CHANCE ME! Please :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hi! :) I'm currently an incoming Senior (Class of 2010) and one of this school's many prospective applicants. Getting into Harvard really would be a dream come true =).</p>

<p>I'll say on the outset that I am incredibly lucky to have a background like mine in a third world nation, which has given me amazing extra-curricular opportunities (I hope this explains some of the stuff below). On top of that, I go to the leading international school in the country. We send around one kid to Harvard every year and around ten to other top schools (ivies, stanford, MIT, etc.) I welcome any comments/suggestions. Any criticism (particularly the constructive type :)) is much appreciated!</p>

<p>GPA -
Freshman - 3.55
Sophomore - 3.8
Junior - 3.9
Senior - 3.95 (not there yet, but i'm hopeful about it)
We don't do rankings but deciles in my school. I think I'd be in the 1st decile.</p>

<p>SAT I (predicted scores) -
Reading - 740
Math - 720
Writing - 780
740+720+780 = 2240</p>

<p>SAT II (predicted scores) -
World History - 800
US History - 800
Literature - 720</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars (subjective) -</p>

<p>In school:
- Student Council President
- Co-Secretary General of Model United Nations. Numerous awards as a delegate at international conferences; applying for chairing positions there in the coming year
- Two gold medals in an international speech and debate competition between international schools: one for Debate, one for Extemporaneous Speaking
- Captain of Quiz Bowl team (gold medals in all local competitions we've been involved in)</p>

<p>Out of school:
- Weekly columnist for national newspaper (write about politics, current events)
- Youth leader in a nationwide urban tree planting campaign (organize tree planting events with local schools and speak on similar issues)
- Very closely involved in the national campaign of a presidential candidate (he is a close family relative)
- Speak English and another local language fluently. Learning French in school, self-studying Mandarin outside of school</p>

<p>Summer:
Incoming Sophomore Summer: Spent a month in China learning Mandarin
Incoming Junior Summer: Spent a month as a member of my country's delegation to the United Nations in New York (even though it was an internship, I was officially accredited as a delegate).
Incoming Senior Summer: currently involved in the previously mentioned presidential campaign</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendations -
Should be good.</p>

<p>Essay -
Should be great. I love writing, and with the privilege of having all these experiences, I definitely have lots to write about :)</p>

<ul>
<li>Will my Freshman/Sophomore GPA hurt me a lot?</li>
<li>Are my ECs cohesive enough? I hope it's apparent that I'm really interested in politics and current events. I plan to major in Political Science, History or Philosophy.</li>
<li>I'm an international male and one of my parents is a national political figure. Does that help? How do I make the most of my background? Writing my essay, should I focus on the more uncommon ECs I have instead of the more typical ones like Class President and MUN SecGen to help me stand out?</li>
<li>What other weaknesses are apparent in my app?</li>
</ul>

<p>So, what are my chances? :P</p>

2

<p>Approximately 8%. Actually, maybe a little bit higher than that, since that’s the overall and 10-15% of the applicant pool is deemed “unqualified.” Your stats would place you into the “qualified” pool, which means your chances are probably 10% or 12% instead. </p>

<p>Sorry…I realize I’m being facetious about something that really matters to someone about to dive headfirst into the college admissions process; however, there is honestly NO way to chance a person for Harvard…Princeton…Duke…Davidson…Emory…MIT…Williams…and so on. Like, seriously. Roll a pair of dice. Every time you get snake eyes, consider it an acceptance from a highly selective university. The rest of the time, since you’re a good applicant, realize that chance is the only reason you didn’t get in, shrug, and move onto the next school.</p>

<p>Do your best and hope for the best! That’s my motto.</p>

3

<p>^Seconded. You are certainly qualified but remember, Harvard rejects a lot of qualified applicants.</p>

<p>The places to shine are your recommendations and essays. As you mentioned, you probably have a lot to write about. Make sure you write personal, thoughtful, revealing essays. Don’t fall into the trap of pompously (at least in my opinion) calling your own experiences “unique” and merely describing them…pour your heart and soul into showing Harvard why these experiences are important and how they helped shape you as a person.</p>

4

<p>A 10% chance doesn’t sound bad to me :smiley: I’m not really sure that my stats are qualified for Harvard. My Freshman GPA of 3.55, and even my Sophomore and Junior year GPAs aren’t spectacular. Doesn’t that blow me out of contention from the start or at least greatly hinder my chances? I know it’s hard to quantify, but how much do you think this will hurt my app? :/</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses so far guys!</p>

5

<p>Regarding your stats…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Sure, 3.55 is a little low. But the increase to 3.8 and the next year’s 3.9 can make up for it. Sometimes people have bad (or in your case, still good but less than your expectations) freshman years…what everyone advises to do is “improve next year” and you obviously did that.</p>

6

<p>I think quite a good shot but remember - Its all luck !!! My SAT 1 scores were below par for Harvard and I still got wait listed - I think because of my essays- these are what will make you “dazzle” to the ad comm - work on these above anything</p>

7

<p>I’ve always felt good about my activities, but with the grades I had earlier on in high school, I never really thought I’d have a shot at Harvard (tons of other kids in my year have better GPAs than me). Thanks guys, this is really encouraging.</p>