Chance Me- Harvard SCEA 2024

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hi everyone! I’m applying to Harvard SCEA for the class of 2024 and Harvard has been my dream school for as long as I can remember. I would appreciate it if any of you could look at the info I listed below and rate my chances of getting (of course I’m aware that this is not reliable but why this won’t hurt). I will omit specific names of programs and locations for things like competitions just for privacy. Any and all feedback/suggestions is also very appreciated. Thanks!
GPA: 94/100 (unweighted, I don’t know what it is weighted)
ACT: taking it in Sept but I’ve been scoring between 32-33 on my practice tests
SAT Subject Tests: Taking US History and Bio in October
Gender: female
I’m applying as a Biomedical Engineering Major
Ethnicity: Middle Eastern
I have taken all AP classes my school has to offer thus far: AP Euro, AP Lang, and APUSH. My senior year courses will consist of AP Macro, AP Lit, and an intro Computer Science class (my school doesn’t have AP).
EXTRACURRICULARS:
Founder of a Biotech company and I have a patent pending
Student Govt Representative
Eco Club Founder and President
STEM Club Founder and President
Arab Culture Club President
I am a representative at a citywide budgeting committee for schools
I’m a Youth Councillor at a global institute organization that works to promote dialogue as a tool for addressing global challenges
I was on the advisory council of a history education institute for 3 years
AWARDS/HONORS:
(name of city) Science and Engineering Fair 1st place winner
Conrad Challenge Innovator
Engineering competition at an ivy league school through a summer program 1st place winner
(Citywide teacher’s union) Science Scholar
I will be a judge at the ivy league school summer program competition that I mentioned above and won last year.
SUMMER ACTIVITIES:
*wherever it says “ivy league school”, I’m talking about the same school.
Global Institute Youth Councillor internship -2017
Biomedical Engineering program at (ivy league school) -2018
Continued prototyping on my device at (ivy league school)-2019
Internship at (ivy league school) and I’m working on finding bio-markers that indicate antibiotic resistance from bacteria as well as indicators of chemotherapy resistance in various cancers (I’ve honestly been primarily looking into ovarian cancer).

RECOMMENDATION LETTERS

  1. My Advanced Bio teacher whom I adore and she has repeatedly said that I’m the greatest student she’s had in her years of teaching.
  2. My mentor at (ivy league school) who has worked with me since day one of developing my device and the biomedical engineering summer program I did.
  3. My principal who has also said the same thing about me as my bio teacher did and he knows me not only through my STEM interests but he also knows about my interest in all sorts of music
  4. My professor from (ivy league school) who has also worked with me for a while and he was the person to appoint me as a judge this year for the competition
  5. My guidance counselor who has repeatedly said that from the moment she met me she knew I had something.
    BTW all of the individuals above are adults whom I formed very close relationships with because they helped me in many ways during my years in high school and I adore and appreciate each and every one of them. That’s honestly the reason why I trusted the fact that asking them would be a good decision. I’m not sending all of these to Harvard, maybe only 2-3.
    *I did have a drop in my gpa sophomore year (it was a 90 at the end of the year which isn’t like me) because that year in particular was just absolutely terrible for me emotionally. My mother went through a near ovarian cancer diagnosis (the reason why I’m researching ovarian cancer 2 yrs later) and I lost my baby cousin to a hit and run only 3 days before school started. These events happened one after the other and I didn’t know how to deal with the grief. This is something I will be mentioning on my Common App as well as have my guidance counselor write in for me as I often spoke to her about it. However, junior year, my end of the year gpa was a 97.72.
    Sorry about the long post! I wanted to give as much info as possible. Thanks!!
2

I’m Sorry for those unfortunate events. Good luck.
Let me ask you, why Harvard?

3

Without test scores it’s pointless to chance, especially at a school where no one has good odds. Be sure you have match and safety schools on your list.
Be aware that many schools want two LORs from teachers of academic subjects. Also, don’t send more LORs than requested.

4

I have two reasons that have led me to deciding to apply to Harvard:

  1. Although I am very STEM focused, I also have a strong appreciation for the humanities and that’s anything from history, literature, to even opera and I feel that going to a school that would allow me to pursue and explore both parts of myself is very important. I believe that STEM disciplines are actually much more deeply related to the humanities than people think. For someone like me, Harvard offers the best of both worlds. As a BME major, being in close proximity to Harvard Medical School for any future projects is also a great advantage. Not to mention that Boston has a few of the greatest hospitals in the country: Massachusetts General Hospital (which has an affiliation with Harvard Med.) and Brigham and Women’s (2nd largest teaching hospital of Harvard Med.)
  2. The second reason why I’m applying to Harvard is two individuals that I met at two separate times in high school. One being the summer before I started high school (she was starting her freshman year at Harvard that fall) and I must say that all the suggestions she gave me about approaching high school have always been with me and 13 y/o me was very inspired by her. The second person I met while working on the city-wide school budgeting projects I mentioned above and we worked together on our project and working with her was the most pleasant team work experience I had ever had in high school because the both of us were extremely invested in the project and that felt great in the most simple way (she will be starting at Harvard this fall). Whenever I think of two other students who inspire me, they are the individuals that immediately come to mind and they’re both currently Harvard students. They were both able to inspire and challenge me. Being in a community with even more students like that would definitely be an important aspect of what I want out of my college experience.