Hey so both of my parents went to Harvard for bachelors and graduate. My father is still a part time professor at Harvard and I’m a slightly above average student that has had several jobs and an internship. I’m not the most smart but do you think I’ll get in? I don’t really want to go, I just want to get accepted and win a bet.
So you just want us to help you win a “bet”?
For more info, I got a 28 on the ACTs and am white but LGBTQA and am an officer of the club.
I mean kinda it would be cool to go there, but also yes it’s for 200 dollars.
Sorry, but I mind "stupid " as clickbait.
Since you dont know what H looks for and this is a big joke, no chance. But dont yank our chains. It’s not mature.
I agree with LookingForward, especially when “stupid” refers to an above average test score. But I guess betting on an acceptance to Harvard isn’t the best use of $200 either.
If you are double legacy and a Harvard professor’s child your chance is much better than average, probably over 50%. Any chance to increase your ACT before Jan 1st? I think you have got some trump cards; its worth a shot. Good luck!
^^^IMO it is just plain wrong to tell a person with a 28 ACT that they have a greater than 50% chance of admission to Harvard. Harvard has an acceptance rate of under 5%, the 25th percentile for the ACT is 32 etc. Being a legacy can be a boost but the applicant must be otherwise qualified to attend.
As noted above the OP is far from stupid and should have many fine choices for college.
NO ONE has better than even chances at Harvard.
@jzducol: Unless a student is a star athlete in a Division 1 helmet sport, a 28 ACT is an instant rejection at Harvard. That’s true even when that student is a legacy, or double legacy, or has a parent that teaches at the college, because such a low ACT demonstrates that a particular student would struggle with the reading, writing and math work load on Harvard’s campus – and Admissions does NOT want to admit a student setting them up for failure.
However, as the OP is a double legacy, and has a parent working on campus, Admissions might decide to put the student on the waitlist – and let them sit there – as to not offend the student’s parents. But there is now way a double legacy 28 ACT, with a parent working on campus is a 50% slam dunk – that’s just horrible advice to give a prospective applicant when their test score is so FAR below Harvard’s 25th percentile score!
@gibby I look at it this way: The faculty and staff kids have an average 47% acceptance rate and legacy–let alone double legacy—have an acceptance rate about 34%. Since the application numbers from these small segments remain roughly the same over the years I imagine the rates stay the same. If you think OP’s hooks are independent his/her profile would have an average acceptance rate of 100%-(53%x66%)=65%. Even if his chance is much lower than that it is still far above zero. And we know Harvard doesn’t have an ACT cutoff score and admission is holistic, relying on many dimensions. None of us has seen his whole package to judge its strength.
In OP’s case he doesn’t care about going to Harvard at all—which I assume he has plenty of matches and safeties—and his Harvard professor parents can easily afford $80 app fee. I just don’t see any harm to him–is he going to be psychologically or financially devastated if he is rejected from Harvard? Probably not, then what’s so “horrible advice” about applying.
I doubt a “part time” Harvard faculty position – which probably means adjuncts, mostly in the professional schools – confers anything like a 47% admission chance on their children . . . Unless the 47% is the average acceptance rate of children of tenured faculty and senior administrators (which in my anecdotal experience is a lot higher than 47%) and of children of adjuncts and run-of-the-mill staff (both of which are probably higher than average, but not that much).
MODERATOR’S NOTE
For a couple of reasons, let’s move on from debating the admissions chances of a general faculty kid and focus on this applicant, since:
• The plural of anecdote is not data
• The denominator in the faculty kid equation is too small to be statistically meaningful
Recruited athletes with very good grades and test scores have near certain odds of acceptance.
I am sure there are other ways you can make $200 If you don’t want to go, don’t apply. Somebody else, who really wants to go to Harvard, will be offered the spot you may potentially be offered, and that person will probably really want it!