Do I have a shot at harvard?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Korean International student</p>

<p>My stat:
GPA: 3.94
SAT: 2400
ACT 36
SAT 2: (USH, BIO and Math) 800
AP: Bio, cal ab and USH x 5</p>

<p>EC
- YMUN and Debate team x 2: member and secretary
- Swimming and Running x 3: participant
- Taekwondo x 5: demonstration performer, assistant and member
- Integrated Science Association x2: leader and founder
- Math League x 2: leader, founder
- Code/business x 2: learner and leader
- Greek Classic and Science(I'm not sure whether Im going to use this one) x2: leader and founder
- Self Research: How to grow taller(success), What are the advantages that one need in order to fight well
- Webtoon: Scriptwriter and director
ect:
- SET: Share English Talent x 2
- Drama Team x 2
- Piano x 8
- Chorus x 2
- Gave Tutoring x 1</p>

<p>Charity Work
- Mission Trip x 3
- LINK x 2</p>

<p>Summer
I didn't do anything for the past two year, but this time I might be doing
- Online Brown University Course
- Harvard Summer Course
- Taekwondo Federation camp
- Korean Parkour Federation camp</p>

<p>One word to describe myself: Late-Bloomer</p>

<p>For the essay, Im thinking to write about my dark past: My father used to verbally abuse a lot and sometimes physically did it as well.</p>

<p>My Talent:
- I consider myself a genius in terms of martial art because I know a lot about them. I officially learned taekwondo, but I taught myself karate, capoeira, kung fu, judo, brazilian jiu jutsu, boxing, street fighting, MMA fighting, parkour, self defense and muay thai.
I also created my own martial based on taekwondo, which uses grappling with leg to attack the opponent.</p>

<p>Awards:
Honors roll, certificate (code.org), Regional Taekwondo Award</p>

2

<p>You have an incredibly strong resume; your scores are perfect or near perfect, your extracurriculars are impressive, and your drive is readily apparent. </p>

<p>I would say that you stand a better chance than many, but Harvard is Harvard, and Harvard can deny anyone they want, even the most academically inclined students, like you. It will truly come down to your essays and how impressively you can present yourself through writing.</p>

<p>Considering everything, including the your international status and your home country, I would give you about a 25-35% chance assuming you write genuine and great essays. </p>

<p>Also, don’t forget that there are other great universities in the US. Princeton, Yale, Stanford, UPenn, Duke, Brown, Dartmouth, and various other non-ivy schools. There are many universities for every need. Harvard is only one choice, but it is most certainly the most famous and respected choice.</p>

<p>Best of luck! </p>

<p>-A Stanford Aspiree</p>

3

<p>

</p>

<p>If you legitimately aren’t able to judge by yourself that your scores are in range of the applicants that apply, then you have no chance. I’m guessing that the majority of students with high grades/scores here on CC just come to brag about how well they’re doing, though.</p>

<p>Anyways, I would recommend against this:

</p>

<p>While it is sad, topics like these are often mishandled and end up just sounding like you are trying to get them to pity you. I would rather talk about something recent than something 10 years ago, which you may state has “shaped you to become who you are today” or something along those lines, but it won’t be as powerful of an essay as something more recent (maybe last 4 years - 6 max) that shows your personality/qualities well. </p>

4

<p>I would disagree slightly with @Truust 's comment regarding your essay topic. If you can make the essay about how your overcoming of parental abuse led to you growing stronger as an individual -how it shaped your character, drive to succeed, sense of responsibility, etc- then I believe it would make for a very moving personal statement -contingent of course on your ability to write English extremely well.
However as @Truust‌ said, the essay could very easily turn into a sad, pity-party type essay that will be detrimental to your app -you want the admissions officers to be amazed by your strength and personality, not repulsed by your self pity. </p>

<p>Harvard, being Harvard, has the right to reject as many qualified students as it wants -and the fact that you’re international doesn’t help much. (Can you pay full freight, or are you applying for financial aid?) I hope that you’re applying to more schools, with a few matches and safeties mixed in with the likes of HYPS, MIT, etc. </p>

5

<p>Thank You so much for the advice !</p>

6

<p>actually, Harvard is need-blind to ALL applicants @saif235 , so it doesn’t matter how much the OP is paying. I would suggest to seriously consider applying SCEA for one of the ivies (Harvard, Yale, Princeton), since it really gives a much better chance. Nobody’s a shoo-in though. Take some time this summer and shape your essays, since you have basically done all the testing you need to get into a school like the HYPS. Your ECs may not be as strong as your academics, but then again, that is what the essays are for, and a page on CC does not give one the depth of another’s involvement in their extracurriculars. I would also suggest applying to some prestigious LACs, such as Amherst, WIlliams and Pomona (these schools are also great for financial aid if you need some money). Best of luck :)</p>

7

<p>If you don’t have a chance, then nobody does. Of course you have a chance, but Harvard is never a sure thing. They have the resources and applicant pool to design the class that they want. With your resume, the good news is that you may select your “safety” from a list of what would be long-shot reaches for the rest of the world (e.g. Berkeley, Vanderbilt, Penn, Johns Hopkins, McGill, etc.).</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>This is horrible advice. Penn and JHU may not be as selective as Harvard, but they reject students with 2400s and 4.0 GPAs all the time. Vanderbilt is also similarly very selective. They definitely are NOT safeties. Cal is not a safety either, let alone a match (it’s a low reach - and if you’re applying as an engineering major, then it is just as competitive as JHU and Penn).</p>

<p>McGill on the other hand, might be. </p>

9

<p>@truust I agree. Cal and other schools that were mentioned in the post reject a lot of seemingly perfect students. You can never count Vandy, Cal, Penn, JHU as ‘safeties’. Anything with an acceptance lower than 20% is somewhat unpredictable, with many schools not accepting 2400 students because they don’t like overqualified students and are very protective of their yield (i.e. Rice, Vandy, NU, WashU and many other privates). </p>

10

<p>a 2400 and 36 are only 1 aspect to the college admissions project. Your primary interest is martial arts, so its a strange concept to sell. </p>

11

<p>What are the chances that what the OP is posting about all those perfect scores is actually TRUE?</p>

12

<p>I personally always find it confusing when someone gets a 2400 on his SAT and then takes the ACT (or v.v.). What’s the upside of taking the second test? Perhaps, OP, you could explain it to me. </p>