chances @ harvard

<p>ok...i'm kinda frustrated b/c i just typed a whole long post, and it disappeared, so i'll give the short version of what i wanted to ask. do you think i have a chance @ harvard? my mom, my cousin who goes to harvard, and one of my teachers really wants me too, but i'm thinking i'd just be wasting my time. so quick summary of me:</p>

<p>i have all As through high school, except for a really awful final C grade for precal last year, and a B in chem. my cal teacher this year is incompetent, so i have a C right now (class average is a 77, and i'm wondering whether i can tell about this in "extenuating circumstances" or whatever.") my gpa is a 4.0, though b/c i take the hardest classes possible, i'm even in a special program called governor's school, and i'll have 30 college credits when i graduate. my rank is 7 out of 151. my sat is a 2070 (580 math, 740 reading, 750 writing), but i'm waiting for scores from my second testing, and i hope at least the math will have gone up a little. my teacher recs will be really good, i already know what one will write. i'm a good writer, and my essays are good (at least the people i've asked have said so. i've tried to make them original). i have a fair # of extracurriculars: school soccer, quizbowl, honor society, a year of band w/ awards, summer camp counselor, religious group, helping to care for my grandma w/ parkinson's last summer, national merit commendation, lots of fund drives/charity stuff. i'm not an activites maniac, but i think i've done ok. i'm also from a rural area where i don't think anyone really goes to harvard, and i hear that the interview can be valuable if u make a good impression.</p>

<p>basically, my greatest worry is my grades. can anyone get into harvard with a C on their record? i 'd just like to know what other applicants, or people who've gotten in, think. thanks!</p>

<p>yeah people can, but that sat might bite you. still, id apply remember you miss every shot you dont take!</p>

<p>...tis possible, but first off, you've posted in the wrong forum...try the what are my chances forum; second, i don't really see any cool/impressive awards, or just something above and beyond; third, stats are average...but to answer your question, people with Cs can get in and do get in; I'm not gonna predict an acceptance/rejection/waitlist, but you should be able to see what I'm feeling about your chances...although location can play an advantage, I dont think it can play a huge one that leads to a reject/admit letter. Just curious, but where are you from?</p>

<p>Harvard is a reach. It is just a fact that it is a reach for everyone who applieds. Keep in mind that 91% of the qualified candidates will ultimately be rejected.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=116204&page=1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=116204&page=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>oh you're right...sorry, i was in the chances forum and then my post got deleted and i reposted wrong. i'll move to the chances...</p>

<p>Actually, your biggest worry is not the C on the transcript, but the fact that the VERY low score on the math section on SAT and grade in Precalc and in Calc this year all match. Unless you raise the math subscore to >700 this time (unlikely I suspect with your math grade) or you are a URM with a big hook, your SAT is not competitive. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply, because the ONLY way you can guarantee you won't get in is not to apply. Just make sure you have a safety that you love.</p>

<p>yeah i know...basically i suck @ math and it has ruined my life...you are right about safeties. i am also applying to JMU and salve regina, b/c i have been thinking about the very really possibility that i won't get into my top choices.</p>

<p>Harvard? I hate how some people just don't get it. You would be a good candidate for a school like Emory, or U-Mich. Don't kid yourself, you suck at math. And its not the teacher's fault - take responsibility for your own shortcoming. It would be one thing if you got a 750 SAT math and a C in precalc, but you got a 580. You barely beat out the kids who will be applying to places like Charlestown and Alabama. The fact that the avg in your calc class is 77 is no excuse for having a C. If you were really Harvard material you would be able to teach yourself 1st quarter calculus, since derivitives and differentiation are a joke. Your mom is lying to you</p>

<p>whoa hold on...did i not just admit in my last post that i do suck at math? i was asking for legit advice. if you don't have it, don't waste my time. </p>

<p>p.s. have you been accepted to harvard, studathlete? just curious.</p>

<p>
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If you were really Harvard material you would be able to teach yourself 1st quarter calculus, since derivitives and differentiation are a joke.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Not the nicest way to say it, but absolutely true.</p>

<p>It sounds like your reason for applying to Harvard is because other people want you to. Do you actually want to go there?</p>

<p>yes i do...i just never thought that i had a chance, but my teachers and my cousin who goes there have kind of brought it up...i'm just exploring my options, thinking about it.</p>

<p>With those types of programs and all of those advanced classes offered in your school, I dout you come from a rural area, and I dout you're from an REALLY under-represented state (i.e. the dakotas, wyoming, etc) --- So I don't think location is an amazing excuse... If you have enough money, which I assume you do, I'd get a math tutor. But in all reality, if you're a typical NE upper-middle class student with high scores, high G.P.A., decent but not outstanding ecs and no real "hook" or something that makes you stand out from the rest of the pool, you don't have too hot of a chance. Sorry for the critical but honest input.</p>

<p>Eruanneth, have several safeties that you love. There are plenty of people who apply to Harvard who have everything you do in addition to math skills.</p>

<p>eruanneth: you are wasting everybody else's time with this post. People who post like you are looking for compliments, but in reality are subject to criticism.</p>

<p>By the way, no I have not applied to Harvard but I am a recruited athlete going to PRINCETON. Bet you didn't see that one coming.</p>

<p>good for you...too bad maturity and respect for others is not a college apps requirement. everybody else, thanks for your critiques, etc.--appreciate it.</p>

<p>Yeah I wouldn't waste the money applying unless you are black or mexican.</p>

<p>That SAT score kills your app. Sorry, but unless you're black and cured Avian flu while leading your highschool football team to the Superbowl as QB and legacy, a 2070 just isn't going anywhere.</p>

<p>Just try; chances arent great, but what the hell.</p>

<p>I agree with Yargg, because you may spend the next four years asking "what if?"</p>