Your ECs aren’t great; as listed here, they’re an example of what NOT to do. Colleges want quality over quantity. Your laundry list of typical top student ECs just makes you look like someone who has done those activities to build a resume and not because they’re genuinely interested in them. You can’t possibly be involved deeply in that many activities and clubs; there’s not enough time in the day.
“Yes-and why are my stats middle?”
Because thousands upon thousands of extremely bright students from all over the world apply to Harvard and that is your competition.
If you apply to North Southeastern AlaMissTex State University your scores will be near the top. You could get into the Honors College there, and might get some merit scholarship money as well.
This is pretty elementary. You need to have a sincere heart-to-heart with your GC.
Please watch this video:
http://youtu.be/_lfxYhtf8o4
And read this post:
http://www.roxandroll.com/2014/11/parents-let-harvard-go.html
[QUOTE=""]
I’m a high income ($250k+) white male (Jewish) who goes to a competitive high school in NY. (My high school had a bad reputation from other schools, but it’s getting better.)
[/QUOTE]
Bad
[QUOTE=""]
SAT = 2250
[/QUOTE]
Okay
[QUOTE=""]
GPA = 3.96
[/QUOTE]
Good.
[QUOTE=""]
EC’s
[/QUOTE]
Meh.
It’s a reach. I wouldn’t faint from shock if you got in, but if you wanted me to bet $10 on either ACCEPT or DENY I’d definitely go deny.
I’d go deny most people, but that’s beside the point.
Why is the first part bad?
Look up how many people with 2400 scores, perfect GPAs and national/international awards who are rejected. A Lot.
What makes you think that your ECs are so good? Maybe you should go into that detail you keep talking about if you want people to give you an accurate chance. Although you shouldn’t expect it to change much from what has already been given to you.
You say your HS has a bad reputation. You aren’t giving any indication of course rigor (APs or honors) in your course listings. By Harvard standards, those aren’t good signs. Not sure what you want everyone to say… you haven’t explained your vague test scores, given any subject test scores, given info on course rigor, or described ECs that are spectacular (yours are solid, but not world-beating compared to what the top few schools are looking for). That all means your odds aren’t very good. You seem to want to argue about that. Not sure why you posted if you don’t want the answers…
Around 5% of my D’s class have perfect (not almost perfect) GPA, and yet, only ~2% goes to Ivies. OP is obviously not serious about chancing as he/she just copy the subjects from one year to another without indicating honors/AP classes.
I’m in all honors classes, took 10+ AP’s, have a near perfect GPA, got a 2290 and a 35 on tests, and have amazing ecs that I didn’t mention for security reasons.
Kids with 35 ACT or 2300 SAT do end up at Santa Clara University.
@freshman35 You keep mentioning your “near perfect” GPA, but maybe you don’t realize that 3/4 of the admits DO have a 4.0. That already puts you in the lowest quarter.
Congratulations. That’s a start, and will make you competitive for the top schools on your list. You’ll be competing against thousands of applicants with similar scores, grades, and difficult schedules. How you present yourself and differentiate yourself will make the difference between possibly getting in to one of those schools vs. ending up at a match/safety. Bad on the OP, you need to work a lot on how you present yourself, and edit your ECs. You may indeed have “amazing” ECs, but as others have already said, quality stops quantity, and most of what you’ve showed suggests a hodgepodge of superficial activities. People aren’t trying to bash you, they’re trying to give you advice, but so far you aren’t making it easy.
By all means give it your best shot, and good luck. But be realistic, and have a range of options.
You are better off being at the top of the entering class versus being the last student selected at a school.
Think of your high school experience and imagine it being instead as that kid in each of your classes who felt all the kids were smarter than him. Do you really want your college experience being like that kid?
@clarinetdad16. I disagree with you on this. Yale supposedly has said that 90% of the applicants they turn away are qualified to be there. And I’m not sure that the recipient of a 36 ACT score is appreciably smarter than a 35 or a 34.
You’re “qualified”.
[QUOTE=""]
90% of qualified applicants are rejected.
[/QUOTE]
(If you want to know more about this, ask a Tufts student)
@MidwestDad3 he says his school has a bad reputation. That leads one to believe they are not well prepared for a highly competitive college. Schools know the track record coming out of particular high schools. Those with bad histories don’t see many admissions offers.
No need to be obsessed with the name on the shirt if the student has a better fit and will have a better academic experience at another school. Is he better off getting the degree he wants at NYU or not cutting it at Harvard and majoring in something easier that he doesn’t like?
Why do you aggressively repeat your high points? We understand that you are a good student academically, and yet your chances are still slim to none. That’s just how Harvard is-- when is the last time that you checked the acceptance rates. Those are hard numbers. Kids with better stats than you get rejected like it’s nothing.
Did you expect us all to just tell you how great you are?
In your OP, you make it seem like people on the internet are lying to make others feel bad, but honestly, Harvard is just really hard to get into. Sometimes even the AdCom doesn’t know why they accept/reject someone. College is a hard world-- don’t get your heart set on the most difficult thing to attain.
I realize Harvard is exremely hard to get into. But is everyone saying MY chances are slim because of my grades or is mine like everyone’s others
Unless you have a crazy hook or rich parents to make big donations you have very slim chances. Your ecs are good but you need to cut down because some of the lesser ones take away from the larger ones. Score wise you’re just as qualified as everyone else but that is not enough.