hello everyone!!! I’m a senior at the only private high school in Madison, WI, wondering if I can get into Harvard. Here’s what you should know about me
SAT Math II 800
SAT Phycis 710
SAT LIT 670
ACT reading 36
ACT science 36
ACT Math 35
ACT English 33
GPA unweighted 3.68
GPA weighted 3.85
I’ve only taken two AP Classes and I’m really dedicated to my girlfriend so I’m only in four classes this semester. I really like school and am the president of the Multicultural Club, as well as organizer of our All-City swim meet and I sponsor the Pink Shirt Day.
My dad is a Harvard graduate, but on my mom’s side of the family I will be the first to graduate high schoool. Go pilgrims!!!
Harvard is a reach for anyone. You did do pretty well on ACTs but your GPA is probably not quite what they’re looking for. I tend to think you’ll be denied, but then, that’s the most likely response for anyone applying to Harvard. There are plenty of other Tier 1 schools that you would have a better shot at, like maybe Brown or JHU.
I disagree that he has to re-evaluate his priorities. With his resumé there are a lot of great schools he can get into, and if his relationship is really important to him, then it makes sense to be dedicated. True, it’s stopping him from getting into Harvard or Yale (most likely), but many other top schools will take him. All I’m saying is that he can still be very successful and he should prioritize according to what is most important to him!
@Amphicoelias I don’t know why you would think that getting into Brown would be any easier for OP than Harvard with legacy. Brown rejects 75% of perfect scorers and a very high percentage of valedictorians. Having a subpar gpa and effectively no ECs will be a problem for all top schools. A good ACT score and Math II score will not offset grades and ECs. I think OP is looking a deferral and rejection at Harvrd but hopefully they prove me wrong. Good luck!
Your chances are increase by the fact you are legacy and from Wisconsin and btw that’s your competition. It doesn’t really matter that you are the first on your mom’s side to graduate - a true first generation is from both sides (you can’t be legacy and first generation). It’s not clear if you are a URM but since you mentioned a multicultural club I’m thinking you might be. If so then you have a really good chance by checking of three boxes (URM, legacy, & Wisconsin) so write some great essays and see what happens (but definitely have some backups)! Good luck!
Being a legacy is a double-edged sword. Yes, it’s somewhat easier for legacies to be admitted, however, to be a successful legacy admit, you need to have better than average stats.
Given that in a recent Harvard freshman survey, 54% of the incoming the class had an unweighted 4.0 GPA, coupled with this statement on Harvard’s Golf team recruitment page: http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/mgolf/faq#Recruiting
Your 3.68 unweighted GPA is going to be your achilles heel. As such, I would think much would depend on your teacher recommendations. Are your teachers going to praise your work ethic? Are they going to proclaim that you are one of the brightest and most hard working student’s in their class? Are they going to say that you are a leader of classroom discussions and are a role model for your peers? How will you be remembered after you have graduated high school? IMHO, all of those comments, or lack thereof, are going to outweigh your legacy status. Best of luck to you!
My guess is that you or many of your classmates have parents who are U Wisc faculty. Congrats on your scores but your lack of superior drive in your curriculum makes you non-viable for the ultra competitive colleges.
Others have the scores and the monster transcript (and I suspect many have the GF or BF too). In comparison, you don’t stack up well at all.
