Are there any "normal" people getting into harvard?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Ok every time i see a "what are my chances" thread i notice that those applying to harvard are super good at everything. they are extraordinary in many respects. i am not extraordinary. im pretty good out of the normal people-do i have any chance?</p>

<p>does anyone get into harvard with a 2100 sat and top 10% status (not exactly me; i havnt taken sat and am still a junior) with good ec's? their website says that is what they want most of their people to have. i am really good in the ec department, but when compared to people who have been on the newsweek best high school student list, im nothing. is harvard just for the super extraordinary or best of their class, or is it for good regular students also. people who dont get 5's on all ap tests, people with 700 sat2's and some b's. do normal students have a shot? im betting you will all say yes, but give some accepted stats as evidence. all of the ones ive seen on that zuma thread are super good.</p>

<p>also does harvard really think there is a big difference between a 700 and a 750? a 730 and a 760? an a or a-? some people have said that they didnt get in because they had a low 2200 sat score. does harvard really think that having a 2300 is a lot better then a 2200? </p>

<p>the way i think it works is that harvard finds students who fit into their minnimum academic requirements and then uses ec's to pick between everyone. what do you think?</p>

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<p>if that's the way it works, i might actually have a tiny shot.</p>

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<p>What are you ECs? Just curious.</p>

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<p>me? (*** 10 characters)</p>

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<p>No, the OP.</p>

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<p>alright, like i said i dont have any super awesome national awards etc. but in my school im pretty involved. also im a junior so i havnt gotten anything that only a senior can get (like nhs pres or student council pres)</p>

<p>National Honors Society member (i have a good shot at pres next year)
Science Olympiad-Captain
Science Club-President
Health Octupations Of America (Hosa)-only seniors can be pres but i have a good shot
Spanish Club-(only seniors can be pres i have a good shot)
National Ocean Sciences Bowl-(this is the first year i have a good shot to be one of the 5 who get on the team/we ussually win state and place in nationals)
Forensics-Gold at state (there was no national comp)
Mock Trial (first year i dont know what to expect)
Deca (buisness related club)-(first year)
Yearbook-theres no special awards but im pretty active
Newspaper-Im the opinion page editor
Chess Club-im not sure i want to do this, but i have a good shot for office
Debate Team/Club-Im founding it, im writing the constitution etc. im most likely going to be pres/captain
Culture Club-im founding it also, im most likely going to be pres
Dont do drugs,alcohol and ciggerettes club-im founding this too, i havnt picked name (tatu, sadd etc.)
Culture Club-im also founding it, im most likely going to be pres
A freshmen help club-im founding it, were going to advise freshmen on stuff (its cooler then it sounds)
I ran the chicago marathon
Im will be a 2nd degree blackbelt soon (6 years when i apply)
i was nominated for a teen charecter award from the ymca-the judges said i have a good shot to win next year (in private to me)
i was/am a volenteer at this work place for the mentally challenged-im the only high school vollenteer they've had in 3-4 (maybe more) years
i volenteer for the ymca a lot.</p>

<p>btw: i havnt done anything i dont like just for college, all of these are things i enjoy doing. i know a lot of the stuff ive put down seems like i said im going to do it, but i realistically have a good shot at all the things ive mentioned (like becomeing pres etc.)</p>

<p>also another thing i havnt joined the student council because at our school its a total waste of time. do you think i should join just to look good for colleges. unlike all the stuff up there, i dont care for it, but i guess i can join just to look good.</p>

<p>what do you think?</p>

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<p>ehh to me you all look the same. Upper-middle class white/asians with similar clubs and good scores. Good luck, you guys compromise around 70% of the entering class. You have a fair shot as everyone else.</p>

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<p>shark bite...how can you possible devote time to your clubs if you are busy running/starting 4 of them!</p>

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<p>i have no idea.</p>

<p>also what do you think about the marathon? that is my most impressive ec and the only one that not very many high school students have done. i heard that from some places a lot of kids do it, but there were only 20 16 year old finishers in the chicago one.</p>

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<p>the chicago marathon, is probably not one of your most impressive EC's. While it takes significant dedication to run a marathon, I think that schools like most those extra curriculars that show leadership, creativity, and dedication. Perhaps you can tie together a health related club + your new SADD club + your black belt and running to show yourself as a person who cares about health strongly and wants to promote good health in other people as well.</p>

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<p>that is a very impressive EC!</p>

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<p>rockofeller, that is great idea! i can talk about how health is important to me and use those ecs as proof. thanks</p>

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<p>Shark_bite, I get the impression that you are trying to start half of these clubs for the sole purpose to look good on college apps. I am very involved in the ECs I am in (4 main ones, a couple others), and I cannot possibly fathom spending enough time in those AND starting 4-5 clubs (as you mentioned). Starting a club well takes much dedication and time. Right now, if you were to try to list all of those activities on a college app, you would run out of room. Even if you make a resume, it will be apparent to colleges by the # hours per week does not demonstrate a passion--there is just no way you can put enough hours into all of those clubs to really get into them. I know club meetings may only be an hour a week, but starting a club and getting it going takes much more than an hour a week. </p>

<p>Also, it seems like you are very intent on getting any officer position you can get your hands on. That is not the way to go about things. For example, if you join the chess club and become president, but due to your other committments can only make it to club meetings, IMO it is a waste of time. Unless you lie on your app (which is totally inadvisable), adcoms will figure out that your involvement with the chess club is basically fluff. </p>

<p>I advise you to pick a couple that you are doing because of your passion for them. I know it is hard--I had to go through it too. IMO, right now your EC list looks like a laundry list of ECs that you were involved in to be involved in. I know that this probably isn't true and you really do want to start a bunch up. However, your app won't give the impression that you are passionate about these activities--it will give an impression that you are interested in officer positions and quantity of ECs. </p>

<p>Please at least consider my advice--if you try to do all of these clubs, you will either spread yourself too thin and contribute very little to each club or you will just collapse altogether. You are being very ambitious, which is great, but I think you are missing the point of ECs, at least in the eyes of adcoms. It is not to see who has the most. It is to see who is the most passionate about what they do, which would contribute positively to a campus. If you look at those rankings for best high school students, I would be very surprised to see a student with 20+ ECs, as you do. No, they would most likely be really good, enthusiastic students with a few ECs that they are totally into.</p>

<p>Edit: this may sound hostile, but it isn't by any means. I think you either have the wrong impression of what adcoms are looking for in ECs, or that you are trying to do too much, and I am just trying to help.</p>

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<p>i seem to be able to do most, and i care about a lot of those activites, but if i had to get rid of some then i would get rid of deca, chess club, and debate. for spanish, and for deca, we have hardly even had a meeting, so i guess i could get rid of them, or even keep them. it doesnt matter because it doesnt affect me in terms of time either way. a lot of the things are on different days and different times, so i can do a lot of them. i havnt finalized any of my clubs yet. debate doesnt seem to popular among the people ive talked to about it, so i guess i can just dump that. the cultural club is pretty much set. the frosh help club wont take much time. the sadd club is a club i havnt even found an advisor for.</p>

<p>if i just had the nhs, sci club, hosa, spanish, nosb, mock trial, forensics, newspaper, cultural, sadd and frosh help, along with track, running, and tae kwon do plus the volenteer hours, do you think that would be enough? do you find anything else interesting i should keep? i mean i can do everything and do them well (i mean its 4 30 and im not doing anything today) but if you think i should dump some of them, i guess i can.</p>

<p>i could keep most, but debate would prob be the first to go unless you think debate is important and should stay.</p>

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<p>I still think you have a fundamentally wrong idea of what colleges are looking for in ECs, especially with your question "do you think that would be enough?" It really doesn't matter how many you have, but how involved you are. I could go out and join 5 clubs, but would it mean anything? No--you even said so yourself. So, in that case, I would not include them, because they actually detract from your application. Regardless of whether you are truly passionate about ALL of your activities, the adcoms will be presented with a picture of a student that has spread him/herself too thin, and will think that this student has done so in the interests of college applications, especially at Harvard, etc. I think you should pick the ones you are most passionate about (I think you had a good start in your last post) and really pour time and energy into them. It will be more rewarding and more beneficial in the long run.</p>

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<p>well looking back to what rockofeller said, i can push myself as a person with a passion for science and health. i can use my sadd club, my marathon, my hosa club, my ymca vollenteering and tae kwon do to position myself as a person who loves to look out for peoples health. but i can also use all those english clubs to make myself look good in that regard.</p>

<p>the only thing that is bothering me about you what you said is that, even if i didnt have to go to college, i would still be interested in doing all of these clubs. the reason im starting the culture club is so i can watch various movies with my friends and eat food from around the world. i like doing all the activities im in. i like doing them just for fun.</p>

<p>what im trying to say is that i like doing all of these activites, and i have the time to do them all. i can see how colleges might think im just loading up just to impress them, but im passionate about most of the activities im in. i simply enjoy doing them. seriously though, i mean last year i was only in a few ecs like forensics and tae kwon do. this year, i have so many more oppertunities for leadership and fun i dont want to miss out on any of them. i think you're right though, i can see how colleges would see me as loading them on just to impress them because i was in so few last year and hardly any as a freshman. i dunno. does anyone else have any idea about his??</p>

<p>also, i have another question. ive heard depth not breadth, but is it possible to have both? i have a lot of leadership jobs in a lot of clubs, but some like spanish im not doing much in. i have tried to get an award or a leadership positon in every club ive been in so i can show depth and ive tried to do alot so i can show breadth also. is that how it works then? i dont know how colleges measure depth besides seeing an officer listing next to the ec. so in this regard, getting the most officer postions in the most clubs is the best way to go. right?</p>

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<p>I have a few interesting ECs, and some academic top notch work such as an original research study. I'm hoping these and my essays can get me in! LOL!</p>

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<p>If I was a child movie star and now I've pioneered a new NASA space program, aside from starting/running about 20 new clubs, what are my chances?</p>

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<p>"If I was a child movie star and now I've pioneered a new NASA space program, aside from starting/running about 20 new clubs, what are my chances?"</p>

<p>With that grammar? 0%. =)</p>

<p>I keed, I keed.</p>

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<p>Shark_bite, you call yourself a normal kid? With so many founder-ship? jk</p>