Chance me for Harvard !!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>hey, could you chance me? also, how can i boost my application? should i apply early (early action/EA)? i'm a hs senior btw and i'm going to apply in october-december 2012..</p>

<p>SAT: 2200
Rank: 1/200
Course load: most rigorous
Major awards: Top 15% in National Programming Olympiad, Finalist and had my text published in State Chem Olympiad, won 3 art/creativity contests at school, joined a leadership institution, etc</p>

<p>ECs: Implemented the system of clubs at my school (it didn't have clubs before, so I changed its structure and created the system based on Japanese/American clubs; some other schools might copy the system), Tutoring Club (president, founder, tutor), UN Model, Advanced Classes, IT (up to Artificial Intelligence), Spanish (fluent), Japanese, Chinese, did Mural Art for the school wall, painted the main canvas for the school wall, Advertising course with a businessman, Science Fair (team leader), Ethics and Citizenship, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, project with an MIT professor, project with some professors who teach at a national presitigous univeristy, etc</p>

<p>Work Experience: worked in family business to help financially (business owner), business trip to china (imported a conteiner), independent artist, international business fair
Volunteer Experience: founded an international NGO, started an e-learning program (gave Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, English classes)
Summer: trips to 20 countries and 6 states here; created a financial system for me and my siblings; gave classes; lots of reading and writing</p>

<p>Ethnicity/Country: An asian who lives in latin America
School: private, prestigious, competitive
Rec letters: I expect them to be awesome because my teachers really like me and i really like them too.. my counselor said that i can get into MIT and my other teacher said he's never seen such a great student before. they want my best (:</p>

<p>I LOVED every single activity i took part in and did everything veeery passionately</p>

2

<p>I guess you didn’t read this thread before you posted: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1359671-before-you-create-chance-me-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1359671-before-you-create-chance-me-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>yes, i actually did, but it’s not simply a ‘chance me’ thread, i’d like to hear what you guys could suggest…i want to get some ideas on how to boost my application and whether i should apply early or regular based on my information</p>

4

<p>If you want Harvard more than any other school, apply early. It’s that simple; don’t over think it. If you want to attend another school more, apply there early. No one here can tell you what to do. </p>

<p>If you are applying in October, there is no time to do anything else, or boost your chances, as admissions officers can tell when candidates “pad” their resume with last minute stuff. Spend the next 3 months writing, rewriting and editing your essays – and somehow find the inner strength and confidence in your own abilities, so that when you go into the interview you don’t end up asking the person interviewing you what they think. Best of luck to you.</p>

5

<p>well, i do want harvard more than any other university! but is the early process more rigorous?</p>

6

<p>Think of it this way: Everyone who really wants Harvard will also be applying early. You will be competing against the very top students in the world. If Harvard is VERY interested in you, you will be accepted. (Last year they accepted about 18% of early candidates supposedly because so many great kids applied.) If they are interested, but want to compare your stats to those of more candidates, they will defer you and your application will be looked at again in regular admissions. (Last year regular admissions had about a 3% acceptance rate because of the vast numbers of students applying regular.) Keep in mind that Harvard rejects 19 out of 20 candidates overall. If they are not interested in you, you will be rejected no matter how you apply.</p>

7

<p>If you’re looking for suggestions, perhaps you should’ve indicated your title otherwise. Anyway, gibby has pretty much said everything needed to be said. Referring to my thread that gibby mentioned. You can boose your chances by doing things I’ve listed in the additional area. Take your ECs to the national level, starting an independent project that will create a huge impact, etc. These extraordinary things make you standout. Bug like gibby said, there is little time left to do so.</p>

<p>Additionally, on your essays, don’t write about things that don’t matter as much. You don’t need to tell Harvard all about your “trips to 20 countries and 6 states here”. Write about what really matters to you. Write about the most significant event in your life. Writing about what you do to get to your highs and how you cope with your lows often shows application readers who you are much more and much better than telling them directly. Ever heard of a picture for a thousand words. Give these readers images of you through your essays, they’ll do you a lot of good.</p>

<p>And yes, apply early. Applying early is indirectly telling Harvard that it’s your first-choice (since Harvard is SCEA). Although it doesn’t really increase your chances, you don’t have to wait as long to find out if you’re a fit for Harvard. Like gibby said, if they really want you, they’ll accept you right away. If you’re just an average applicant, they’ll defer you. If you’ll never get-in no matter what, you’ll be rejected on spot. That’s how every SCEA work.</p>

8

<p>I apologize for that. I have done many things that had international/national impact such as my NGO that appeared in the news, having joined a prestigious institute of leadership, own business, academic olympiads, being invited by an MIT professor to work on a research with him, being invited by a national university to work with them, etc etc. Thanks for the tips! I will write the best essay ever and give my best to get accepted!</p>

<p>On the other hand, does applying early decrease my chances of being accepted since the early pool is a lot better than the regular one? To be honest, I can’t believe that the 18% acceptance rate is only due to the quality of the early pool because it’s such a big difference, which leads me to think that they might give some advantage to early applicants? Another thing is that they claim that all students are equally considered, but, truth be told, even though the american applicants who are accepted are all great students who deserve it, the international applicants seem to be “better” (“There are no quotas or limits for international students. All students are considered in the same pool for all places in the incoming class, regardless of citizenship or the school they attend. A student’s chances for admission and financial aid are not affected by citizenship or by the location of the school that the student attends.” - that’s what they say)</p>

9

<p>Applying early doesn’t increase your chances. The acceptance rate is high because almost all the legacies and recruited kids apply in that window, most of which were met with acceptances, off-setting the real balance. The only benefit you’ll gain from applying early is learning your results early and whether or not you have a realistic chance (aka. If you’re not rejected right away, then you do). You’re right; it’s not solely because the quality of the pool is higher. And your suspicions are pretty much right. </p>

<p>Harvard usually fills 10% of its incoming class with international students. However, Harvard international applicants almost always constitute over 10% of the applicant pool. Drawing an inference, it’s logical to assume that competition is fiercer for an international applicant than for an American applicant.
Lastly, there’s little to gain pondering or discussing Harvard admissions policies. Harvard admissions work in its mysterious ways and outsiders can only deduce from released statistics at best. There’s nothing you can do change their policies, so you shouldn’t fret about anything beyond the realms of your application. </p>

<p>In the end, if they want you, you’ll be in and if not, there’s nothing you can do. It’s never between you and someone else; it’s only about whether or not you’re good enough.</p>

10

<p>Thank you very much, Harvard16 and Gibby! Well, I think I’m going to apply regular since I don’t really care about whether I will know the result earlier or not. However, I still need to give it some thought.</p>

11

<p>your chances are like everyone else’s: a reach.</p>