Another Chance Topic

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>I see a lot of these, but even a few responses would be nice. Here are my Stats:</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA - 4.0 on 4.0 Scale (school doesn't weight GPA, but I have among the most demanding courseloads, so this isn't a factor.</p>

<p>Rank: 1 out of 450</p>

<p>ACT Scores: 33 composite, did not take SAT - should i take it?
SAT IIs: 790 US History, 750 Math IIC, 720 Biology M</p>

<p>AP Scores: 5 on World Hist, 4 on Euro Hist, 5 on American Hist, 5 on Biology, 3 on English Language. </p>

<p>Senior Year I will take AP Calculus, AP Psych, AP Comparative Politics, AP Spanish.</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:
Cross country (4 year varsity letter winner, honorable mention all-conference junior year)
Track (3 year varsity letter winner - illness as sophomore; won Newcomer impact award Freshman year)
United Way Youth Board
NHS
Boy Scouts of America
Link Crew Leader
Jazz Band, pep band, marching band (trumpet)
I shadowed real-life cardiologists for 12 hours this summer in a medical mentoring program.
AV Club - Co-founder, appointed secretary
Work at Customer Service Center at Fox River Mall</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements:</p>

<p>AP Scholar with Distiction; Member of the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS); Academic Letter Winner (4.0 GPA) for each semester since ninth grade (six semesters); National Honor Society Member; 2-time band letter winner; Outstanding Spanish Student Award (grades 10 and 11)</p>

<p>I am a white male from a very middle-class suburban family of 4 children</p>

<p>And i realize that many of you will say my chances are random, but if you could give any personal advice, i would appreciate it. . .</p>

2

<p>Bumb. . . Anything?</p>

3

<p>Hey, I’ll respond. I would say retake either ACT or SAT I. Your SAT II numbers look pretty good, so not sure if you should SAT I or ACT again. I know my son originally got a 34 composite on ACT, ran into a string of science questions he didn’t understand, retook it a few months later and got a 36. Most people who respond to these either say everyone is a brainless git unworthy of Harvard, or else question whether you have shown leadership or excelled in any of the extracurriculars. When I posted similar things about my son, some questioned whether making Eagle Scout really meant he had done any community service, which being a Scout, you probably know that means a ton of community service. Other criticisms here include when I mentioned he had won several math contests, including multi-state regional ones, they said that wasn’t good enough, he needed to win national ones. When I said he was all-conference in tennis, that wasn’t good enough, they said he needed to be all-state.</p>

<p>There was person who was helpful and mentioned some type of score they developed based on tests and class rank I think. Anyway, my son would be penalized on this because even though he will probably be first in class rank, he is in a school with only 110 in his class. He won’t get as many points for that. On the other hand, you are from a larger school so that won’t matter as much and you will probably get all of the points possible on that.</p>

<p>Frankly, unless we get someone from admissions in here, no one can really tell you with a certainty what your chances are. I would say, just look at what your weakest appearing points might be and try to work on those in the little time you have left. From the criticisms I have seen before, I would say that would mean some leadership in the ECs and maybe trying to score a little higher on ACT or SAT I. Who really knows though unless they apply? Good luck.</p>

4

<p>hmmm, i’m gonna disagree with crazy mom on this one. it is not necessary to retake your ACT (unless you really really want to). but other than that, everything looks good. so you have about the same chance as everyone else.</p>

<p>i guess one problem you may run into is looking sort of generic to the admissions officers (not because you are necessarily generic, but because a lot of people have similar accomplishments). i’d say make your self stand out somehow, maybe with an essay. i talked to an admissions officer during the school year and she said that everyone she had personally admitted had really strong and revealing essays.</p>

5

<p>I think the message about sports should be–if you are good enough to be recruited for cross-country or track by the H coach (check the stats at <a href=“http://www.goharvard.com%5B/url%5D”>www.goharvard.com</a>, and fill out the recruit questionnaire), that would be a bonfide “hook”, i.e., a factor which would tip your accomplishments toward the accept pile. With local or district level accomplishments, the sports profile is not defective, but just similar to the majority of the applicant pool. Are you interested in running at H? This year they have 20 new male runners and 23 new females on the track team, so it seems they are definitely committed to building a talented team. (Although the ivies are always full of distance talent, and are hungry for sprinters.)</p>

<p>I agree with hotpiece101, your ACT looks good. why not give SAT I a try? It won’t hurt, as they will still take the higher of the two. (You can find the site on CC how to calculate ACT into SAT equivalent.) Good Luck!</p>