<p>In response to an earlier post that certain groups may be a shoe-in. Everyone is competing at many different levels. If you are fortunate enough to get accepted regardless of your ethnic class, you have earned it! Good-Luck!</p>
<p>@Calvin689111 yes that’s a great suggestion, I was also thinking to write my second essay over my interning under a speech therapist at summer. I have had a speaking problem when I was small, It felt great to be able to help those children who were going through the same thing. Which one is stronger? </p>
<p>@Bcrator I definitely agree with you. These are the top Ivy League schools we are talking about, just being a different race would not guarantee you admission. I am applying ED, which is SCEA for Harvard. I still have time, will try to do my best. Thanks 
</p>
<p>I would call it a low reach, especially if your essays and recommendations are good.</p>
<p>I think it isn’t worth worrying about Freshman year GPA too much – if they see your transcript, they’ll understand that you were young and foolish and that you’ve matured throughout high school.</p>
<p>@aarashy I hope that’s what admission officers think too lol but thanks for your motivations! Some people told me that Freshman gpa doesn’t count at all, wonder if that’s true?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it doesn’t count at all, ie if you’re getting straight Cs it’s something that they would think about, but even then Freshman GPA is probably one of the least important things to an admissions officer.</p>
<p>
Harvard, Yale and Princeton are not a “low reach” for anyone.</p>
<p>@bcrator Where did you see the statistics you cited? Tks!</p>
<p>@Tperry1982 I am pretty sure there are even people who would call HYP matches. People who have won or participated in prestigious international competitions have a very high (almost close to 90%) acceptance rate. </p>
<p>Or if you last name is Gates, Xi, Jobs, … . Or if your parents donated a building or two. </p>
<p>@Harvardreamss beware that you may be given advice on CC that is as misinformed as the advice you’re giving to others:</p>
<p><a href=“Please chance me at Stanford, Cornell, UC Berkeley! - #3 by Harvardreamss - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>Please chance me at Stanford, Cornell, UC Berkeley! - #3 by Harvardreamss - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums;
<p>FYI, it’s typically more difficult for international students to get into American colleges, and most American colleges, including Harvard, do not require volunteer hours. </p>
<p>Best of luck with your college search!</p>
<p>@arwarw I had no idea that volunteer hours are not required for international students. For what I know is that one of my cousins who got accepted to Cornell did a lot of volunteer work. She was also an international applicant. Might be wrong though! Thanks for correcting me </p>
<p>@boomboom123 - that is most definitely not true. Do you know how many of the 30,000 plus applicants to Yale are a star at whatever they do? 28,000 of them are still going to be rejected. Any school that has an admit rate of less than 8% is a reach for everyone. If you want an example, go to the Harvard SCEA thread after 3:00 today when the decisions come out and see all the kids that are going to be disappointed and look at their stats.</p>
<p>@Tperry1982 that’s actually true. </p>
<p>5pm not 3pm.</p>
<p>@Tperry1982 I have not seen one National Math/ Bio/ Physics/ Chem team member get rejected yet by by all Ivy Plus schools that they applied to given that they are American citizen. They might be rejected by some of them, but they are almost guaranteed a spot at Ivy Plus institutes. </p>
<p>Hi @harvardreamss how did you get a 2400? I’m an international student so I have to self study it. Please give me some tips! </p>
<p>@akova1 the only thing I did other than hiring a private SAT tutor was to take a Practice test twice-thrice a week. It definitely helps and helps you understand the pattern of the questions. You can find the practice tests online or you can even buy the original College Board ‘blue book’ . Another thing I would suggest is that you put a lot of effort into the Practice tests you take. </p>
<p>@Harvardreamss to score a 2400 after just completing your sophomore year is pretty remarkable. Congratulations! Do you (or anyone else) know how many juniors or sophomores scored a perfect SAT in 2014? I know College Board tracks college-bound seniors, but do they track underclassman/subgroups? Did the College Board recognize your achievement? Did you receive any press coverage?</p>