Chance Me for Harvard and other Ivy

Chances for Harvard and other Ivy
Intended Major: Economics
International Student (India)

No AP or Honors class offered in School
GPA: 4.0
SAT I: 1540
Math II: 780
Literature: 780

ECs:

  1. Participated in 10+ MUNs; Organised Uthaan, a nationwide MUN with 800+ delegations in 12 committees; Chaired at 2 MUNs; Trained 250+ Junior Delegates
  1. I run an Agency serving clients in India and UK.
  2. Published Article on Role of Gig Economy in Pandemic Recovery.
  3. Online Coursework- Edx: AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics; Coursera: Economics of Money and Banking; Yale Open Course: Game Theory.
  4. Led the school team in 12 inter-school and state level competitions; 9 won; Coached 15 team members for the same.
  5. Started playing chess as complete beginner with 400 ELO rating in Grade 10; Achieved 1200 ELO rating as of September 2020.
  6. member of Student Council for 4 years.
  7. Student Editor of School Newsletter
  8. Member of IT club in Grade 9 & 10. Elected Club Head in Grade 11. Grew the club from 45 to 66 Members. Organised 2 inter-school competitions.
  9. Provided study help to underprivileged kids; Taught English and Hindi language courses to students of Grade 3; Became the go-to English helper

Your chances are 2%, as they are for every qualified international student applying to a top US college

Is there any way I can improve the chances

Can your parents donate US$ 50 million to Harvard? Otherwise no.

“Is there any way I can improve the chances”

Having your parent be elected prime minister of India or winning a Nobel Prize would also improve your chances.

However, as @TomSrOfBoston is essentially saying, Harvard receives a large number of applications from exceptionally well qualified applicants. Relative to the number that they accept, they probably get more great applications from India than anywhere else. Your application will be one of a very long list that survive the initial “are they at least qualified” screen. After that it is hard to say how they figure out who gets accepted.

You are clearly a great student and a great applicant. You are going to do well wherever you end up. Harvard is a super high reach.

Ignore the facetious comments above. You have some great accomplishments. What is unsaid is that getting into Harvard as an international is extremely competitive. I think I remember reading somewhere that Harvard has a total of 30 students from the Indian subcontinent in total. This is about 6-7 students per year. And probably a few of these are athletic recruits or legacy.

So you certainly have the stats. But you don’t have the special “Oooh-ahh” factor. You need to have something that will completely wow them. The needs for Harvard changes every year, so its impossible to predict what they want.

Instead focus on what you can control. Applying in the early rounds will be your best shot. And if you don’t need financial aid, that will make things easier. Just pick a solid ED1 and ED2 choice. You probably have a better chance at schools farther down the ranking list, especially ED1.

Great stats. Solid Ec’s. Chance is pretty low due to international status. Apply to other schools as well. Best of luck.