Do I have any chance of Harvard if I NEVER receive ANY kind of National/ State award?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Do I have any chance of Harvard if I have NEVER received ANY kind of National/ State award?</p>

2

<p>Yes. (10 char)</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure there have been applicants in the past who’ve gotten accepted without any major national/state awards…</p>

4

<p>The only “national”/“state” awards I had were fake ones:</p>

<ul>
<li>National AP Scholar</li>
<li>National Merit</li>
<li>National Achievement</li>
<li>National JSA Chapter of the Month</li>
<li>Maryland Distinguished Scholar</li>
</ul>

<p>Like, yeah they’re “national” by merit of their name, but they’re nothing important like ISEF or like a music competition. I think you can do just fine without national awards. So few people get legit national awards anyway.</p>

5

<p>So besides prestigious national/ international/ state awards I don’t know what sets someone apart from other (One liek Davidson)</p>

6

<p>Harvard is so hard to get into anymore. Even applicants with the awards you’re talking about don’t get in. There isn’t any one answer to your question but you’re right, people who get into Harvard probably have something beyond their qualifications that set them apart. Only you can answer what that might be for you.</p>

<p>If you’re the kind of student that can think about applying to Harvard then I’ll give you the same advice that I would give to anyone, apply to other schools too. Apply to ones like Harvard that are a reach for anyone, apply to ones that you’re more likely to get accepted at and apply to safety schools. If finances are an issue then include schools that are less expensive or easier schools to get into that offer merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Don’t be afraid to apply. If you get rejected you’ll be in good company.</p>

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<p>I’m an Asian, though. So not having an award could hurt my chance?</p>

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<p>Being Asian will hurt your chances. I wish that wasn’t true, I wish admission to Harvard and other colleges was race-blind but it isn’t. Apply to Harvard but apply to other schools also. There are so many good schools in the country and maybe the school you would be really happy at is a school other than Harvard.</p>

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<p>How about a tournament champion in the “International Email Chess Club”? Does it count as an international award?</p>

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<p>I got accepted without any national or state award, apart from national merit and AP scholar stuff which most applicants probably have anyway. A bunch of others do too. There is no cookie cutter mold for admission.</p>

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<p>I had no major awards except National Merit Commended Scholar (which is mediocre) and i got in. So, yes, of course. Awards don’t count for much unless they are extremely special.</p>

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<p>Your parents could donate a million dollars and become members of COUR (Committee on University Resources). Anywhere between 50-100 applicants get into Harvard each year because their parents or grandparents are COUR members.</p>

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<p>James, you just made those numbers up, and don’t lie. That is completely false.</p>

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<p>Hey, take it easy, really.</p>

<p>You and I were probably in the same shoes: decently smart Asian (although no genius), who was decent at school, sports, etc, etc, but has no real distinguishing point.</p>

<p>After years of reading this form, I almost gave up on applying to Harvard, Yale, etc. Getting deferred EA (later rejected) from Stanford didn’t help either. Anyways, I was eventually accepted at Harvard, Pton, Wharton (rejected MIT, Yale, Stanford; Waitlisted Columbia College), and will be attending Harvard this fall.</p>

<p>Take it easy. Theres a thread on how to get into Harvard thats really good on the top of the forum. If you got any questions, feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>I low-balled the cost of admission by a factor of 2.5 and overestimated the number of students by 30.</p>

<p>The Crimson says the Harvard Z-list is from 50-70 students per year (deferred admission to rich students, alumni children). The first chapter of WSJ reporter (and Pulitzer Prize winner) Dan Golden’s book “The Price of Admission” is about COUR at Harvard and the approximate cost of buying your way into Harvard. He cites $2.5 million and up as rough guess and notes that the Harvard acceptance rate of COUR members’ children is about 40%, or nearly 6 times the published average.</p>

<p>[The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Before College, A Taste of the Real World](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=518894]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=518894)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/books/review/Wolff2.t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/books/review/Wolff2.t.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>The Z-List is not reserved for rich kids. Read the article more carefully. </p>

<p>

</p>

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<p>Read “The Price of Admission” by Dan Golden more carefully. It devotes a whole chapter to the Z-list.</p>

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<p>Awards are meaningless to H unless they are big names. Davidson Fellowship is big for humanities, as is recognition for Siemens/Intel/USAMO/etc. Other than that awards don’t amount to too much, and I think that certain school recognition can be just as meaningful as bs state/national/international awards.</p>

<p>Basically, HYP adcoms can smell BS, so most “award winners” don’t help their chances. It’s honestly nothing to worry about. Don’t try to put random, meaningless stuff down on paper to fill space, because that makes it look like you care about random accomplishments such as winning an international e-mail chess tournament or whatever. Even the most serious award winners have a ways to go in the process… it’s not like being an athlete or a z-list.</p>