<p>Good in what way? Good for Harvard admissions? It probably depends on how well you use the opportunity of schooling in such an unusual way. Good for the individual? Same answer. Some people hate it, but I've loved it. Too late for you to start? If you have a really, really good reason to start now, it's not too late -- but you'd probably have a lot of explaining to do. They'd want to know exactly why, and "because I thought it might help my admissions" would be a bad answer. We could talk about the details of this stuff more in PM though. I don't want to make the thread go off-topic.</p>
<p>This is really getting amusing....</p>
<p>My guess is that many of you would increase your chance at getting into Harvard just as much if you went out and actually got a job for the summer. </p>
<p>Not an arranged by your parents or internship or anything kind of academic sort of job. </p>
<p>Just a real boring job. </p>
<p>Burger King, McD's, Baskin Robbins. Gap. A&F, whatever. Then show that you can actually do that job and thrive and learn from it.</p>
<p>One thing that colleges are looking for is kids who can actually be contributing members of a college community, and who have LARGE PERSONALITIES.</p>
<p>"Also, I was looking in the results thread, and I didn't see anyone who took a college course."</p>
<p>Actually, I'm a Harvard 2011 and I took 2 full years of college courses. I'm in an early college program and jr. and sr. year solely consist of college courses. Taking college classes is a very common for Harvard applicants, so don't think that you taking college classes is anything special. Sorry if I come off harsh but you need to realize that the people you're competing with are the cream of the crop...and from what i've read, you probably won't stand out that much. sorry.</p>
<p>I'm taking a course at Harvard SSP this summer. I thought I was going to have to pay a bunch for it, but the financial aid office helped me out tremendously. As for classes during school, my high school offers seniors the option to go to a community college that is right next door for the entire half of the day and come back to regular school to take other classes. The classes at the college aren't earth-shatteringly interesting or "impressive" though, but perhaps I am being biased since most of the courses offered have something to do with medicine or psychology and those are areas that I am not interested in. Wow, run-on sentence! \m/</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>And I agree with meredithv about debate<em>addict. No offense, but debate</em>addict sounds like he knows more about college admissions than he actually does. He's only a junior himself, so take everything he says with a grain of salt. That probably goes for 80% of people who ever say anything in "chances" threads or threads like these anyway. Beware, CC is dangerously mind-warping and unnecessarily panic-inducing :x</p>
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Debate_addict - while your enthousiam is cute, your platitudes are a wee bit annoying. Some readers may not realize that you are a 16 old in Greece, albeit the one with the most college admissions books on his shelf.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You don't know squat about me so please refrain from addressing me from now on. It would be greatly appreciated. I personally find it horrendous when I see grown-ups being so rude for no reason whatsoever. And to think that younger people are supposed to respect older ones. Many adults have been incredibly helpful in contributing to threads, yet some others like the one at hand just keep posting vitriolic comments. Perhaps I should remind you that I **did not ask **your criticism, but the OP did. You are however more than welcome to post in one of my chances threads, provided that I make one. Thank you.
(same goes for spiffystars, even though not to the same extent based on the fact that she is not a grown up-nevertheless, I just expressed my personal conviction)</p>
<p>Now regarding the OP, I still insist that your chances would increase a lot if you improve extraordinarily. Remember that the years that matter the most are junior and senior, though the fact that your grades were low before will be looked upon. But it definitely wont make them discard your application when they see it. Keep up and your chances will increase.</p>
<p>Hey debate_addict. I think your advice is good, Best of luck when you apply!</p>
<p>Also, harvardbound123, how advanced were the courses you took? Also, I am thinking of taking Topology (upper senior level math) at college in 12 th grade (I am taking EPGY online math courses, since math is also interesting). Finally, would taking ALL college courses next year help me much (I HATE school, and I know a lot of college courses that intregue me). Thanks a lot, and Congraluations on you acceptance!</p>
<p>Debate-addict, I'm not offended by your little temper tantrum.</p>
<p>I am amazed my your maturity and therefore I'll leave it at that. </p>
<p>The God. Get the graduate coruses. They are amazing. I am using my own experience however limited that might be. My counselor is amazing and knows her way around Ivies, and everything I know so far i've learnt it from ehr and from kids that got into Ivies and are there now. Your experiences meredithv differ than mine and you have no right whatsoever to insult me like that. Why dont u take other "mature" adults as example. That might help you.</p>
<p>debate_addict: As a fellow non-adult, I don't think meredithv was being rude to you. Criticism is not the same as rudeness, and in a forum like this, anybody can reply to anybody and still be within the social bounds of the forum. It's not just about responding to the OP.</p>
<p>
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Debate_addict - while your enthousiam is cute, your platitudes are a wee bit annoying
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<p>and </p>
<p>
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I'm not offended by your little temper tantrum.
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</p>
<p>I am not saying that she cannot talk about things, I am just saying that when she is going to offend me like that, and these are very offensive (temper tandrum and annoying platitudes)I am not gona let it go by. And I have had the same problem with meredithv again in the past, but I suggested we solve this amicably (even though I shouldnt even HAVE to suggest this as she is an adult). And now there she is badmouthing me, cuz I dont know how else to characterise this (if you can propose another interpretation, do so please so that we can solve this), in a thread that is not even RELATED to me. THe least she could do is respect sb else's opinions, cuz i AM entitled to my own opinion. </p>
<p>And The God, my evaluation is based on the following anecdote. An IB student and friend of mine, who had relatively low grades and was not that strong of a student in some subjects and hat low SAT scores and standard ecs, got into Harvard and MIT. And the reason for this is the fact that he loved math, pursued his passion at a substantial level and did his Extended Essay upon Goldbach's conjecture. And that was the reason he got in, and that was conveyed through the interview. </p>
<p>I believe that situation has many similarities to yours..allyou have to do is work harder, and i mean that. Show some diligence. And you can actually have a shot at it. I am not saying you will get in, i am just saying that you have a shot, like all of the other 20.000 students that apply annually. And whjo knows, your dream might even be fulfilled.</p>
<p>I am also a junior and from everything I am reading and learning they prefer to see and UPWARD trend, can be more forgiving in 9th and even sometimes 10th but looking for major improvement by 11th and into 12th grade. If you have exceptionally strong SAT/ACT scores that too might be able to "offset" the lower grades, especially with the top tier schools but ec's and recs are also very important. Go to your local boys and girls club see if you can work with children and watch how they interact and keep a log, saying that it was your own personal experiment of watching how 8 and 9 year olds interact with one another, boys vs. girls,etc............think of a way to get more engaged into this passion as opposed to just being a listener in the classroom, keep your options open, shoot for the moon but remember to stay in the galaxy (in other words go for those dream schools but remember to keep it real and also apply to safties and matches) GOOD LUCK!:)</p>
<p>Thanks all!</p>
<p>Also, I was thinking of taking the GRE subject test in psychology. I looked at a practice test, and I knew many, if not most, of the answers. Would taking the GRE and getting a good score (I will learn a lot more this summer) help me significantly?</p>
<p>I think it could help you greatly, considering it is a graduate course. Try do show also though great alacrity at other sectors. Do some community service there as well. </p>
<p>Work hard, it takes a lot of work to get to the level you want, though I do believe that in spite of your past, you can still work with it.</p>
<p>^^^ Thanks a lot debate_addict. </p>
<p>Also, do a lot of admitted Harvard students take a GRE test in High School? (It's used for Graduate school admission, but since I will be taking advanced courses, I can take it.)</p>
<p>Thanks all, and best of luck!</p>