Chance me for Harvard, please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Specifically, I am looking to apply to Harvard, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, and Stanford (amongst others I am also considering). Please chance me. Your help is much appreciated!</p>

<p>Country: Canada
Ethnicity: Asian (female)</p>

<p>IB/AP: not offered at my high school (however, I am taking the most rigorous courses offered, such as calculus, etc.)
Average (in %): consistently in the 90s, usually around 95%
SAT Score: First time with zero practice: 2030 (CR: 630, Writing: 660, Math: 740). I expect a MUCH better 2nd score!!!
SAT Subject Tests: will be taking 3 in November </p>

<p>Essay writing skills: excellent
Teacher recs: will be stupendous
Interview skills: excellent</p>

<p>Interests, Volunteer & Work Experience: piano (level 8 certificate), violin for a few years, volunteer at a hospital (200+hrs), volunteer tutoring at school, work at a library, many other volunteer events... </p>

<p>School involvement: was very involved in music in gr.9 (many bands and even choir), many youth justice groups in gr.11 & planning to join again in gr.12 (probably...), badminton intermurals in gr.10</p>

<p>Leadership: link crew leader at school (we welcome new gr.9 students and plan fun activities!), lead kids through educational activities at a volunteer event</p>

<p>Awards & Special things: various academic awards at school, various piano awards from festivals (got selected to advance to provincials, but became very ill... this is a touchy subject... I ended up not being able to attend because I was taking 8 pills a day and I felt so horrible ): .. ANYWAYS), painting (art was shown at a festival and displayed in a <em>professional</em> art gallery; honourable mention in Robert Bateman contest)</p>

<p>Oh and I have a customer service training certificate for disabled/impaired customers.</p>

<p>Field I'm going to go in to: medical/health sciences</p>

<p>Please chance me, especially for Brown, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard (my top 3)!</p>

<p>And all BS aside... I actually have a personality. I am not a brainiac automaton who sits around and studies all day long. I think that I am an intriguing person.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time</p>

2

<p>Your high school scores are good, but you absolutely need to have stellar SAT scores. There is a lot of extra information here, but regarding the ECs, you need to have something ‘else’. Something no one else does, something that will set you apart. Remember , harvard has a gigantic reputation to live up to. They need a student body that is good at every thing, NOT A STUDENT WHO IS OK ISH AT EVERYTHING. This is really important, they would have someone who has a spike to have a well rounded student body, not a well rounded student, you have to fit in a certain area. That being said, you have not made it very big, unfortunately, harvard is probably a big no-no :frowning: . Maybe brown or John or if cornell is in the mood, you might get lucky. BTW, can you afford college? look at LACs and jack up those scores and find yourself.
But as always, admissions at such colleges are very unpredictable, so no one can say anything for certains,but this is the gist of it.</p>

<p>hope this essay of mine helps.</p>

3

<p>I’m a new freshman at Harvard, from Ontario, and I know a lot of Asian girls from the GTA, many of whom sound like you. The above poster is describing Harvard from the perspective of someone staring at its imposing public image with no actual evidence. Sure, the kids I’ve met are smart. Most of them went to private schools, most of them have some very good standardized test scores, but people ARE well-rounded. Almost everyone is well-rounded. Don’t listen to the above dismissal of well-roundedness, as it is a crucial quality for an undergraduate at most, if not all, top schools. </p>

<p>However, some important things to know about your profile, as you have described it: first, your ECs are lacking, especially in consistency and leadership. Second, your current SAT score is good, but only if you’re a recruited athlete, which it doesn’t look like you’ll be. If you can push it up by 200 or 300 points, then you’ll have better chances. Lastly, your best shot at admission would be if you wrote some really memorable essays. You’ve got a 1 in 15 chance, after all, so just do your best, and good luck.</p>

4

<p>Right now basically no chance unless you raise that SAT.</p>

5

<p>You have a solid app. There’s nothing in your stats to keep you out of those schools. However, to get you into those schools, you’re going to need a dynamic hook. </p>

<p>Admissions is an absolutely illusive process so you can’t really gauge where you stand. I will keep my fingers and toes crossed for you…Good luck!</p>

6

<p>You need to raise your SAT. I don’t know how you know your recs will be “stupendous.” Are you a psychic? Please put this on your application if so.</p>

7

<p>It clearly seems that you have derived the best of the unique academic and extracurricular opportunities you have been given. But I agree with the overriding opinion that you certainly need to raise your SAT score to be academically competitive, particularly as an international, ORM student. </p>

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<p>Well, there wouldn’t necessarily be any need to attend Harvard if this happened to be true. :)</p>

8

<p>I see, I will work hard to raise my scores. And no, I am not psychic. Teachers & guidance counsellors have written recs for me before (for other events & things) and they were fantastic. Thus, I think my recs for the commonapp will be, as well.</p>

9

<p>Defiantly consider applying to some safeties since your top choices tend to be very difficult schools to get into. Harvard is a reach for everyone and your extracurriculars seem kinda random (no offense, I could be mistaken). You show a pretty strong interest in music and volunteering though. </p>

<p>Remember that just doing one year of choir or being “just” a member of a club doesn’t hold much value. Try to show depth over breadth (you’ve probably heard that before) in your applications. Top schools will look a lot for consistency in ECs, grades, community involvement, etc. </p>

<p>And of course, hope for that amazing SAT score! </p>

<p>Other than that, you seem like a pretty decent applicant but it all comes down to your essays, scores, and G.P.A./rank. </p>

<p>BTW don’t assume that most people who apply to Harvard are “brainiac automatons” because most aren’t.</p>