chances of admission?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hey all,im wondering if i have a realistic chance (should i bother applying...) at Harvard. I am a white, and jewish, living on Long Island.</p>

<p>I run a 97.5 gpa weighted...I don't even know what it is unweighted, and I don't think they dont do it out of 4.0 or w/e here. I think i'm top 5 %, though i dont know my exact rank or anything. I have always taken the most advanced course load i could, except last year i didnt take AP english when i could have.</p>

<p>Total AP courses i have taken and am currently taking:
World History - 5
US History - 4
Physics B - 3
Physics C
Literature
Spanish Language
Biology
Calculus BC</p>

<p>SAT Score:2200
Math: 790
Reading: 700
Writing: 710</p>

<p>Sat II's:
Math IIc: 800
Math ic: 750
Chem: 700
Bio: 670
I kind of screwed up on those last two I guess, I don't even know why i took bio to begin with.</p>

<p>My biggest EC strengths would probably be research and I am a volunteer ambulance rider, though I am too young to be a certified EMT, they let me help out anyway. The past 3 summers I have done research projects, and entered in siemens and ISEF (I didn't win anything though), and this year i will be entering in siemens again as well as intel. For the past year i have spent about 4-10 hours a week at a local ambulance corps, I don't really know what the total time accumulated is. I am also a member of their junior drill team, and have placed in a few of the local competitions around LI, though none of them were really busy or anything. </p>

<p>As far as other clubs and awards, I was in Mathletes for the past 3 years, and I'll join up again this year when it starts again. One year i placed in the top 10 for my county in some event, don't know how much importance that has. On the topic of math I also participated in the AIME competition after placing second in my school in the AMC 12. I was in chess club for two years, spanish honors society for 2 (going on 3), national honors society, and science olympiads for 2 years. I also got some awards for classes, like first in the school for anatomy and physiology. I dont think I have received anything on a national level, and I think im pretty weak in the area of clubs</p>

<p>On another note, I also plan on going into medicine, so perhaps there is a better choice or a 7 year med program I could get in to? That about sums things up, do I have a decent shot? thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>My advice is to find a good LAC you love, study bio there, work hard, and get into Harvard Med School. Good luck :)</p>

3

<p>Did you do siemens as a team? Because I think you have to be a senior in order to go solo.</p>

4

<p>Apply, and make a spectacular application. You might get in. It's a crapshoot for everyone, so you never know.</p>

5

<p>what do you mean by "entering the ISEF?" To enter the ISEF, you must win several competitions. If you made it to the ISEF, you have around a 40% chance. Otherwise, you probably have a 20% chance.</p>

6

<p>I don't know 4000 people enter ISEF - only 400-700 individuals actually win anything, and certain prizes (such as the Young Scientist Award) are worth more than others (Kodak Picture Award)</p>

7

<p>Millions of students from over 40 countries enter local and regional science fairs that feed into the ISEF. Around 1400 procede to the ISEF (receive all expense paid trips). Of those, approximately 1/4 win category (grand) awards. Just getting to the ISEF is about 1 in 2000. Winning best in your category is around 1 in 350,000.</p>

8

<p>Does ISEF prefer medical studies?</p>

9

<p>Well, ISEF seems to prefer practical applications in science. When designing a project, you have to be able to answer the question "who cares?" Grand awards are judged by category (medical science is one category, others include physics, chemistry, biochem, etc.), so medical studies are not more likely to win at ISEF. You are actually most likely to win by entering a project in earth science or behavioral science, because there are fewer entries in these categories.</p>

10

<p>sorry for that confusion, i meant i was in my ISEF qualifier, which is LISEF, i didnt actually get anywhere though, so i shouldn't have said entered ISEF I guess. And yes, i entered siemens as a group project. anyways, thanks for the responses.</p>

11

<p>Your odds are pretty low. You come from an over represented state and you will be compared to other NY students from Stuy and BronxSci that did go to Intel and Siemens. From your state, your scores are average or below. How many kids from your high school normally get in to Harvard? How do you compare to them? That's your best indicator.</p>