Another typical asian chick?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hey guys!
Quick overview of situation: I'll be applying from Singapore. My parents are expatriates, working in Singapore. I've been here since sophomore year. I'll be applying to college this fall. </p>

<p>Do I have a chance of getting into harvard? What more would I need?</p>

<p>I attend an international school in Singapore. I am originally from New York.
Major: maybe international business</p>

<p>GPA: In New York: 4.13 weighted, Singapore: 3.92 UW
SAT: 780 Math, 700 CR, 760 Writing--- retake?
SATII: 700 Lit, 800 Math II, going to take Spanish
Completed APs: Chemistry, World History, Calc AB, Micro Economics, Macro Economics, Physics B, Language and Composition, Chinese Language. Scored all 5's except for Chemistry-4, Physics-4
Senior Year APs: Environmental Science, US History, Calculus BC, Spanish Language, Literature
High honor roll, all honors classes, and whatnot.</p>

<p>Sports-- Tri-Season athlete.
Varsity Tennis-- 5 year letterman, sectional champions,IASAS delegate (International Association of Southeast Asian Schools.. it's kinda a big deal around here to be selected to represent your country), 2nd team all county, 1st singles..
Varsity Volleyball-- 3 year letterman, state champions, IASAS
Varsity Badminton (It used to be Varsity Lacrosse, but they don't play lacrosse in Singapore!)-- 2 year letterman, IASAS
2 years of lacrosse- State champs!
Sports are a big part of my life. I believe it sets me apart from the billion other Chinese chicks that are applying to college.
Scholar athlete (good grades during all seasons)</p>

<p>Music:
Violin, Piano, Cello.
Concert mistress of the school orchestra
Attended the Eastman school of Music, maintained a 4.0
13 All-state/county ensembles
Rochester Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (quite hard to get into)
Leader of all quartets/ensembles
Won lots of competitions, regionally and internationally.
Attended international music conferences, representing Singapore.
My music credentials can go on and on and on. Those are some of the main points though.</p>

<p>Clubs/other EC:
Melodies for Hope: President, we play gigs around town and donate the money to schools in indonesia/africa
MUN-- sweet club. got lots of awards. outstanding delegate, best delegation.. etc
Student Council-- rep
Masterminds/Knowledge Masters
Math League
School paper features section editor
Music Honor Society-- lots of volunteer hours.
Medical Explorers-- more volunteer hours</p>

<p>Volunteering/Community Organizations:
Ji Lin Retirement Home (Summer of 2007) -- Volunteered at a retirement home during summer vacation. This retirement home was located in the Ji Lin province in China. Prepared meals, did daily cleaning (dishes, floors, beds), and tended to the residents.
Africa(Feb 2008): Spend a week in a small township in Africa and helped fix up a school for children whose parents were suffering/died from HIV/AIDs.
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester Newspaper) – Published several articles for this major city paper as a guest essayist. The topics range from movie reviews to my experience meeting the Time Magazine's Man of the Year.
Chinese School of Rochester- Attended CSR on the weekends to gain proficiency in the language, helped coordinate end of the year events and was the MC for the final production of the school.
Practice Partners- Taught children in my community violin and piano, helped them practice their songs so they are competent when they have their lesson, offered piano accompaniment for recitals. This hobby was later turned into a year long job. </p>

<p>Employment </p>

<p>Xerox Intern <em>Hook</em>(summer of 2008) – Worked in the Fuji Xerox Corporation for six weeks, visited suppliers, researched for a new branch of the company, edited marketing brochures, wrote out the groundwork and outline of a website that was to inform the public about the services of the new sector, worked with the marketing department to lay out the website and establish it on the Xerox page, researched and developed an effective benchmarking process in which Xerox can successfully perform benchmarking sessions with potential customers to identify areas of improvement and areas the new company can offer its services to. Fortune 500 experience? Chyea son.</p>

<p>Music teacher (9-present)—taught over 10 children in my neighborhood violin, piano, and beginner music theory.
Tennis coach (10-present)—Gave young children private and group tennis lessons at the tennis courts in my apartment, utilizing my experience gained through competitions, lessons, and the varsity tennis team background.
Tutor (9-11)—Tutored students during free periods and after school subjects that had received good grades: chemistry, math, and Mandarin.</p>

<p>All in all, there's a lot more things (awards and stuff) but I hope you guys get the main picture. I got lazy the last part.. copy+paste from resume.. </p>

<p>I'd really really appreciate it. Don't be afraid to be brutally honest with me, I'm used to it. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Are you good enough at any of those sports to be recruited?</p>

<p>The Xerox thing doesn't really go as far as you would think... It's more of a unique opportunity. A lot of privileged applicants will have similar things on their resumes.</p>

<p>I think that the best part of your application is the music teacher/tennis coach/tutor part. Showing that you are good with people/care about people is a huge plus. (The Africa thing does too but it is a little bit cliche and many other privileged kids will have similar things on their applications.)</p>

3

<p>That's true. Africa and underprivileged kids.. cliche. </p>

<p>My tennis isn't that terrible. I'm playing in a tournament tomorrow, actually. Wish me luck.</p>

<p>Anything else I should do this summer while I'm stuck on the 27 storey of an office building?</p>

4

<p>You have a pretty awesome resume, don't worry about the summer! Those are great credentials.</p>

5

<p>saywah:</p>

<p>Go look at the athletics website and see if you are good enough to be recruited for tennis or volleyball.</p>

<p>I think you have a good shot at getting in as a regular student though.</p>

<p>Things to consider doing:</p>

<p>1.) Try the ACT. Your SAT is already more than fine, and you never know, maybe you could get a near perfect or perfect score on the ACT.</p>

<p>2.) You have a lot of great experiences to write about in your essays. Make sure to spend a lot of time deciding on which one(s) to write about. (I think that the Xerox one trumps the Africa one big time.) Whatever you choose make sure to do more than just tell a story; you need to make sure that your essays say something about your character; passion; what you value; etc.</p>

<p>3.) Make sure to use most of time that is given to you. There is no reason to turn your application in early. If you finish early, just review your application and see if you can make it better. That said, turning it in a week early is fine--I am only telling you this because I know kids who submitted their applications in November only to find that they had typos, could have elaborated on some activities more, etc.</p>

<p>4.) Finally, Common App only allows for you to list 7 activities and elaborate on one. What you should do is list the 7 you value most and write about the one that shows the most about you i.e. that shows leadership, passion, etc. Then make a resume of the activities/awards you received and upload that in the Additional Info section/mail it in as a supplement. The resume will allow you to elaborate on the other 6 activities and include more.</p>

<p>I wouldn't make this too long though--mine was 2 pages. The sections I had were Awards, Clubs and Organizations, Work Experience, and Hobbies. I didn't elaborate on my awards because they were self explanatory but for all of my activities I wrote one to three sentences talking about what my position was and how involved I was/what I accomplished.</p>

6

<p>ah that is very helpful.
Are you at Harvard now? What are you majoring in?
Also, I have an essay. But I'm not sure if it'd work. It's a bit risky.
I'll send it to you if you want.</p>

7

<p>saywhah:</p>

<p>I'll be a freshman this fall. Right now I am think I'll concentrate in computer science or economics. I'll also be doing pre-med.</p>

<p>I'd be willing to read the essay just pm it to me sometime. Also, make sure to have a BUNCH of people read your essay. My sister is a very, very good writer so she helped me quite a bit. I also had my GC and my english teacher read my essay.</p>

8

<p>sports are pretty important, so try to emphasize your athletic activities.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Fortune 500 experience? Chyea son.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That automatically disqualifies you as a typical asian chick lol. Good chances btw, and good luck!</p>

10

<p>hpa:
hah! Thanks.</p>

<p>bostonmass:
emphasize, as in.. send in an athletic supplement? And how is the harvard tennis team?</p>

11

<p>Very solid resume and a unique global experience => gosh darn good chances. </p>

<p>Have you started thinking about essay topics? As Newjack mentioned, you have a lot of good options to choose from based on your involvement in so many activities (that Xerox internship sounds very impressive). Whatever you end up picking, make sure to highlight your growth as a student, leader, etc. as well as your character. I think you could also somehow integrate your global experiences into your essay, regardless of the topic. I noticed from talking to a lot of fellow Harvardian '12s that many were "in-tune" globally, either through their having been to many countries or their unique cultural backgrounds or their academic experiences. It makes sense that being well-versed in a global sense is valued so much now, arguably more than it ever has been. Use that to your advantage!</p>

12

<p>"Have you started thinking about essay topics? As Newjack mentioned, you have a lot of good options to choose from based on your involvement in so many activities (that Xerox internship sounds very impressive). Whatever you end up picking, make sure to highlight your growth as a student, leader, etc. as well as your character. I think you could also somehow integrate your global experiences into your essay, regardless of the topic. I noticed from talking to a lot of fellow Harvardian '12s that many were "in-tune" globally, either through their having been to many countries or their unique cultural backgrounds or their academic experiences. It makes sense that being well-versed in a global sense is valued so much now, arguably more than it ever has been. Use that to your advantage!"</p>

<p>yay thnx for giving me some hope. I'm middle eastern and have lived in the middle east for 8 years. I'm very informed on global issues. highlighting this would help me right?</p>

13

<p>Actually- while F500 experience is great, it isn't necessarily that different. Many, many, many applicants to Harvard have interned at F500 companies, law firms, and boutique investment banks/consulting firms. Honestly, it's not that different.</p>

<p>You obviously have a great resume, but you're nowhere near an automatic lock for Harvard (no one is, though). I wouldn't list any of your EC's under Student Council, as they won't help your application. The eastman thing is impressive, and I would recommend that you send in a very polished CD. </p>

<p>On paper, you have a very good chance of getting into Harvard (I'd say almost 50%).</p>

14

<p>Maybe F500 companies and law firms, but not investment banks. I only know one person who has done this.</p>

15

<p>There are several students going to W/H next year that I can think of off the top of my head who've had experience at Ibanks. Obviously the internships are complete B.S. compared to junior SA positions, and if they dare put "summer analyst" on their resume instead of "intern", that's almost like telling a blatant lie. However, many are starting to at least intern at small, regional Ibanks, not Bulge Bracket ones (GS, MS, JPM, etc.).</p>

16

<p>Gurl, stop frontin'! You ain't typical! You str8 hood!</p>

17

<p>Hah. Once again, 27th storey of the Fuji Xerox office building in the financial heart of Singapore. It's a great experience, to say the least. But investment banking?
Nah, I'd prefer to have at least half a life.</p>

<p>I'm going to send in a music supplement. i've prepared a music resume, anybody willing to look at it? </p>

<p>And no, although I'm from New York (upstate), I'm not black, nor am I black at heart, in any way, Homie son yeah boy. <em>does some crazy cool gansta hand thing</em></p>

18

<p>oh cindy... I would concentrate less on writing about ur accomplishments. And concentrate more on making it true</p>