Chances of Harvard/other great colleges

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! I am a High School Junior, middle class, asian american, and in a huge school in Ohio. I am very interested in applying to reach schools such as Harvard and Stanford. I want to know my chances of getting into each one, and which of the two (harvard vs. stanford) I should pick to EA to, so I can maximize my chance of getting in, if I have one. Here are my stats:

Class Rank: 2/996 (yeah my school’s the biggest in ohio)

GPA: Unweighted: 4.0 Weighted: 4.98

AP Classes: APUSH, AP Statistics, AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Composition (Got a 5 in APUSH and AP Statistics, taking the other exams this year)

Taking Next Year: AP Calc BC, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C Electrics and Magnetism, AP Computer Science, AP Literature

Test Scores: 35 on the ACT; 800 on SAT II Math 2 and am taking Physics this summer

Extracurriculars:
President of Mu Alpha Theta (Regularly place top 5 at state tournament)
President of Mock Trial (District Champions, and international competition placers)
FBLA Team Captain (Reached Nationals)
NHS Chair of Events
Varsity Tennis
Regional Leadership Council
Tedx Youth Leadership Team
Youth Court Volunteer
Over 100 hours of volunteering at retirement home
Founder and codirector of a website that helps kids find and excel at their clubs
Founder and codeveloper of a profitable app that helps people not stand in lines, bought by some small local businesses
Internship at Innovation Lab with school district
Summer Internship at P&G
Notre Dame Leadership Program

Weakness: Asian :frowning:
No major science awards or anything like intel

I really love both of these colleges, and want to apply, but I want to know first, how good of a chance I have of even getting in and second which of these I should apply to early, as in which of these I have a better chance of getting into.

PS. I want to major in economics or computer science and I know that Harvard is good for econ and Stanford is good for Comp Sci, and I know the benefits and weakneses of both, I just want to know which I have a better chance of.

Thanks! I’m so nervous for colleges lol :slight_smile:

2

You’re competitive for both schools and other reaches, so it’s going to come down to writing stellar essays/supplements and demonstrating fit (and even then, there is still a lot of luck involved!). I don’t think applying ED (Stanford) or SCEA (Harvard) will give you a particular or specific edge at either school, not such that anyone can strongly advise you to do one or the other. You really will have to make a decision based on preference and possibly practicality: SCEA Harvard might be more attractive than ED Stanford, for example, seeing as SCEA isn’t binding. You could, feasibly get in via SCEA and still apply RD to other schools, including Stanford, and not make a final decision until April. SCEA also tends to be a good choice for a student who can’t make a financial commitment to an ED school and needs to evaluate packages.

Another way to decide, depending on your personality, might be to decide which set of supplements you may shine more with: Harvard gives you your Common App essay + 1 “optional” supplement that is very open-ended. You can choose from their prompts or submit something of your own design. This can benefit a student who is inspired by one of the prompts (I personally like the books one), or has such a depth of personal story that getting to submit two full personal statements can paint a brighter picture for admissions. I worked with a student for whom that was the case this year–her two personal essays for Harvard were brilliant (they made me cry), and painted such a clear picture of her as a creative, resilient human being. I’m 100% positive her essays were one of the main reasons she got in SCEA. Comparatively, Stanford is all about students replying to multiple, standard supplements that both enable you to give them concrete info about yourself–what matters to you most and why, intellectual vitality, letter to your roommate (the “what makes you interesting” prompt)–AND show them your creativity. There are a million ways to approach each of the three prompts and I’ve seen some really impressive responses from students to them. Stanford also has a set of questions that give them a sense of your reading/media/personal interests that Harvard does not.

Also: have you visited either/both? In terms of location, campus, vibe/feel… I’d describe them as pretty opposite. You may find when you visit that you do have a preference for one over the other, which might guide you in your ED decision.

Take a deep breath! You’re going to go to a great college. Just keep your grades where they are, and start on your supplements this spring or summer–it’s never too early especially given the elite schools tends to have a million additional writing supplements you have to do. It’s time intensive, and the best admissions packages are the result of a lot of brainstorming, drafting, editing, review, more editing, throwing out ideas, trying new ones, etc…

3

Actually, both Stanford and Harvard operate on SCEA

4

Aha, that is me mistaken (on here I’ve only ever seen people say ED, and none of my “kids” applied ED this year so I didn’t do independent research). In that case, OP you have to go with your gut, re: which one to choose. They’re very different schools.

5

going to agree with proudterrier. You’re competitive, which is a feat already, however there will always be a thousand other students with similar credentials. You must write a fantastic essay and have 9/10 LoR’s. I’ll bet you if this is done you stand a probable chance for admission.

6

You should apply to Rice also since I definitely think you could get in.

7

Thank you guys! I am really hoping I have a burst of inspiration by next year so I can write a fantastic essay and hopefully be able to get admission into a college like this. Thanks again for the comments!

8

Oh good golly, NO. Don’t do that. Give them what they ask for. Only add an extra - and not more than one at that- if there is some compelling reason to add it- if it is something that adds substantively to your application and there is no way to incorporate it otherwise.

9

proudterrier, i was reading and I saw your comment about starting supplements and essays this spring; when do the application essays release? I thought they release around July time? Also, does the Common App essay prompt stay the same every year

10

I will disagree with everyone above. I don’t think it comes down to a killer essay and it is too early to start thinking of writing one. I’d not say the same if it were May. But it isn’t. I don’t think it comes down to the essay because there is nothing you could say in an essay that will make or break you. I think CC posters put far more focus on the essay than admissions counselors do. You have top credentials. There is nothing that further explaining will illuminate. The fact that you are in Ohio and not NY gives you a bit of a boost but not the same as if you were 2nd in a class of nearly 1000 in Wyoming. Of course, I don’t think there are that many people in all of Wyoming. Bet you get offers from both schools although Stanford seems a tad bit more likely but that isn’t based on anything tangible.

11

@swagstermaster They don’t release until this summer (Common App “resets” in August, I believe), but Harvard, Stanford, etc. almost never change their prompts. (Yale I’ve heard sometimes changes their short-takes, however) The Stanford ones have been the same for years (if you Google, at least going back as far at 2009…). So you can Google this year’s Stanford and Harvard prompts to get your brain going. And, re: Common App prompts. While last year they did change one (they used to have one that was “where are you most content”), the other 4 have been fairly constant. And I can say with completely confidence you can write to Common App prompt #1–it’s their catch-all “write about the thing your application would be incomplete without” prompt. The magic thing with CA prompts anyway is you can almost write anything you want and then make it fit one of the prompts.

Another thing that is pretty constant at the elites: 90% of them will want you to write a “why this school” supplement. (Stanford and Harvard don’t, however!) So when you’re building your school list, having concrete reasons you want to attend the various schools is a good idea–I would brainstorm pros & cons lists or something–because inevitably when you load those schools into your Common App list, a lot of them will ask you to write that supplement. I recommend students have things like specific courses, professors, unique opportunities in mind/physically written down so they can come back to it later. Now, that said, the thing about Why essays is they can be SUPER generic, so personally I think a smart tack is to write about yourself in them, and then sell the school on why they need YOU. Demonstrate your fit… so generally you’ll need to get comfortable writing honestly and interestingly about yourself without sounding like a braggart or a bore.

If you want to read some sample essays, Google Johns Hopkins Essays That Worked–they archive about 10 a year from incoming freshmen that got in. Read several to see the different narrative tacks you can take. You can also Google New York Times college essays–they’ve posted some in the past (last year they posted essays about money). Don’t read too many essays, as I find it can be overload/derailing, but reading a few can kick off the brainstorming process.