Chance me for Haverford Early Decision?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

Male, white. Maybe won’t report that. I’m from Oklahoma. My father is Jewish, my mother is Catholic and I’m Unitarian.

SAT 1440 (700 RW 740 M), taking again in August.

Subject test predictions - Physics ~650-700, Math II ~700-750, US history reallllllly bad, not going to even guess or report.

GPA: 3.92 UW, 4.167 W; top 18% of class (60/328). Full IB Diploma + some APs

Sophomore year: APUSH (4)

Junior year: SL German, SL Religions, HL English, AP Physics 1, Italian I (non-weighted), SL Math Studies, SL World History, TOK.

Senior year: SL German, HL European History+AP Euro self study, HL English, HL Physics, AP Calculus AB (self study BC), AP Stats, WHAP/HL Asian history (depends on scheduling next year), TOK. Also considering self studying physics C but I’ll have to see how the year is going.

Extra-curriculars:

Rowing team, 5 years. Plan on applying for captain this year. (10hrs/week)

Creating physics labs for a project that aims to combine STEM studies with rowing at the middle and high school level. (2hrs/week)

Volunteering at local store that sells furniture to make money to build houses for the homeless. (4-6hrs/week)

Head of the committee (so far unsuccessfully) to bring insightful speakers to come to my high school. (volatile, sometimes I work a lot on this sometimes not at all depending on a variety of factors.)

Leading member of school’s marketing committee, who designs T shirts and posters for various events.

Reading a lot. Currently reading A Brief History of Time. Next up is The Year 1000 and then SPQR, A History of Ancient Rome. (~7hrs a week)

Rec letters: Two humanities teachers (English and History) whom I know pretty well, plus my guidance counselor who has been writing letters for a long time. Have already asked them about writing and they said they would do it :slight_smile:

Essays: Still not entirely sure what I’ll write about. Thinking about maybe about Skyrim and how it taught me to embrace possibilities and the unknown but I’m also iffy about writing about a video game.

Supplementals: still a bit unsure as well. For the first I may talk about having trust of those around me improves my confidence. For the second I may write about being able to be intellectually curious with a very small liberal arts education.

I’m really into physics and math but I also love history and I would like to try studying the classics and maybe even philosophy. Kind of all over the place :confused:

Anyway I’m probably applying ED here and any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

2

If you compare your academic stats with the profiles of the two most recently admitted classes, you’re in the ballpark, Applicants have gotten in with weaker profiles and rejected with stronger profiles. Your extracurricular activities as you’ve described them are average.

All that said, keep in mind that Haverford takes a holistic approach to admissions, meaning that they attempt to get to know each applicant as an individual as thoroughly as possible with a goal to bring in persons whole will be positive contributors to the campus community. The tools the admissions committee uses to accomplish this are the interview, letters of recommendation, and applicant essays (Haverford has mandatory supplemental essays for those who apply via the Common App). These are your opportunity to introduce (and yes, sell) yourself to the admissions committee. Some brilliant students who get into other elite schools are rejected each year because they and Haverford aren’t a good fit. Some things to consider:

  1. If you have the opportunity to visit the campus in person, do so and take a tour through the admissions department. Tour guides can provide a lot of info and you will also get the opportunity to have a question and answer session with a member of the admissions staff (during which they will discuss what they look for in interviews, letters of recommendation, and applicant essays).
  2. While interviews are not required, you owe it to yourself to have one (on campus if possible); why wouldn't you take advantage of the opportunity, especially if you plan on applying ED? Haverford gets more selective each year, so you need to take advantage of every opportunity to sell yourself. If you live within 150 miles of the campus, they pretty much expect you to do an on-campus interview. My son interviewed over the spring break of his junior year when we made a family trip to visit several schools. Staff interviewer was friendly and made my son very much at ease in what was his first interview.
  3. Be sure to schedule an interview prior to the deadline for the admissions path you choose (ED or RD); if you don't do it before the deadline, you can't do it later. While this may seem obvious, there are folks every year who are waitlisted (and hadn't had an interview) and ask the various online forums whether it would be worth their while to get an interview then to help improve their chances of getting accepted from the waitlist.
  4. Be choosy when it comes to asking for letters of recommendation: make sure the persons you choose know you personally and can provide more than a routine, boilerplate letter.
  5. Do not try to blow smoke during the interview or in your essays; the admissions staff will see through it in a minute and it will only hurt your cause. Be yourself and answer honestly rather than giving answers you think they want to hear. Remember that there is an honor code and it is taken very seriously.
  6. Remember, they are looking for folks who will contribute actively and positively to the campus community; how you fit the bill should be an underlying theme of at least the Common App primary essay and possibly the supplemental essays as well. I'm having a hard time conceptualizing how an essay on a video game will sell you to the admissions committee as a future, actively contributing member of the Haverford community.
  7. If you are passionate about something, that might be a good place to start as to begin to think about essay topics. Do not wait until the fall to start getting your essays together; the Common App essays should already be available online.
  8. Have your guidance counselor and/or someone you respect and trust to review your essays prior to submission. Your friends and and anyone related to you should not be included in the mix if at all possible since they might be less objective in their criticism of you work.
  9. The heavy reliance placed on interviews, letters of recommendation, and essays makes it difficult to chance someone based on stats alone. In general, I'll spitball it and say that you should have a GPA of 3.7+, have a weighted GPA noticeably higher than you unweighted GPA, be in the top 10% of your class, take the most challenging courses possible, have SAT 1400+ / ACT 33+, and show some longitudinal commitment to some extracurricular activities...and keeping in mind what I said in the opening paragraph of this post.

Hope this helps. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

3

That is really helpful, thank you. I definitely changed my mind about the essay so video games are out of the picture there. Do you know if it’s likely that Haverford supplementals will stay the same as last year?

4

I don’t know. You should be able to access the current essay questions when you log into your account for whichever of the three application paths (that Haverford accepts) you use to apply: Common App; Questbridge; or Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success.

Now is the time to start working on your apps and essays. Best of luck.