Can I get into Harvard with missing courses?

Applying to College
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This is my first time posting in a forum, so stick with me.

I’m a sophomore in high school. My goal is to be accepted at Harvard. Having my freshman year be entirely online due to a pandemic may have destroyed my chances. I don’t remember the courses I took for freshman year, but my transcripts apparently show I did not take a science or language course. Is there anything I can do? I’m really bummed out as I’m putting in a lot of effort this year.

I also failed one class due to a death in the family. I am retaking it this year. Please help!

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Welcome

How can one not remember what courses they took last year? I understand forgetting the material, but the names of the classes?

With a username that is phonetically Phony Are Us, do not be surprised if users question the veracity of this post.

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You are young. A lot of students found the pandemic very difficult. A lot of students had their grades affected during the pandemic.

Different students will mature at different points in their lives. It is common (and was common before COVID) for a student to do badly for a while and then to get their act together and start doing well.

The main issue is to do well from now on. The past is over. We cannot change it. Do well this year. Then do well next year. Then see where you stand.

There are a lot of very good universities. At some point you will want to find one that is a good fit for you.

I do have to wonder however: Why Harvard? Harvard is not a good fit for nearly as many students as think that they want to go there. I am interested to know what you feel that you want in a university, and why you think that Harvard might supply this. Please note that there are a number of people who contribute regularly to CC who did attend highly ranked universities (whether Harvard or not), so that some of us can comment on what this means in practice. You also have quite a while to figure out what universities might make sense for you.

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I was also going to ask why Harvard! Often people who write that they want to go to Harvard, can benefit from learning about other schools. You can google “little Ivies” for some possibilities, and also look at the “Colleges that Change Lives” website.

It is really no fun feeling fixed on one very selective school and feeling stressed about grades because you want to get in. In fact, as a sophomore, maybe you could put college worries aside for a year.

COVID has made things hard, that’s for sure. Sorry about your loss as well.

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To to be mean or anything, but why is Harvard even on your radar?

That is not a goal, that is a unrealistic dream. Maybe 3% of all unhooked students who apply to Harvard are accepted. It is like saying that winning the lottery is your economic 10-year plan.

It is also a terrible goal. You don’t somehow achieve your life’s dreams and goals when you are accepted to Harvard. You don’t get success for merely being accepted to Harvard, your don’t get a career or even a job when you are accepted to Harvard. In fact, you do not even get a degree just by being accepted to Harvard.

The goal is not to “be accepted” to a college, any college. The goal is to find the best path for you in life. The point of college is to help you do that. Your goal, vis a vis college, should be to attend the college that is right for you.

You know how you choose which college is right for you? You see what you like doing in high school, what topic and activities interest you, what your personal style of learning is, and what intensity is the best for you. Then you find some colleges which best fit those, and apply to them. Hopefully you are accepted to at least one, and you go off and hopefully do well.

Having as your goal “to be accepted” to a college about which you know little except that it is the Most Prestigious is a sure way to make sure that you will not find the right college for yourself. Since you are almost certain not to be accepted to Harvard, it is also a sure fire way to end up disappointed, bitter, and overall pretty unhappy.

However, let me say this: so what?

There are literally hundreds of colleges out there which will provide you with a world class education. Colleges where you will get the education that you need for life, the social life that will make it a great place to be, the activities which will make your life about ore than just the classroom, and more.

However, in the meantime, you need to be focusing on doing your best in high school.

You are not at high school in order to get into Harvard. You are in high school to get an education. Without getting an education, you will not be accepted to any college. Without getting a high school education, you will not even know whether you actually want to go to college.

What is certain, though, is that there is no evidence that Harvard is the right college for you. In fact, from what little you have said, I would opine that Harvard is the wrong college for you, on many levels.

That’s OK. Harvard is not some “prize”, only there for The Best Of The Best Of The Best. There are an enormous number of people who are excellent in every way, but for who Harvard would not provide the education that would be best for them. It is a specific college of a specific type, and it is the right college for a specific type of student. It is the wrong college for all the rest.

Focus on doing your best in high school, and, in some spare time, start thinking about what you want from college. By the end of your junior year, you will have a better idea, and will be able to find colleges which will provide you with those things.

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You can apply to Harvard. You have a single digit chance of getting in.

If you don’t give attention to classes (as in, you don’t even know what classes you took), Harvard would likely not be interested in that type of student.

I would talk to your guidance counselor to ensure you will meet the requirements needed for high school graduation.

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It is funny to think that the OP can remember the name of an Ivy League school but not remember what courses were taken just a few months ago. Four years of foreign language are recommended. (Actually the OP just said that no “language” course was taken.) An advisor can make sure the OP has the right coursework needed for college -even for acceptance at the state flagship.

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Oh for heavens sake!

  1. If you really can’t remember what courses you took and completed less than four months ago…ask your school counselor for a copy of your transcript. If you got a progress report, look at that.

  2. Add me to the chorus…why Harvard. It is one of several thousand universities in this country. I just can’t imagine honing in on ANY one college as a beginning HS sophomore. You need to broaden your thinking about colleges and plan to cast a much wider net that just aiming for Harvard (where 95% of applicants are not admitted).

  3. Can you remember the grades you got in those forgotten courses you took that ended spring 2021? What were those?

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OP, what s your intended major?