I worked with a student last year who also had the 25 most remarkable teen award and write up in a so cal magazine. probably comes from the same town which is why I asked North or Poly.
Only the hours during high school can be reported. For 3000 hours community service within the first 3 years of high school would mean 125 days of full time work per year. That alone would raise the eyebrow of adcom and here too.
Tbh, I wouldn’t go to Harvard. Your application is VERY strong. However, this will always be the truth, they start by looking into your GPA and your SAT score. You have a slim chance of getting in unfortunately because it’s just Harvard. I understand that you made a sacrifice to come her because of terrorism, but it’s not the end of the world. I think with your intended major, look more into state schools. I think its worth it considering the fact that it’s less expensive, and you can always go to Harvard or any other Ivies as a grad school. Or, if cost isn’t the case, look more into schools that are very selective (30% to 45%), but not MOST selective like Harvard. My suggestions: NYU (expensive, but take that into consideration), Dartmouth, Amherst, Colby, and Bowdoin. Don’t trust me on those because I’m considering engineering as a major, but I would just do your research. It’s better to not feel upset about getting rejected to Harvard because it’s a waste of your time.
You have a shot but apply to other schools you like, and try not to get too set on it. Write good essays and then it’s up to admissions! good luck, I hope you get in!
Chance me back please:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18676261#Comment_18676261
lol @ rohank10’s advice. “Don’t apply to Harvard… instead apply to schools that are just as selective like Dartmouth!”
International students seeking aid basically are applying to 20 Harvards.
I’ve gotten an offer from upenn, brown and duke…
My gpa isn’t good enough?
Oh please.
How about next time if someone wants to comment, just answer yes or no.
I don’t want any degrading comments to bring me down.
Sorry not sorry. Take care.
Haha obviously don’t listen to the guy that said don’t apply to Harvard. If you want to go there, then apply. You have a chance of getting in, but sadly nobody has a “good” chance for Harvard. Make sure you have safety schools too.
A tip for your application is specify where you got your awards and what community service was.
Also, how do you already have offers from UPenn, Brown, and Duke if you haven’t applied yet?
The recruiters guaranteed me a full scholarship if I apply for early admissions, but the problem is they all are binding so I’m not so sure…
Dartmouth receives an average of 170 applications a year from Pakistan and only accepts 1 or 2 each year. Admission into Harvard will be even more competitive. How is possible to intern at three separate law firms and still rack up 3000 hours of volunteer work? That’s about 20 hours a week for three straight years with no vacations plus interning at the law firms, school, and other EC’s. I also highly doubt your story about recruiters offering you scholarships. Your GPA and test scores are average at best so what are they recruiting you for?
It accepts 10-12 each year.
Like I said earlier I don’t want criticsm, I want a yes or a no.
Nothing you say or do will bring me down.
And I didn’t know it was only for highschool
That’s ny accumulated hours.
My highschool hours are around 900 so.
OP, just go ahead and apply to Harvard. I am positive that it has a vested interest in educating political leaders of tomorrow, and your activities, and hopefully essays, would tend towards a promise that you would be one of those leaders.
OP, it’s good advice to be careful about how you frame accomplishments and ECs. I think what that other poster meant was, context is very important when listing such accomplishments. It’s awesome you got that award from the mayor, so on your applications, you would list the award name, that the mayor XYZ place gave it to you, and what year it was.
I think with solid essays, yes, you have a chance at Harvard. But it is the most difficult school to get into, so it could go either way. I saw your notes about Brown, UPenn and Duke. Are they all Early Decision only, or are some of them Early Action, too? Or are the recruiters saying you must apply ED? I think in that case, if you can, prioritize visiting each school. Think about fit–do you like campus? Talk to some specific professors and see if you feel a spark. Are there specific opportunities at one school over another that you’d like? If one school emerges as most attractive, apply ED to that school. They’re VERY different schools, btw, so really think about personality & fit.
Personally, I think it’s a bit dangerous to rely on the word of a recruiter that you’re guaranteed not only admission, but also a full ride… I would seek out a few match & safety schools for yourself, particularly schools known for being generous with international students. CC can definitely help you with that sort of information.
Harvard or Dartmouth? Here’s the data from Dartmouth and only 1 or 2 students from Pakistan matriculate each year.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/admissions.pdf
For some of the positions you mentioned you would have had to have been at least 18 when you applied for the position…
You sure got educated pretty quickly.
The Ivies don’t award merit scholarships, btw.
You said you only want to know if you have a chance if you apply to Harvard. Yes, you do have a chance but you should obviously know this if other elite schools are recruiting you. Good luck!
“How about next time if someone wants to comment, just answer yes or no.”
No.
“I’ve gotten an offer from upenn, brown and duke…”
“The recruiters guaranteed me a full scholarship if I apply for early admissions”
I’m fairly sure both of these statements are impossible. The only “offers” these top schools give in advance are likely letters AFTER one has applied. You mean to say that the summer before your senior year, these schools somehow found you and extended early offers of admission? Also, like someone else just said, those schools don’t offer merit scholarships.
I could be wrong but this just isn’t adding up. Good luck in the real application cycle!
I’m sorry. I really should leave this alone but what you wrote means that you did 2200 hours of community service while in middle school. That is quite astonishing if not wholly unbelievable.
I think you should step back and reflect on what you want to convey in your applications. Work on being the best, most genuine version of yourself and trust that there are colleges out there that would love to have you. You obviously have a passion for effecting change in the world, particularly your home country of Pakistan. Let your application be about that and not a bunch of things that would raise eyebrows or questions about how accurate the information is.
I sincerely wish you luck.
Imaginary offers and promises…
I just calculated them
I have 1450 in high school.
I get community service for my ambassador positions.
I have around 1500 in my middle school
50 in elementary.
And I can assure you I have every single of those positions. if you still have a problem, which I know you do.
And I’m not going to list every foundation’s email, but only the most sought out one, israr@irm.edu.pk
The fact that you don’t belive everything I’ve accomplished proves how extra ordinary it is. So yes I will be applying with the same data I provided you with.
And when I get into a good school I’ll surely let you know.
The only thing this thread helped me with was the fact that when I do list my extra curricular I’ll also provide proof, like reference emails.
So thank you for your criticism, it really did help.
Take care.
I don’t want anymore comments. Do you want the recruiter’s emails too now? That’s what they told me.
You can apply but your SAT is low for Harvard.
Try NYU, Georgetown, Univ of Chicago, UPenn, Cornell etc
Wow! You started with 3000 hours. When questioned about how this is humanly possible, you then shifted 2100 into middle school. When questioned about that, you shifted 550 hours back into HS. My question is if you are so uncertain as to where and when the hours were spent and only now have the answer, how did you come up with 3000 hours in the first place?
No thanks, since I’m fairly certain that what you’ve described is a product of a fertile imagination. The whole idea that recruiters emailed you guaranteed acceptances and scholarships without even having an application in hand (how did they know your test scores, grades, financial need and other pertinent information?) goes against everything I know about how things work in admissions (at least at the Ivy I taught at and am still on the faculty as an adjunct). I will be on campus on Thursday and will try to get some insights from a friend in admissions about this situation. It just seems so out there.
FWIW, I have a daughter who is a junior at Harvard and was a highly sought-after HS student when she was applying to colleges. That being said, there was never an explicit guarantee of admission by anyone, especially not by email!