I am currently a senior in high school, and I’m wondering if I’m good enough to get into Harvard. I didn’t do so well in freshman year: My GPA was 3.15 the first semester, and I got a D in Spanish and several Bs. In my second semester of freshman year, I decided to get my sh*t together and I got a 3.7 GPA, with all As and 2 Bs. Starting sophomore year, I got 4.0s both semesters and in junior year I took all available honours classes and got all As (4.6 weighted GPA in each semester). I am taking all available honours and AP classes now in senior year, and I will be getting all As (it’ll be a 4.6 GPA first semester, and 5.0 weighted GPA in second semester). I also have 5s in every AP exam I took: Calculus BC, Physics 1, Physics 2, Physics C, Studio Art, Language and Composition, and Literature and Composition. I have around a 1450/1600 on my SAT, and I have not taken any SAT Subject Tests or the ACT. By the end of the year, I should have around a 4.2 weighted GPA.
I also have some really great extracurriculars, (my major will be in astrophysics), and I have been a member of an astronomy organization in San Diego for 4 years, and I co-discovered an exoplanet using Kepler light curves from the NASA data archive. I’m also planning on submitting an art portfolio, (I was a member of an Art Studio for 5 years), and my art won an award and was displayed in the San Diego Museum of Art for 4 weeks.
I’m really worried that the D I got in Spanish and all those Bs in my first semester will bring me down (I retook Spanish when I moved schools, and I got As in all those classes). Do you think if I take the AP Spanish test and score a 5, that’ll help to impress admission officers? Honestly, I have no idea.
Tell me your opinions.
Don’t worry too much about your freshman year, especially since you have done so well since.
Your activities over 4 years in the field of astronomy and help discovering an exoplanet are wonderful experiences and will certainly make you an interesting candidate. And it is also wonderful that you have been involved with art in a sustained way and have even had your art shown at the SD Museum of Art.
I think you should certainly go ahead and apply to Harvard. In many ways, you are the kind of applicant who could contribute to the mix of talents and interests on campus.
However, and this is important, please find other schools to love, that offer a major that you will be happy with. Harvard is risky for almost everyone and there are so many great schools out there. Check out Colleges that Change Lives (website and book). You might also look at Tufts, BU, Northeastern if you like Boston.
I second CTCL, plus Lawrence, plus UCSD/SDSU if you’re from California, plus ASU Barrett.
You have to apply to Harvard knowing you won’t get in. Apply REA/SCEA and keep your fingers crossed. Your odds are 1 in 15, so look for other schools to love, and find 2 where you’re 100% sure you can get in and can afford, and 3-5 where your odds are decent (ie., acceptance rate 40% + and NPC indicating affordable college).
Harvard is a tough admit for everyone but certainly worth a shot given your strong stats 10-11 grades. The top UC’s could be a perfect match as well since they are looking at 10-11 grades where you excelled, and they are hard to beat for in state. Good Luck!
All the above posters give good advice. How much can you afford? The very very top schools will meet your financial need but none of them are sure admits. I agree with MYOS1634 to apply to 2 you will get in and can afford. Find some schools where you’d be in the top 25%, as you will be more likely to get merit aid, if needed. And five or six match schools. Smaller LACs will give your application a fuller and more holistic reading.
Especially if you have not taken the ACT, Harvard likes to see 2 subject tests. They have changed their wording and IIRC don’t list it as a requirement any more, but a strong suggestion ( read- do it). https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/application-timeline
Well. First, what matters will be what you got all those B’s in. Wanna tell us? Obviously if they’re STEM, they hurt more. The tippy tops are choosing among thousands of kids with 4.0 uw, plus other accomplishments.
But this stopped me: “take the AP Spanish test and score a 5, that’ll help to impress admission officers?” I think you need to go back and understand what H or any most-selective college is looking for. They expect better understanding and thinking than just adding a language 5 score. No matter the grade improvement.
Why Harvard? For a lot of students, that choice is just lazy and unoriginal thinking, to shoot for the supposed “best” school, which it is not for everyone.
Thank you for the replies.
I chose Harvard because it has one of the best astrophysics programs for undergrads in the world.
I applaud you for actually investigating what you want to study. Some HS kids on CC just list a bunch of Ivies and Stanfords and Dukes because they are the prestige schools. Do you have other schools with astrophysics programs in mind?
I have other schools on my list: SDSU, UC Berkley, Stanford, Princeton, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, plus Harvard and a safety school. I chose all of these schools because they have a great department/program for physics, astrophysics, or astronomy. Astronomy, and especially Astrophysics is rare as a major, and there aren’t a lot of schools that have good programs. I have to shoot high if I want to make the most out of my major.
Hi @FoliageOfDestiny --I know this reply is going to seem super late, but I just want you to know how inspiring your story is! Please make sure to include something about how you turned your grades around after freshman year in the additional information of the Common App, and talk about discovering a planet on your Common App essay. Honestly, I think that if you put enough passion into it, you definitely have a chance at Harvard. 
What was your gpa at the end of junior year? That’s the gpa that matters since they won’t really see your senior grades before making decisions. Also, try to make your application unique. Discovering a planet will be something cool to talk about, that’s very unique and related to your major!
@jennacwa You’re mistaken. The 7th semester grades are very important for RD for any college. They are generally your toughest classes and show whether or not you’re truly pushing yourself academically.
7th semester grades are issued in January. Decisions are made in Feb-March. They’re definitely included.
Harvard looks for something different in every student. Your junior and senior grades count the most to them. They want to see the toughness of your classes and how you handled them. Good grades are a high factor but what else have you done?; sports, volunteering (a big one), jobs, etc. They do NOT just look at grades. You good have never gotten below a 99.9% in a class but did not do anything but study, and they will not admit you. My uncle (who does the interviews in South Hampton, New York.) has stated grades are not everything to them. The part you discussed about the co discover a exoplanet is amazing! Congrats on that.
One HUGE tip. Be well-rounded; it is cool that you like one thing… but they want to see you try other things. For example; say you have always liked track but now have went to soccer. something like that.
@sweetcandybell Voluntarism is NOT a “big one”. It’s simply one of many areas involved HS students can do. But for no college is it required or essential. Even Harvard. This is a overblown myth.
My fellow Ivy interviewer, a judge, shakes his head at the many kids who tout their community service hours as if they’re a magic key. He says: “Do people realize I SENTENCE people to community service?”
@sweetcandybell. I’m in complete agreement with T26E4. Twenty years ago, volunteering was a big factor in college admissions. However, as many high schools now require a specific number of volunteer service hours to graduate, and many students have piled-on service hours thinking it will help them in the applications process, Admissions Offices tend to discount an applicant’s volunteer hours. In addition, AO’s understand that many applicants who are heavily involved in other activities that require an enormous amount of time and devotion (sports, drama, debate, etc) don’t have the time to do volunteering. So, often an AO looks skeptically at an applicant’s volunteer hours trying to discern what’s padding and what’s not. FWIW: my kids were accepted to HYP and dozen other top schools with absolutely no volunteer hours on their resume – zero, zilch, none. So, don’t kid yourself, volunteering is not a huge factor for applicants. I love @T26E4’s comment from a judge, who is an ivy interviewer
Ignore this comment for God’s sake. Do NOT be well rounded. That will land you a rejection letter and you will keep complaining about how this process is a crapshoot !
C’mon folks. If you want Harvard, you don’t speculate or go on someone else’s assumptions. You put in the effort to dig for your own picture, as accurate as you can get. That’s the level of thinking and processing they want.
Btw, the issue with volunteering is the way kids tend to overemphasize the quantity of hours. In fact, quality matters. Just throwing your coat into a donation box isn’t it. Just an annual walkathon means little.
Other than that, yes, absolutely, service is looked for at the college I know best. It’s an aspect of how one thinks and shows awareness and compassion, then chooses to direct their energies. It can be very indicative of how a kid might share, while in college. We’re just not talking about the 100 hours at the kitty shelter or collecting pennies for a distant nation or holding that fun fundraiser that your parents and their friends supported to rack up the $.
Gibby, they did nothing for others, no mentoring, no activities via groups, nothing that reflected community or issues-based sensitivity?