<p>Stats :</p>
<p>SAT I : 2400 - [M:800, CR:800, W:800]</p>
<p>SAT II : Math Level 2 : 800, Chemistry : 800</p>
<p>AP : Calculus AB : 5, Environmental Science : 5, Biology : 5, Calculus BC : 5</p>
<p>GPA : 3.86</p>
<p>Rank : not available</p>
<p>Senior : AP Economics, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP Physics C, AP Physics B, AP Music Theory</p>
<p>Extracurricular: I don't want to post my ECs online. They are decent</p>
<p>Without your extracurricular activities, interests/hobbies, and awards/honors, we have a very incomplete picture of your application.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’ll be rejected by the Harvard Admissions Committee (AdComm) based on your standardized test scores. :)</p>
<p>You should know, however, that many applicants with “perfect” SAT scores are rejected by the AdComm year in and year out.</p>
<p>You should apply. You never know what might happen. If you have more going for you than just your test scores, you could have a decent shot at securing an acceptance.</p>
<p>Good luck…</p>
<p>Every chance thread poster should read this article before posting: </p>
<p>[Why</a> getting into Harvard is no longer an honor - Class Struggle - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-getting-into-harvard-is-no-longer-an-honor/2012/04/04/gIQAPhBVvS_blog.html?wprss=rss_education]Why”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-getting-into-harvard-is-no-longer-an-honor/2012/04/04/gIQAPhBVvS_blog.html?wprss=rss_education)</p>
<p>It’s a deeply rooted idea in today’s academic culture that more qualifications equate with better chances. After all, who doesn’t perceive the selection process as a judgment panel that deems one applicant, for want of a better word, superior to another? Call it a myth, a misconception, or whatever you like, but this belief is positively unshakable.</p>
<p>Perhaps a different approach is in order. It’s high time the public understands and embraces the notion that college admissions decisions aren’t based on better academic or extracurricular specifications any longer, if ever in the first place. Just as neither perfect SAT scores nor Nobel prizes guarantee a spot in the branches of the Ivies, it’s apparent that what we identify as top colleges seek attributes that are intangible, elusive, and quite plainly put, mysterious.</p>
<p>Take a friend of mine, for example. Despite the 14 Advanced Placement tests (11 top scores) and two consecutive placings in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair under his belt, he found no welcome at any of the eight Ivy League schools, and neither did his co-founded company aid him in clinching even a position on the wait-lists of several of their peers. His great weakness? He’s an Asian applying for financial aid. It’s easy to argue that one case alone does not justify a loss in faith in the college admissions process, but open the question up for discussion and there’s no doubt the resounding response will taste of misgivings flavored with skepticism. Taking a glance at the qualifications of despondent rejects is enough to convince anyone that surely not all who were accepted into eminent institutes performed better either in terms of academics or extracurriculars, or, for that matter, had more passion.</p>
<p>So, instead of rationalizing that the admissions decision is an objective verdict that evaluates one’s educational caliber and is not an assessment of character, and hence should not be taken personally, it would be more accurate to recognize that the admissions decision does no such thing. They’re not looking for the finest scholars or greatest leaders, and being the best won’t get you into the “best” universities. What they’re looking for is, well, whatever they’re looking for, and with over 4,000 colleges in the U.S. alone, it’s good to remember that we have almost as much bargaining power as they do.</p>
<p>
@gibby: Based on my experience, the experiences of people I’ve known, and the official “word” from Harvard, the admissions process is need-blind.</p>
<p>The degree to which ethnicity plays in admissions decisions is debatable. Many of my Harvard classmates happened to be Asian. All were outstanding students (took a ton of AP tests, had high GPAs, received prestigious honors/awards), but each had interests outside of class as well.</p>
<p>I have to say that, since college, I have yet to encounter such a concentration of smart, hard-working, and interesting human beings.</p>
<p>(1) One anecdote does not discrimination prove.
(2) I do not believe they are straight-out lying when they say they are need-blind; if they are capable of that level of deception, someone should probably sue the school. I don’t believe that that’s called for.
(3) “Objective” is a straw man. Who would say “ah, these are objectively the best”? That’s hard.
(4) I do think they do a pretty good job of selecting the best applications. Not people, not resumes, applications. Sometimes a very impressive person can come off poorly (or just flat) through essays or recommendations. Sometimes a surprising person can come off better than expected on the application. I don’t see other people’s applications, but, seeing the quality of my classmates, I trust that Harvard usually (although obviously not always) gets it right.</p>
<p>@Bartleby007 and @exultationsy</p>
<p>All of your comments are valid and true – but you are missing the point of this article as it relates to chances threads. Maybe I should have edited the article down to what I consider its relevant parts:</p>
<p>"College admissions decisions aren’t based on better academic or extracurricular specifications any longer, if ever in the first place. Just as neither perfect SAT scores nor Nobel prizes guarantee a spot in the branches of the Ivies, it’s apparent that what we identify as top colleges seek attributes that are intangible, elusive, and quite plainly put, mysterious.</p>
<p>Taking a glance at the qualifications of despondent rejects is enough to convince anyone that surely not all who were accepted into eminent institutes performed better either in terms of academics or extracurriculars, or, for that matter, had more passion.</p>
<p>They’re not looking for the finest scholars or greatest leaders, and being the best won’t get you into the “best” universities. What they’re looking for is, well, whatever they’re looking for."</p>
<p>Also, if you click on the actual article, I did not copy and paste this section, but in retrospect, I should have: </p>
<p>"You may have seen that Harvard just set a record for low undergraduate admission rate. Only 5.9 percent of applicants for the class of 2016 were accepted. I was going to do one of my many rants on why we should wake up and see that being admitted to the Ivies and certain other schools is no more a sign of depth and brilliance than winning the Mega Millions lottery. I was going to point out that Harvard could admit a full class of its rejects that would be just as good as the students it accepted. But I already wrote a book about that, “Harvard Schmarvard.”</p>
<p>Given the OP’s perfect everything, no one but an admissions director can predict with any certainty what their chances will be, as so much of the college admissions process these days depends on intangible, elusive feelings an admissions sirector gets when reading an application. My point with all chance threads, especially this one, is that it’s an absolute waste of time to post one.</p>
<p>"My point with all chance threads, especially this one, is that it’s an absolute waste of time to post one. " </p>
<p>This reminds me of the following thread:</p>
<p>**<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-admission-harvard.html?highlight=insecure[/url][/B]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-admission-harvard.html?highlight=insecure**</a></p>
<p>^ Thank you so much for that link it was the best read on CC so far XD</p>
<p>I was thinking of bumping it but then it would be more effective during the application season so… I’ll see. :P</p>
<p>; ) bookmark it and haul it out later!</p>