<p>Please help me someone. Oh and what are the key things for getting into Harvard?</p>
<p>Sorry to say, but this year the admissions are harder than ever. The rates hover at around a three percent. So they might’ve let a few B’s and an average good ACT slide in previous years, but this year they can’t. If you have any more than one B or an ACT below a thirty four, you basically have no chance here, but why would they fill the so few seats left with anything less?</p>
<p>^ I disagree. There is more to an application than just a test score and GPA. If this were not the case, then nearly every valedictorian would be admitted, which is not the case. There is no way to answer the OP- there are many key facts- grades, test scores, rigor of curriculum, teacher recs, outside activities (depth and breadth generally are more I operant than quantity), quality of essays, legacy status, etc. And BTW the acceptance rate has never hovered around 3%.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Because that one B you got in Chemistry in tenth grade probably doesn’t predict much at all about what sort of person you will be when you grow up?</p>
<p>But yeah. Even with prfect test scores, perfect gpa, etc, a person’s chances of getting into Harvard can’t get above 16% without a hook. I am not just pulling this number out of the blue.</p>
<p>If you have one hook, it can rise to the upper 20s. If you have two (i.e., black legacy), the fourties. Your chances might be actually okay if you were also an athlete.</p>
<p>Yes you can. Is it likely? Of course not.</p>
<p>If your “good” ACT score’s ones digit isn’t a five or a six, and barring some other enormous hook, then I’d say you’re not a viable candidate. GPA & transcript is the single most important factor being evaluated for any school.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not quite. There are about 37,000 public and private high schools in the U.S., and Harvard accepts about 2200 applicants for freshman admission. So it wouldn’t be the case that nearly every valedictorian would be admitted, but it would be the case that no non-valedictorians would be admitted. (Note that this back-of-the-envelope reckoning so far completely ignores applicants from abroad.)</p>
<p>Obviously, that isn’t what happens. There are some schools (e.g., fancy New England prep schools, Bronx Science, New Trier) from which Harvard often accepts more than one applicant. This happens in part because Harvard recognizes that not all secondary schools, and therefore not all valedictorians, are alike.</p>
<p>That lends some support to the position that there’s more to Harvard admissions than mashing together grades and test scores in a formula, but everybody accepts that. Certainly, PsychoDad10, all those other things that you mention (teacher recommendations, essays, etc.) matter, but it is categorically true that the first hurdle is academic prowess, assessed via the applicant’s transcript and standardized test scores, and that it would be most unusual to clear that hurdle with a 3.7 GPA and an ACT below 35 unless your extracurricular activities include adding a new wing to the chemistry building or dunking a basketball with two hands. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Overall, no. But for unhooked regular-decision applicants, that figure is, quite sadly, not far off at all.</p>
<p>It should be mentioned that the widely tossed around statistic of ~8% is inaccurate. When the EA admits are included, as some have mentioned, the rate rate falls below 4%. So in reality, you have a 96% chance of being rejected.</p>
<p>That being said, there are things that will bump you up.</p>
<p>Locality helps: if you’re in Massachusetts, especially in a municipality near Cambridge (or even better, in Cambridge), you get a bump, especially if guidance counselors at your school have a relationship with adcoms at Harvard – Boston Latin School, I’m talking to you.</p>
<p>Relationships help: if you attend a feeder school or top ranked private school, you have a higher than average chance.</p>
<p>Hooks help: if you are an athlete, high-achieving URM, or have some other rare intangible quality, you get a bump.</p>
<p>Exceptionality helps: if you are exceptional at one thing – what many call extreme lopsidedness – you get a bump. Or said another way, if something about your application jumps out from the page, you will get a bump.</p>
<p>Precedent helps: if you are the valedictorian, or in the top 5, of a school that regularly sends a small handful of students to Harvard, you will get a bump.</p>
<p>Publicity helps: if you have been mentioned in a widely syndicated news website or show, or even better, several, you will get a bump. Harvard loves publicity – especially when they can get more of it than Yale.</p>
<p>Star potential helps: if Harvard thinks you are a potential star, in some field, who will ripen at their institution, you will get a bump.</p>
<p>Parent employees help: if your parents work at Harvard, or are distinguished professors there, you have a VERY high chance of being admitted as long as your stats are strong.</p>
<p>and there are a few others…</p>
<p>Needless say, rake up a few of these and you are probably in the 60-70% percentile.</p>
<p>Oh, and getting a 2400 won’t hurt you either.</p>
<p>Probably, the only guaranteed formula for acceptance to Harvard is a 4.0 UW from a school without grade inflation, a 2400, and a parent who is a relatively esteemed professor. Why, if such a student wasn’t accepted, the world would surely implode.</p>
<p>
Not quite; unless you’re recruited, athletics is just another EC.</p>
<p>
Another virtually guaranteed formula is being a recruited athlete with strong academics (3.9+ GPA/700+ scores). Harvard and Princeton accept a few hundred of these kids every year. Yale not so many.</p>
<p>No disrespect to the other replies to your question. You will never know unless you apply to Harvard if you would be accepted. Bottom line I think is find your niche an exploit it. Find something(s) that you are passionate about and something you love to do and it will show. ex: community service, Habitat for Humanity, soup kitchen etc…A good plan would be to find several schools that you could see yourself going to, safety and reach schools included and see what happens. Good luck!</p>
<p>There’s a chance that having strong stats coming from a lower-socioeconomic zipcode may help.</p>