Chance me for Harvard RD?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1470 (probably won’t send)
ACT (breakdown): 36 composite
SAT II: 780 Bio M, 720 Math II (not super proud, considering not even sending them)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 5.12 (my school weights on the 5-point scale)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/59
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (5), Bio (5), Lang (5), French (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): –
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Human Geo, AP Stat, AP Art History, AP Micro, AP Comp Sci, Health, Calculus III (dual credit at community college), Engineering Physics I and II (dual credit), Differential Equation (dual credit)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, Girl Scout Gold Award, President’s Volunteer Award (gold level)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Horseback riding (I ride 5-6 times a week, have a bunch of local awards, I’m also an instructor at my barn and volunteer with rehabilitation and medical care of sick horses)
Girl Scout (On the Girl Advisory Board, camp counselor for summer camp, tons of miscellaneous volunteer hours, 2 time representative at the national convention)
Internship at local nature non-profit (I do photography, videography, and graphic design projects for them)
NHS (president)–didn’t put on application though

Job/Work Experience:
6-month job at small-animal hospital earlier this year
I work at horse shows (competitions) throughout the year
I started my own photography business (focuses on equestrian photography, mainly in the summer)

Summer Activities:
Did my Gold Award, went SCUBA diving in Florida, worked at horse shows, hiked to Machu Picchu in Peru

Essays: About my volunteer experience with horses
Supplement: Described living overseas and how I used nature to help me adjust

Teacher Recommendation #1: AP Bio teacher, she really liked me 9/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Calculus professor at community college, 9/10
Counselor Rec: She likes me but no clue about the quality of the letter 7-8/10
Additional Info/Rec: my horseback riding trainer, I read it and it’s a really good letter that captures my personality well 10/10

Intended Major: Environmental Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Online public school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

2

Admissions will notice your strong commitment to your EC’s, but Harvard doesn’t have a Division 1 Equestrian team (it’s a club sport at Harvard). However, Brown and Cornell do have Division 1 Equestrian teams and I would think your riding skills might lift your application at those schools more than at Harvard.

Brown: http://www.brownbears.com/sports/c-equest/index
Cornell: http://www.cornellbigred.com/index.aspx?path=equestrian

Otherwise, academically your stats indicate you will be a competitive applicant in the RD.

3

@gibby thank you!

4

Your involvement with horses, rehab, photography and nature form a cohesive picture of you as an interesting person with authentic interests that are not done for the sake of admissions. I think you are an appealing applicant. Since you are doing RD you can apply to Harvard, Brown, Cornell and any other school that interests you. You have a good chance, but don’t get fixed on getting in to any one school. Good luck!

5

I don’t understand how you have a 3.9 UW, but a 5.12 weighted GPA if your school used a 5 point scale.

6

@Muad_dib I don’t understand it either, my school weighs AP classes, dual credit classes and regular classes on different scales. I have all As except for 2 Bs. I figure the schools I apply to will calculate their own form of GPA anyway.

7

@compmom thank you!