ESL student chances at harvard??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hey everyone!!</p>

<p>I am a 16 year old and I am German (I also live there).
I attend an international boarding school in the South of Germany and I will complete my IB Diploma may next year.
I would be really interested in my chances to get into harvard (my dream school since i am 9).</p>

<p>I grew up bilingual (German and English) and have done performance sport (rhythmic gymnastics & ballett) professionally on an international level (used to train 18-24 hours/week) since I am 6 year old (till 15). I have also done ice skating and gymnastics very intensly but stopped with 10. I have taken part in the German nationals in rhythmic gymnastics and am ranked 12th in Germany and was asked to come into the national team. However then I got a scholarship for the boarding school, which I attend just now.
Since I am 3 years old I play the violin and have taken part in some competitions and at the moment I play in an orchestra and do chamber music.</p>

<p>I have won a second prize in a national Latin competition and have done the DELF (a french certificate).
I skipped to school years (that means, I am 2 years younger than most of my classmates) and do community service since one year each week.
I have taken part in a round square project to st petersburg where I worked 8 hours a day for 2 weeks in an institution for mentally and physically highly disabled grown ups.
At the moment I do athletics and run quite a lot (I might take part in a marathon or halfmarathon in summer), as I had to stop doing my sport (rhythmic gymnastics) when I went to boarding school 8 months ago.
From my school (said to be the best one in germany) already some people have been admitted to harvard in the past years.
I am only half German, as my mother is Kurdish (from North Iraq). Would that aspect rather help or hinder my admission???</p>

<p>Sorry for seeming to brag. I don´t usually talk about myself in this way.
Now the bad news: SAT I 1250 (600 verbal and 650 maths). This is quite bad even for ESL, right???</p>

<p>IB subjects: Chemistry HL, Maths HL, German A1 HL, English A1 HL, French B SL, History SL</p>

<p>grades on last report card: 40/45</p>

<p>I´ve done the new SAT in june and hope to improve my scores.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for all your help.
Maria</p>

<p>p.s. : have posted this thread already on a different forum as i didn´t know that there is a forum specially for harvard;
hope that´s not a problem</p>

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<p>Hi Maria, there are many ESL and international students at Harvard, more than at other American universities. Since you are an international student, it does not matter what your nationality is, or having 2 nationalities from your German and Kurdish parents. I don't think that will be taken into account since you will be applying as a German. It sounds like you are doing just fine. 600 verbal and 650 math are not bad scores at all. The average test score is 500. Among Harvard applicants, the average scores are between 600-800 on each section. There is no way to tell who will be admitted because only 10% of people are admitted. But good luck with whatever college you end up attending!</p>

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<p>thanks for the encouragement :)</p>

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<p>You need to really raise your verbal score to have a decent shot at Harvard. The verbal score is the most important score on the SAT because strong verbal abilities are important at colleges like Harvard since all majors require lots of writing and difficult reading.</p>

<p>There are many nonnative English speakers who apply and who have verbal scores in the 700s even though they may have just started learning English a few years ago. </p>

<p>There is no rush for you to go to Harvard right now. It might be worth it for you to take a year off after high school and live in the US or an English speaking country. Perhaps you could do some thoughtful travel, volunteer work or do an exchange program. That would probably boost your English skills and give you something to put on your application that would make you stand out.</p>