Dealing with competition - other guy in my grade applied to SCEA school like me

Applying to College
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<p>I applied to Harvard SCEA, and so did this other boy in my grade. I am rank 1 and he is rank 2. He was on a much more accelerated math path than I was: he took AP Calc AB in 9th grade, AP Calc BC in 10th grade, and Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calc afterwards, whereas I took AP Calc AB/BC in 11th grade and Multivariable Calc this year. I think if it were not for the fact that he had two regular, non-weighted class every year (student government and band) as opposed to my one regular, non-weighted class (tennis), that he would have beat me out for the #1 rank. We have the same SAT score (2380) and basically the same level of SAT subject scores (770+). I have more APs than him (nearly twofold), however, especially as a result of self-studying for some exams. He did not take not take AP for the foreign language he is in whereas I did (thus he did not meet the suggested 4-year of foreign language that Ivies advocate, but not necessarily require). In junior year, due to a schedule conflict, though, I could not take AP Chemistry as the class and had to self-study it whereas he was able to take it as a class. I self-studied that along with AP Biology, receiving a 5, although I am slightly wary on this matter as I have heard colleges prefer students to take the class rather than self-study and/or this may be discounted as not technically "taking full advantage of my curriculum."</p>

<p>I am involved in more extracurriculars than he is. I have various leadership positions, for notable clubs and varsity tennis, and internships, for scientific research, a Congresswoman, and two distinguished business companies, under my belt, as well as regional/state, national, and international awards/honors for robotics, piano and whatnot. He has none of these latter credentials, with involvement purely in student government, marching band, and two or three clubs and no awards/honors whatsoever than school academic ones. </p>

<p>We were both deferred Harvard SCEA. We do not attend a competitive school; it is a subpar public high school, and we are the only people who share similar aspirations and the caliber to attend HYPSMCC et al. That being said, he has been the sole inkling of competition and fear all these years in high school for college admissions and class rankings.</p>

<p>Considering that we both perhaps wrote equally evocative, passionate, and eloquent essays, who do you believe is the stronger applicant?</p>

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<p>How do you know that he doesn’t do anything significant outside of class?</p>

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<p>He doesn’t. We’re close buds and we talk all the time.</p>

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<p>We have no clue, it’s the soft factors that would differentiate the two. Fact is, however, statistically, it’s unlikely either of you will get in.</p>

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<p>A school that has students two to four grades ahead in math is not a typical “subpar” school. This is especially the case if it offers post-calculus-BC math courses either natively or through a dual-enrollment setup with a college. Actual “subpar” schools would have students struggling to complete precalculus by senior year (the normal grade level for math) and may not even offer calculus due to lack of student interest.</p>

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<p>He is the only person in the history of the school to follow such a math track. Also, our school does not offer Multivariable Calc or Linear Algebra — we both took/are taking that online through Stanford EPGY and at the local university. </p>

<p>Our school’s average SAT score is 1400. And yes, students at our school do struggle to complete Pre-calculus, let alone Algebra II, by senior year. :)</p>

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<p>Basically you’re wondering if Harvard has some sort of school quota, and if so, will it diminish you chances. Fact is you’ll be admitted regardless if your friend were at your HS or not. If you get it, it won’t be despite him. If you get rejected, it won’t be because of him.</p>

<p>H has no need to have limits/quotas of admits per HS. That would imply they felt some need to “spread the wealth” to other high schools. They don’t. They will admit/reject whom they want regardless of the school. They aren’t there to curry favor with school administrators. They’ll look out for their own needs first. They could admit both of you and none for the next ten years – if the quality of the candidates dictated as much. Or they could reject both of you and accept five next year – if the quality dictated as much.</p>

<p>Good luck to both of you.</p>

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<p>No, I don’t want to know if Harvard has a school quota because I already know they don’t. I already know how the whole admissions process for Harvard goes, from one regional admissions officer to the next.</p>

<p>No, what I want to know is how Harvard (as well as other colleges we applied to, such as Stanford and MIT) will assess the two of us in regards to if we took full advantage of the educational opportunities presented to us. I’ll be the first to admit that, class schedule-wise, as shown in one instance with the extremely accelerated math track he took, my friend has a slight edge over me. Indeed, not including the APs I self-studied and factoring solely the classes taken on school grounds, he beat me out on this matter. And the only reason why he isn’t rank one and I am is because, upon this AP-loaded course schedule that is somewhat slightly stronger than mine, he has an extra non-weighted elective course. I want to know to what extent this slight edge he has over me will hurt me and help him, but nonetheless also considering our degree of involvement and success in with extracurriculars, awards/honors, etc. and if these facets essentially render the disparity in our course rigor meaningless.</p>

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<p>HSMCCP- both of you are strong students, both of you have qualities that schools are looking for. The truth is that no one can tell you which one of you may appear stronger. Even if we all had access to both of your full applications to review, 50% would say you are stronger, and 50% would say your class mate is stronger. </p>

<p>Why? Because something about each of you would appeal to those reviewing the application. It could be your EC’s, it could be your classmates sense of humor or writing style. It could be something that you did not mention in your post. Anything can make one of you more appealing than the other in the eyes of an admissions person. </p>

<p>Why were you and your classmate deferred? Who knows. Why are students with lower stats than you and your classmate admitted? Also- who knows. It can be one of a 100 different little things that no student can plan for, but some students hit the mix “just right” for that year, earning them an invitation to enroll in that school. </p>

<p>Admissions to most colleges is not like a math test, where you plug in a formula and you get an answer. For some students, that is unfortunate. For other students, it is fortunate. This year, you fall into the unfortunate category at Harvard. </p>

<p>The good news is that there are literally hundreds of other colleges out there that do want you to attend their school.</p>

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<p>Nothing more to add to Vlines’ post other than to say I answered in the manner I did because you specifically cited the other person. Otherwise, your wondering about your deferral and eventual fate is actually linked to the general pool and not to a specific person. Like I said, you’re being compared to everyone, not a single person who happens to hail from your HS. Whether or not he or you have a slight advantage is irrelevant per vlines’ post. </p>

<p>“Considering that we both perhaps wrote equally evocative, passionate, and eloquent essays, who do you believe is the stronger applicant?”</p>

<p>On any given day if, it could be either. Sorry but there’s no better answer than that beyond people’s guesses and opinions.</p>

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<p>Actually, it probably is closer to a formula at most colleges, since most colleges are only moderately selective (non-flagship and some flagship state universities and less selective private schools), or not selective at all (open admission community colleges). The super-selective schools with the most opaque and unpredictable holistic admissions processes to decide whom to admit out of numerous applicants with near-maximum academic credentials are the extreme minority of colleges overall.</p>

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<p>what ucbalum said is correct. I guess I should have said “most super selective colleges are not like a math test”.</p>

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<p>You guys should have an old-fashioned duel.</p>

<p>Joking.</p>

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<p>first of all, you could both either be rejected or admitted. Second of all, and I’m guessing this is because you were the one to write this, the original post clearly leans towards you being the better student with better stats. However, I have a feeling that if the other kid wrote his side of the story, he would seem like the better student. Unfortunately, whether on purpose or subconsciously, you painted yourself in a somewhat obvious better light.</p>