Chances of Harvard/Yale?? (VERY concerned about APs!)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

First I want to say thank you thank you THANK YOU to anyone who reads this and responds!!

Background Info:
I’m a junior right now and my dream school is either Harvard or Yale. My parents are immigrants from Ethiopia, I’m a female, and I go to a prestigious public exam school that is known for sending students to Harvard. That last part is good and bad since it means I have a higher chance of getting into Harvard than if I went to a different school, but it also means my classmates are crazy smart and make for tough competition. On top of this, I feel that my scores, EC, and amount of AP classes are below average for these schools. However, I do have some special circumstances with my classes that I will explain along the way, and I don’t want to be a jerk but I really am hoping they’ll look at the minority factor (immigrant, black, a girl) and be more lenient.

Grades/Scores:
GPA: 4.26 weighted (expected to go up) and 4.0 unweighted
APs: AP World History (5), AP Physics Mech C (expecting), AP German (expecting), APUSH (expecting)
Max amount of APs at my school is 5 classes by junior year. I planned to take 3 this year to make 4 total (would’ve gone for all 5 but decided taking a second language was more important, so the max for me personally was 3 this year and 4 total) but enough people didn’t sign up for AP German so I ended up with only 2 APs this year, which REALLY concerns me. I took the test on my own, but I’m not sure how I did, and I’m afraid I did so badly I won’t even be a able to send the score in (I’m praying for a 4).
Next year I’m taking AP Calc BC, AP Lit, and AP Econ (both Micro and Macro)
PSAT (does this even matter??): 228 (CR: 75, Math: 73, Writing: 80)
SAT: 2200 (CR: 720, Math: 700, Writing: 780, with a 10 on my essay). I’m retaking and aiming for at least a 2250, focusing on boosting my math score up.
Subject Tests: 800 World History, 800 Math Level II, and 750 Latin
There are no ranks at my school.

Awards:
Gold on the National German Exam two years in a row, silver this year, plus I got something called the Austro-American Award last year
Certificate of Honorable Mention on the National Italian Exam
summa cum laude then maxima cum laude on the National Latin Exam
National Honor Society
National Junior Classical League Latin Honor Society for two years in a row
Societas (it’s like NHS but for languages at my school)

Extracurriculars:
Swimming for a year
Indoor track for two years now
Student Council, Club Outreach (I manage the Twitter page and communicate with other clubs)
Band: I play the flute, got into the advanced Symphonic Band this year and last year I was second chair
I compete in Foreign Public Declamation at my school every year (this is when you recite something in a foreign language; I do German)
I’m also a praefect and pick up the attendance.

Out of school stuff:
I’m a tutor for a nonprofit organization that teaches STEM to young girls (been doing this since 8th grade)
And I do a bunch of stuff for the city, like I’m a volunteer for this citywide organization of teens that basically helps the mayor (co-chair of one of the committees). I also volunteer to help out with Participatory Budgeting in my city (this is when young adults get to vote on how to spend a certain amount of money, in our case it’s a million dollars, so I helped write the ballots and proposals. It’s kind of a big deal since it’s only the second year they’ve done it and it’s completely student-run)
Over the summer I’m going to intern at a very well known international financial services holding company (don’t want to say the name because then you’ll know where I live haha)

Extra Info:
I taught myself first year Italian last summer and placed into Italian 2 but my schedule didn’t work out so I’m forced to take Italian 1 this year. I’m hoping to place into Italian 3 next year if there are no scheduling conflicts. I also taught myself some Japanese (the katakana, haven’t gotten to kanji yet). And completely unrelated, I LOVE drawing but I’m 100% self taught. I also taught myself how to use GIMP and CSS (a programming language). I know these aren’t the usual things you talk about on here but they’re VERY important to me so I’ve got to put them in my application somewhere.

I’m also planning to study astrophysics, if that makes any difference. (The Smithsonian Institute at Harvard… hngggh xD)

So, are my worst fears confirmed… I didn’t take enough APs and my ECs aren’t good enough?? D:

2

I forgot, I’m also the Prose Editing Assistant of a new feminist magazine at my school. We haven’t really done anything yet though because the president is a senior and I’m pretty sure she created it just to boost her application…

3

Your EC’s are good. Not stellar but certainly good. The main critique I have of them is they have nothing to do with your major/science in general. You took as many aps as you could which is all a college expect I wouldn’t worry about it. Your GPA is good. Your SAT is great but for harvard you should try to get it up a little. Maybe you could try to attend a research or science program over the time.

4

Calm down, it’s Harvard. You either gotta be really rich or really lucky to get in.

5

Also, what science classes have you taken?

6

That’s a relief I was so so worried about my APs! And that’s true, my ECs may seem odd but I also plan to minor in international affairs so it’s not like they were completely for nothing (and I enjoy doing them). I’m retaking the SAT like I said so I hope I can get it to at least a 2250. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any science programs, aside from my job as a tutor. Is it really that bad if your ECs have nothing to do with your intended major? I thought it would show you’re well rounded.

7

@a20171 I took Biology in 9th grade, Physics 1 in 10th grade, AP Physics Mech C this year, and next year I’m taking Chem 1

8

Well it does show you’re well rounded but they also like to see you’re ecs fit your interests and if you say your interest is astrophysics you should try to show that. Maybe take a class at a community college?

9

yeah I’m taking pretty similar sciences except ap chem instead of physics. Make sure in essays you show why you’re interested in your major and why you think harvard is the best place for it

^^ not that I’m an expert, I’m just good at writing essays :))

10

You’re the second person that’s suggested that. I’ll definitely look into it. Won’t I have to wait until senior year though? Is that not too late?

11

also want to mention that harvard is not a shoo in for ANYONE. It should be regarded as a high reach. You need to recognize that there will be applicants a lot more qualified than you are and you will be more qualified than a lot of other applicants. Try to love some lesser schools too.

12

Definitely! I just wanted to know if it was even realistic to hope.

13

pretty positive that most community colleges allow you to take them as a junior

14

Oh do you mean over the summer? I’m not sure if that’s possible since I’ll be working and I’m going on vacation for 2 weeks, but I’ll definitely look into it.

15

Umm this might be a bit late but I completely forgot about the fact that I got into Girls’ State this year. Anyway, I’m going to bed now so thank you @a20171!

16

Have you considered to take the SAT again?

17

There is nothing in what you wrote that would support your wanting to study astrophysics. If I were an admissions officer, I would be wondering if you weren’t just trying to game the system by picking an undersubscribed major. If astrophysics is truly the field you want to study, you should explore ways that demonstrate both your aptitude and interest in that field. At a minimum, you need high math and physics scores.

For the rest, you appear to be a competitive applicant. Hopefully, your recs and essays will be very strong.

Good luck with everything!

18

@Jr12317 yes, I’m taking it again in June.

19

@Falcon1 Really?! That sucks, because I really, genuinely want to study astrophysics. The reason my ECs turned out that way was that I had always loved space, but then I took AP World and changed my mind and decided to study international affairs. So, I looked for a bunch of public service related opportunities (hence the stuff I do for the city). But taking AP Physics rekindled my love for it this year, so now I plan to major in astrophysics and minor in international affairs. Isn’t there a place you can explain all this stuff on the application? And this can’t be that uncommon, I’m sure other kids have changed their minds about their majors (at least I hope…)

20

Don’t listen to anyone about your choice of majors. Harvard does not have “impacted” majors, and everybody enters undeclared. A young woman with intellectual enthusiasm is always a good thing. You are expected to have passions and interests, and they are expected to change when you are immersed in such an intense academic environment. I think that you have an interesting background, which will draw attention from any admissions officer. That’s the best that an applicant to Harvard (or Yale, or Stanford, or any other of those “lottery”) colleges can hope for. Your chances are better than most students’, which mean they are still not great. Your intellectual curiosity and your academic credentials guarantee that you will get into at least one college where you can cultivate them further and thrive.