I’m heading into my senior year of high school and I’ve begun the application process. I’m applying to very selective schools for the most part, and I’m fairly certain that I have a very good shot of getting into most of them. Considering that this forum consists largely of people who are very invested in their academics, I’d like to know how likely you all think I am to get into Harvard.
I have a 2400 superscored SAT (2370 single sitting with 800s in reading and math), a 4.0 GPA, am currently the valedictorian of my class, have scores of 800, 790, and 780 on the SAT Math Level 2, Physics, and History subject tests respectively, and have five 5s on AP tests. I’ve got plenty extracurricular activities as well. Furthermore, I have legacy at Harvard.
I think that those statistics give me a very good chance of getting into the top schools that I’m applying to, specifically Harvard. However, I understand that there’s just no formula for admission to elite universities; people of all sorts get accepted and rejected, and many times it seems as though it should have gone the other way. My question, though, can actually be answered. Does anyone know the acceptance rate for 2400, valedictorian, 4.0, legacy candidates at Harvard? I have found online that 2400 applicants have an acceptance rate of a little under 50%, and that legacy applicants have one of about 30%. But I have not been able to find more specific details catered more to my exact circumstance. I’m not asking for others to do my hunting for me, but I’m just curious as to whether any of you know this information.
Well I know Brown rejects more than 80% of perfect test score and GPA candidates. I’m guess Harvard wouldn’t be too far from that. Don’t get too overconfident with Harvard. No one is a shoe in. You’re in a good spot though.
The legacy will be some help. But once you are in the high gpa and test score area it will come down to your letters of recommendation and your ECs and personal statement. In your post you make no compelling points for admission excepting the legacy tip.
fyi there are college specific forums you can ask your question in but ‘chances’ isn’t welcome in specific college forums. Asking for data is fine. But unless the college releases it, or unless the Crimson polls it that data is not available.
The acceptance rate for perfect scorers is about 25% not 50%. However, you certainly will get a boost from being a legacy.
There is no way to know the answer to your question. I’m not sure Harvard itself keeps stats that specific. What kind of ECs are you talking about? Are they mostly school related or do they go beyond that?
@QuiteAverage90@BrownParent@Falcon1 I’ll have to admit, my ECs are not the strongest portion of my application. However, that doesn’t mean they’re anything near bad. A lot of them involve areas in which I’ve put in years of work, so I’ve a fewer number, but much more that I’ve gotten out of each one, and I’ve heard that ivies prefer this to just dabbling in extra curricular activities so that you can put them on your resume. My ECs are:
-In the competitive audition school jazz band for going on four years, going to have held the position of first chair tenor sax for two years
-Vice president of my school band
-Weekly saxophone lessons outside of school for the past three years
-Participation in a state jazz band that was very competitive to get in to
-Weekly violin lessons since I was three years old (fourteen years)
-President of my youth group, planning a two-day convention for members in the midwest this year, held positions on the regional level for past two years and have been involved since seventh grade
-Earned 15 credits for the University of Minnesota through college in the schools Hebrew
-Volunteer as a teacher assistant every Saturday for my synagogue
-National Honors Society
-Chosen from a competitive pool of applicants to be an unpaid junior counselor for eight weeks at a summer camp, responsible for luggage logistics and building friendships with the campers
-During 10th grade, participated in a social justice program on a committee aimed at alleviating poverty, and planned and led a workshop at a youth summit on new bullying legislation
-Went to France and spoke exclusively in French for ten days
-Went to Poland and saw historical Holocaust sites and then went to Israel during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict and experienced it firsthand
There are other small things, but that’s the gist of it. Let me know if you guys think that’s sufficient… As you can see, I pour my time heavily into specific areas instead of spreading out more.
I have seen 28% at Stanford (four years ago), 23% for Brown this past year ACT, 28% for Princeton 4 years ago. These are all numbers that were either in their recruiters manuals or published online. I’m assuming that 25% is a good number in today’s environment of rising tests scores and schools becoming more inured to them.
Your EC’s are fairly ordinary in that even where you delved deep you have no state or national recognition. If not for legacy status, I would put your chances in the 75% that eventually get denied. I have no idea what the pull from being a legacy will be. This is all just my opinion - others may feel differently. Good luck with everything!
@telheo, a 4.0 GPA/valedictorian status and 2400 super-scored AP don’t guarantee much of anything. Nor do 5 on 5 APs, or your SAT II’s. Consider this applicant from last year:
That poster was an Asian male STEM applicant from California, a terrible demographic group. Unlike you, he had no hook. But he was at least as qualified as you are in terms of academic and extra-curricular accomplishments, probably more so.
I agree that elite schools prefer depth and accomplishment in a few ECs to superficial participation in many. However, I fail to quite see how you have achieved that:
Music seems to be your main EC. Mostly jazz band related activities for the past 4 years. You mention 14 years of violin, but other than lessons it doesn't seem to be a major factor for you. Is that correct? Your music is a solid EC, but not more than that. There are applicants who are conservatory level musicians. There are people with superior musical backgrounds who leave them off their list of ECs altogether, because they don't want to send a confusing message.
You seem to be involved with your youth group and synagogue, but not to an unusual extent.
Beyond that, I see a hodgepodge of superficial or limited activities: a summer camp counselor here, a 10th grade social justice program there, a couple of trips to Europe (nice if your parents can afford it), and the ubiquitous NHS. I fail to see how this qualifies as "I pour my time heavily into specific areas". You certainly don't need to spread out more, but I don't see much depth or level of achievement, and I don't see a coherent set of interests.
You need to work hard to paint a picture of yourself as someone who brings different something to elite schools and who has a coherent focus and direction that will allow him to make good use of the incredible resources available at such schools. What do you want to study? What is your long term focus? What matters to you? What makes you stand out as a person? Right now I don’t get much sense of these things.
I would agree with @Falcon1’s assessment. I don’t mean to demean your accomplishments. I am sure you are bright and have worked hard, and your legacy card may well get you in; but otherwise I would tend to say that you are one of the many bright and talented young people who would probably get buried in the avalanche of similar applicants. If you do get in, count your blessings, be humble about it, and make the most of your opportunity. If not, remember that the world doesn’t hinge on acceptance to Harvard.
You have a chance. That is the best anyone can tell you. Your test scores and GPA assure that your application will get a fair, thorough review. I’d say that your chances are above the aggregate odds of 5%, but I still wouldn’t put them at much more than 50%.
Just be careful of thinking you have a “very good chance”. Your grades, scores, and especially legacy status check boxes, but there’s so much else that goes into the admissions process and so many more applicants than spots that no one has a “very good chance”, especially not someone with fairly minor ECs. Good luck!