphere I want.</p>

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<p>Ya I was looking at WashU also since most of my family has gone there and the campus and medical program are fantastic. Do you think I have a chance at WashU?</p>

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<p>You have a chance at any school you apply to. But all top tier schools are the same in that there is never 100% guarantee. The only thing to do is try hard, apply, and hope.</p>

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<p>Lovethekiller, you had some amazing advice, god bless you</p>

<p>Any other opinions from other people?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[Applying</a> Sideways | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]Applying”>Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions)</p>

<p>The second article is excellent advice. There is no “right track for Harvard,” as the pool is so good and diverse, and they simply pick whomever they want. To maximize your chances at Harvard, all you can do is the following: do your best academically (ideally, rank in the top 10% of your class) and on standardized tests (ideally, score above 700 on every section of the SAT and/or above 30 on the ACT), do what you love outside the classroom (take your passions to the next level!), be genuinely nice, and write sincere essays focusing on topics about which you care deeply. I would add this to the list as well: don’t think about getting into Harvard. Harvard does not want people who are obsessed with gaining admission to their institution; rather, they want people who will contribute to their extraordinary community. Most of the Harvard admits I know did not even think about getting in. They simply did what they loved to do (i.e., theater, politics, social service, debate, etc.) and did it really well. Remember that at the end of the day, most people who apply to Harvard won’t get in despite the fact that they’re really well qualified. Since adcoms are picking from a pool of so many accomplished (and seemingly identical) people, the results are often surprising and seem to involve a bit of luck. Case in point: some Harvard admits get into Stanford but not Yale, and some Princeton admits get into Yale but not Harvard or Stanford. Why? Who knows. But you don’t want to come to the end of your high school journey realizing that you’ve wasted your time trying to please a school that will (likely) reject you.</p>

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<p>Thanks for being so helpful!</p>

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<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>aleaiactaest’s suggestion to read “Applying Sideways” is great. </p>

<p>I’m a current Harvard sophomore. Here’s my advice:</p>

<p>Stop trying to get into Harvard. Or any other college. Take the most rigorous course load you can handle. Sleep. Have fun. Eat. Don’t over work yourself. Take whatever classes you want. There’s no such thing as a “filler” class in HS. If it’s interesting to you, take it. Don’t take summer classes. Don’t take more classes than 7 courses. If your school offers a study hall or two, take it. Be yourself. Join clubs that interest you, not that you think will look good on an application.</p>

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<p>You’re right. I don’t necessarily think I’m obsessed but I am strongly influenced by the admission criteria. If its not to much to ask, what did you do to get into harvard (just out of curiosity) :)</p>

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<p>I don’t think you read “Applying Sideways”.</p>

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<p>What me rephrase what I said, What was your passion and how did you achieve it? I’m not going to use it though. Sorry about that! :)</p>

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<p>You didn’t read the article or the rest of that post. Or the rest of my first post. Read the article and the following posts as many times as you need for it to sink in.</p>