<p>your ECs are INCREDIBLE (you are strong in so many areas!) and you play a sport?! wow, extremely impressive. I find it hilarious that you are an Asian girl who goes to a catholic school… HAHAHAH thats like a paradox.</p>
<p>anyway, for some reason it seems strange that you took so many SAT II’s, and didn’t do particularly well on them…why did you take so many? in my opinion (which is totally not credible, but still it’s the impression) it’s more impressive if you take just 3 SAT II’s and get perfects on all of them than take 7, like you did, and get in the mid 700’s on all of them. if you look at the national percentiles for the SAT II scores, a 750 falls only in the 80th percentile for most tests:
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
what’s your class rank/size?</p>
<p>ahh stupefy thanks for pointing that out! i know my sat iis are definitely one of my weaknesses… honestly, i’ve never studied for any of my sat iis and i kind of feel bad for not doing so now! i just took one for each ap class/class i was taking every year…so half were from 9th and 10th grade. it was just easier, and i just wanted to see how i would do on all of them. it worked for me because i wouldn’t have to relearn the material later on. i guess those tests just tested how i knew the material at that moment…eek i wish i studied now. how do you think it will affect my chances of admissions??? ahh now i’m so nervous. </p>
<p>and i know, hahaha i’m not even catholic!! :)</p>
<p>you do appear to come off a little scattered, with standard achievement in a lot of areas. To really wow the admissions counsel, at least one (if not both) essays should focus either on the depth you spent on one activity or, if that is not particularly applicable to you (ie you were very scattered and didn’t focus too much) maybe you should approach the essay(s) as driving home the fact that you have a lot of interests and that is the reason for your wide-range of ECs. If you do that though, make sure you say what you have learned from the many different experiences and how this will shape your future (ie do you plan to focus more on a specific area in college?)</p>
<p>hi ivyleague2010! thanks for addressing one of my initial concerns. yeah, about that… it’s tough because i am actually really invested in all of my activities, and when i say really, really, i mean that everyone i know has no idea how i handle it all, and i think the only reason i’m sane right now is because i love everything i do. i’m passionate about so many different things, whether it be art or world affairs (which may be a problem in the long run…ugh) and so i’ve committed myself in applying myself in all of these realms…because i come from a small suburb and a small school, i’ve worked hard to get where i’ve come. of course, with things like science fair, i wasn’t able to participate again after 9th grade because i literally had no time to do a project, but i enjoyed it and still do excel in the science. but i’m not going to even mention that on the application i don’t think because i really just want to portray all of my leadership as i want to pursue business or international relations in the future (i’m a people person haha). i know i’m definitely not a genius and not nearly as gifted as those international math champions or science fair winners, etc. but i’m self-motivated in pursuing what i want, and i want to show that. with that said, what i’m concerned about is that that genuine dedication i have for each of my commitments isn’t going to come across an application through words and numbers… am i making any sense? sorry it’s late and if i’m rambling…haha</p>
<p>calling your SAT II scores “weak” is preposterous. Yes, the percentiles for some of those tests mean you may be in “only” the top 20% of test-takers, but the more challenging SAT II’s are ridiculously self-selecting.</p>
<p>For example, you scored a 740 on French with listening. First of all, only about 1200 kids TOTAL took that test. 1,200 students is fewer than your average public high school. And, more importantly, the mean score for NATIVE SPEAKERS of french on that test is 718. You got a 740. I’m assuming you’re a senior and you’ve had no more than 3 years of high school instruction in French. The mean score for the (only 172) students like you was 537, fully 2 HUNDRED points lower than you.</p>
<p>Only about 2,000 students scored a 2350 or above on the SAT’s last year, out of 1.5 MILLION (and I think every last one of those 2,000 post here and worry frantically about their chances).</p>
<p>So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Is this a joke? Are posters who post chance threads like these JOKING??</p>
<p>You are WAAAAAY over qualified, waaaay more qualified than you need to be to be accepted at Harvard.</p>
<p>Which doesn’t mean you will be of course. Unfortunately, there are boatloads of students like you who are ridiculously overqualified. I live for the say when pressure-cooker kids and their parents accept the fact that your chances are NOT increased or decreased because of this EC or that 10 points on a damn standardized test. Students like you should seriously consider skipping college and going straight to grad school.</p>
<p>the 2,000 students who scored 2350 or above is single sitting. Nowadays, most students take the SAT I at LEAST twice, and their superscore is what they report (and what harvard looks like). so while MY superscore is 2390 (only a few hundred scored that high), many more than a few hundred will have a superscore of 2390 or 2400</p>
<p>and I dont think the 740 on French is impressive because 4 kids in my grade took it. We’ve had crap french teachers for the past three years and took it without studying much. I got an 800 and the other 3 got over a 760. I’m not saying we’re that indicative, but the level of difficulty on the test was not that high.</p>
<p>(this whole post is directed at the user above me, not at OP. sorry if I sound obnoxious, but I wouldn’t say the scores are “overqualified.” and neither does the OP.)</p>
<p>@FBBG, i’m sorry if i offended anyone by saying my sat IIs were “weaker” but i agree with stupefy, and i also just meant that overall, my sat IIs are the weakest of my scores (grades, SAT, everything included)… and sorry, this isn’t a joke. hopefully no one who reads this thread thinks that i’m just fretting over my scores! a considerable percentage of the applicants who apply are “qualified,” but if you read my first post, i was just mostly worried about how i looked overall as an applicant–if i was too scattered in my pursuits and interests–not my scores, because that’s ultimately what’s going to matter. hope that clears it up! :)</p>
<p>^I think your ECs are what will get you in scattered isn’t necessarily a bad thing. shows that you’re motivated, want to be involved, and will bring a lot to the college community best of luck to you and hope we’re both accepted!</p>
<p>Go for Harvard, if it is your choice!!! You are strong and have a very good chance. Try others too though. It’s December, I hope you’ve applied to your dream school. I know a girl (Chinese) who was excellent, was accepted by Harvard. She listened to her parents and went to another school. She’s been feeling terrible about that all these years. Three years later, she quit school. She is now just staying home. She has 4.0 in that college she went but she is not happy.</p>
<p>@smoda61, when colleges calculate GPA do they include the grades of like health class, gym etc. into the GPA? i know my A- was from health (i know, stupid…), and at least in our school’s system, we don’t include those extra classes like gym, fitness or our religion grades into our GPA, just the major ones.</p>
<p>smoda, that isn’t true, otherwise the GPA would have an additional amount for A+, B+, and that wouldn’t be “unweighted” either. An A- is an A is a 4.0.</p>
<p>At D’s high school, there was nothing higher than a 4.0 with a 4.0 begin given for a 93 and up. 90 to 92 was a A- or 3.67, 87-89 was B+ or 3.33, 83-86 was B or 3.0, etc. (I’m sitting at the desk with the report cards in it.)</p>
<p>Serendipity - at D’s high school ALL classes were counted including health, gym, etc. </p>
<p>Fireshark - Of course that is an unweighted GPA. Unweighted means that the value is calculated on a 4.0 scale and is therefore reported as a x.xx/4.0. For a weighted GPA though you have to know the weighting system of your high school. I am guessing that my daughter’s high school is one of very few whose weighted GPA is out of an 8.0 which is reported as a x.xx/8.0.</p>
<p>As for how colleges look at your grades, they will have their own methods and you just can’t worry about what that it. You are only responsible for reporting your info accurately (it should match your school transcript). Your high school will also be providing a statement about the grading system it uses.</p>
<p>smoda61, thanks for sharing about your daughter’s experience. and yeah, i realizemy school’s grading system is different. our unweighted is out of 4.4, while our “weighted” is out of 4.7 because only AP courses get an extra .3 weighting and that’s it. it’s just really weird. thankfully, you’re right–colleges do have their own methods but will look in the context of my school.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your responses, i think i’m set for now.
:)</p>
scattered isn’t necessarily a bad thing. shows that you’re motivated, want to be involved, and will bring a lot to the college community 
best of luck to you and hope we’re both accepted!</p>