chance me: harvard

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

so my dream school is harvard but based on my counselor recommendations and visits so far i also really like columbia, stanford, brown, georgetown and berkeley so yeah, please be nice but honest in your responses, hope everyones faring well w covid!
year: sophomore (junior in fall of '20)
gpa: 3.96
aps taken by graduation: 11
honors courses taken by graduation: 6
average sat practice score: 1520 (have yet to take the test so obviously take this one w a grain of salt lol)
class rank: 4/278

(demographic/background info: white female, private college prep school, minnesota)

extracurriculars: (organizations will not be listed by name for privacy reasons)

  1. founder/exec director, my organization (helps kids become involved w activism through education and mentorships- so far we’ve raised $3,000 in grants and have helped around 400 kids, but that’ll rise in the next few years- org is about a year old)
  2. intnt’l chapter relations team/midwest regional developer, climate justice organization
  3. us outreach team member, menstrual equity organization
  4. founding member, nat’l steering committee, civic engagement organization
  5. state qualifier, speech (mn is one of the most competitive states for speech; looking to go to nat’l qualifiers next year- didn’t get to compete at state this year due to miss rona so rip- i’ll likely be a captain senior year)
  6. state events organizing co-director, gun control organization
  7. junior state of america (attended summer classes etc. in dc)
  8. state outreach team/school lead/area board, another climate justice organization
  9. captain, model un (have a few awards in this, nothing insane)
  10. senate page, state level (for those unaware this is just a competitive government internship where you run around the senate floor and get yelled at by angry lawmakers. it’s pretty fun, would 10/10 recommend if you’re interested in that kinda stuff)
    anyway yeah i can really only list 10 when i apply ig but im also in a handful of national honor societies so i might get leadership in those, captain of the debate team, i’m class secretary for student council, in my school’s volunteer group, have had decent roles in school plays, i work at city hall on the environment and sustainability commission, and i’ll go to girls state next summer. for harvard specifically i plan to apply early, and my mom attended grad school there (which doesn’t count for as much as undergrad obviously but she also did gov) so yeah. moving onto awards/honors-
    -ap scholar
    -my psat this year would’ve qualified me for nat’l merit if i was a junior so… that probably
    -ap gov student of the year
    -presidential volunteer service award (every year)
    -city youth community impact award
    hopefully we’ll get that award bread more next year and senior year, but that’s where we’re at for now. anyway thanks, don’t be too harsh in the replies but don’t sugar coat it and yeah. hope you’re doing well in quarantine, and have a nice day my guys :slight_smile:
2

You look to be a competitive applicant with academics (assuming you do well on the standardized tests) and ECs that should get you a serious look at any college. The rest will depend on things we can’t see such as your essays, LORs, what a school is looking for etc.

Any elite college (with acceptance rates often in the single digits) must be considered a reach for any unhooked applicant. IMO every school you listed is a reach based on the low acceptance rates. It is easy to find reach schools you love. By all means apply to these schools and give it your all.

But now is the time to search out a group of match and safety schools that appear affordable (run net price calculators) and that you would be excited to attend. There are tons of amazing colleges and universities out there. I suggest you get your hands on a good college guide book (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) and start looking for match and safety colleges that appear affordable (run net price calculators) and that you would be excited to attend.

3

All you can do is apply and see what happens. With single-digit acceptance rates, these schools are going to turn down almost all highly-qualified applicants. It’s more a lottery than a competition. Just focus your attention on a list of target and safety schools.

4

I would simply echo everything other posters have already said. I’m linking an article whuch you might find helpful in developing a backup plan, “Schools Similar to Harvard”. I would add Rice University to the schools mentioned in the article. Best of luck.

https://caroline-koppelman-jgdk.squarespace,com/blog/2018/3/7/schools-similar-to-harvard?rq=Harvard

5

I would say focus on the things that really matter to you. You have a very long list of honors and accomplishments, some of which matter and some of which don’t. Things you do outside of school may be more interesting than organized activities inside of school. Understand that it is not really about individuals but about assembling an interesting mix of a class.

Apply but also have other schools to love. Congratulations on all the things you do.

6

Hey I saw you go to a minnesota boarding school. I graduated from SSM. By any chance, do you go there. If so, I could give you some advice as I’m most likely going to Yale next year.