Chance Me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Demographic:
Asian Male, Top 50 Public High School, Projected IB Diploma</p>

<p>SAT: 800/800/800 12 Essay (first time)
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 800 Chinese
AP: 10 5's (Calc BC, Stats, CompSci, Mechanics, E&M, Physics B, US History, Chemistry, Psychology, Macroeconomics)
Class Rank: Top 1% (class size ~600), 4.0 Weighted GPA</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Math: Siemens National Finalist (1x), MOP Invitee (1x), Siemens Regional Finalist (1x), USAMO Qualifier (5x), Published in ISPAN as co-author (international mathematics/algorithms journal), AMC12 Regional Winner (1x), USAMTS Gold Medalist (1x), Founder/President of Math Circle
Orchestra: All-State Orchestra (4x), All-Region Section Leader (2x), President, School Section Leader, State Solo/Ensemble Gold Rank
IB Student Organization: Vice President, Event Organizer
Member of NHS, NFHS, Mu Alpha Theta</p>

<p>Volunteering Experience: Math Camp Junior Counselor (2x), 160 Hours Service at CAMP (Counselor for a camper with physical/mental disabilities, program aims to create positive experience)</p>

<p>Work Experience: Math Camp Counselor (1x, 6 weeks), Math Teacher (Competitive math class for middle school students, 1x, 2 weeks), Chamber Music (for hire, since 2010)</p>

<p>Essay: Probably above average, fairly standard (talked about my experiences in math contests and research) but it was well-written</p>

<p>Interview: Went really well, the interviewer told me that she thought I'd be a great fit for Harvard</p>

<p>Teacher Recs: One is really stellar, the other one is probably good but not amazing.</p>

2

<p>Rejected. Stopped reading at Asian Male.</p>

3

<p>Not sure if srs or just smart.</p>

4

<p>You will probably get in. You seem to be the rare raw-intelligence, borderline-genius type for whom academics is enough.</p>

5

<p>You’re in.</p>

6

<p>The 5 time USAMO qualification and the MOP invitee are probably great advantages to have. Plus the Siemens National Finalist. If you’re serious about the SAT marks and the AP marks, then you’re very hardworking.
Drawback: Asian male</p>

7

<p>Damn son. You pretty much mirror my grades/standardized testing stats (cept I took Math II, Chemistry, World History for my subjects)</p>

<p>Those awards and extracurriculars are pretty impressive as well.
The only thing I might see a possible issue is perhaps not enough diversification- you have a TON of math stuff, and music…</p>

<p>Honestly, in my opinion, these “chance me” threads are just sort of an outlet for nerves. I can’t really tell you what goes on inside the mind of an admissions officer. They could generalize and lump you in with the “Asian-math-science-2400-studying” stereotype- which isn’t aided by the fact that you chose to concentrate so heavily in that one field, but at the same time, it’s good that you’re obviously passionate in something though, and you have quite a few outstanding achievements that would distinguish you from the other applicants who might possibly fall into that mold…</p>

<p>I wanna say that you’ll be able to get in for sure, but this whole affirmative action-diversity nonsense leaves me pessimistic when making judgments like this. If you have outstanding essays though- and honestly, anything that demonstrates strong writing abilities and offers an original perspective, would give you an application that’s stronger than 99% of the other applicants.</p>

<p>Still. It’s all up to the draw of the hat.</p>