<p>So sorry if I posted this in the wrong section...</p>
<p>How hard will it be for me to get into Harvard Secondary School Program (SSP) and/or Summer Science Program (the one with asteroids) as a sophomore?</p>
<p>Let's see... (major points of interest, I guess)</p>
<p>Freshman:
Took AP Calculus BC as a freshman (5 on exam)
Rank 4/556, 4.0 UW/5.52 W GPA...
Took Introductory Chemistry and General College Physics at a local community college during the summer, made A's.
1980 SAT: 720 M/640 R/620 W (during the fall)</p>
<p>Sophomore:
Taking AP Physics C, AP Biology, AP Comp Sci, AP Statistics, AP World History, Discrete Mathematics, and Differential Equations (in the spring). Self-studying AP Human Geography exam.
Possible candidate for the National AP Scholar award (8 APs with >4 on eight exams)... as a sophomore.
Have yet to retake SATs</p>
<p>Definitely awesome recommendations from freshman AP Calc teacher and sophomore AP Physics teacher...
I was chosen as the best writer out of all of the freshman English classes, so my essays should be moderately well-written...</p>
<p>I write hilarious, profanity-free raps in my spare time, play tennis, have been doing taekwondo for three years, have accumulated ~160 hours of community service, am starting a math club for our school, and I basically have the toughest sophomore course-load in the district.</p>
<p>Yeahh... so chance me please? :)</p>
<p>Can you pay for it?</p>
<p>[This refers to SSP.]</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure about the Summer Science Program, but Harvard SSP isn’t hard to get into at all. Admission is not competitive, but imo it’s a good experience.</p>
<p>I applied for Summer Science Program this year (as a rising senior), but did not get in. You definitely have a good shot, especially with so much math background early in high school. The essays are really important. And you should work on getting your SATs up, especially Math. Other than that, there’s not much you can do but apply. Just remember that it has an acceptance rate like MIT, so don’t get your hopes up too much, but go for it.</p>
<p>B-b-bump, and thanks.</p>
<p>@OnTheFridge: Yes, I can definitely pay for it.</p>
<p>Wow, quite impressive. You’ll get in SSP.</p>
<p>I recommend that you do SSP or RSI as opposed to the Harvard summer school thing.</p>
<p>Summer school at Harvard is just a ploy to rake in more dough from high schoolers thinking they can get in Harvard by taking summer classes there. Quite frankly, unless you are doing some really obscure upper division course, your local community college or university (if you live close to one) should be sufficient.</p>
<p>Furthermore, summer classes are normally taught by GSI’s anyway, so that would be a waste of money.</p>
<p>So SSP and RSI would be great programs to do, although they are competitive. However, I think you’ll have a great chance. The only thing that might stop you would be the sheer number of applicants and limited spots available.</p>
<p>How did you take AP Calc BC as a freshman? Did you self-study your way through middle school?</p>
<p>I was supposed to take Algebra I in 8th grade and basically be in the honors track. But I decided to self-study and test out of Algebra I, Algebra II, and Precalculus, and take gifted-and-talented Geometry that year.</p>
<p>Bring my post up homies</p>
<p>Hmm, Diffy Q without Multivariate Calculus? I suppose it’s possible. Just needa review partial derivatives as that isn’t covered in the BC course.</p>
<p>Surprised you aren’t ranked 1. You seem to be a very bright kid.</p>
<p>My life goals are to be cooler, smarter, and to have more swag than MIThopeful2016.</p>
<p>Just kidding. I actually meant to say MIThopeful16, anyway. My goal in life is not particularly to be valedictorian, lol</p>
<p>@Derivate: Well the prereq for Diffy Q’s at my community college is just Calc 2, so I think we may be covering a bit of those partial derivatives as needed.</p>
<p>And now presenting, the Notorious B.U.M.P.</p>
<p>Oh by now means am I implying that should be your life goal. I was just saying that since you are taking all these advanced classes, I’m surprised you aren’t top of your class. I mean, I doubt your classmates are taking these many advanced courses as freshmen/sophomores.</p>
<p>fireflake78, I get very concerned when I see students invest so much of their limited time in high school loading up on AP classes. A former Harvard admissions officer once explained to me that with elite colleges, strong academics are an essential prerequisite, but are only occasionally the sole basis upon which admission is offered. They want a student body of diverse talents and having a superior academic prowess is but a single type of talent. </p>
<p>And it takes a LOT to stand out from the crowd as a superior academic talent. 5s on AP tests are a relative dime a dozen (more than 400,000 were given out last year). So the odds of gaining one of those precious “academic” slots based solely on taking a heavy AP course load are slim to none. Moreover, AP courses equate to an average first-year college semester course (but spread out over a full academic year). So each time you ace an AP class/exam youve proved only that, with twice the normal time, you can handle a freshman level class at an average college. That’s good to know, but in and of itself it will not gain you admission to an elite college. </p>
<p>My own experience proved the Harvard admissions officer to be right. The student in my graduating high school class with the toughest course load (and highest weighted GPA) ended up at a local college. I had a much easier course load and was admitted to Stanford, based in large part (I presume) on my particular background as a student leader. </p>
<p>So, I recommend you sit down with a counselor (or even a paid outside consultant) and try to figure out how best to spend your time in your remaining years of high school. The good news is that you clearly are a gifted student. You are also on the right track with seeking out selective summer programs. But your time as a high school student is very limited, so make sure you employ your talents to their highest and best use year round!</p>