Hi all,
I’ve been having an extremely stressful year but I needed some advice on my chances for Harvard undergraduate acceptance.
Basic Information:
Age - 17
Ethnicity - Chinese Asian (First Gen Immigrant)
Country - Australia
Class Rank - 30th
School - Private school (but on an academic scholarship as my parents couldn’t afford it)
Classes:
Extension 2 Mathematics rank 10/16
Extension 1 Mathematics rank 20/72
Extension 2 English 2/3
Extension 1 English 3/43
Advanced English 9/100
Extension French 2/6
Economics 20/56
Australian ATAR Estimate - 98.20 (top 1.8% of state)
Testing:
1510 SAT
800 Maths II
720 Lit
Extra-Curriculars:
Started own tutoring business - to help Chinese citizens to learn how to speak English
Peer tutoring
Volunteer for Sony Camp
Lots of charity fundraising
House Captain
Cadets (Company Commander)
School Prefect
1sts Debating Team
Model UN (International)
Mock Trial
School Newspaper
Public Speaking Competitions
Band/Choir
I used to be 3rd overall at school but due to co-curriculars and the difficulty of my courses,
my rank dropped significantly. Do I still have an alright chance or should I change college
preferences?
No one has an “alright” chance at Harvard unless you are a recruited athlete or your family has a building named after them. Harvard is a reach for every applicant. Even more so for international applicants. Certainly have a few reaches on your list but focus on your time and energy on your match and safety schools.
I’m not sure what you are asking OP? The acceptance rate at Harvard is just over 5%. That means 95% of students ARE rejected outright. The overwhelming majority of all applicants are academically qualified to attend the school.
By rejected, I meant “oh this person doesn’t stand a chance” and immediately rejects it rather than considering it carefully. I’m not completely familiar with the American system. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!
When a college has an under 10% acceptance rate, almost no one has an alright chance. You should absolutely consider other colleges.
Realistically, your SAT is a little on the low side for Harvard and schools like it. Those colleges will be taking the very top students with the highest grades and test scores, especially for international students. Create a realistic list based on how you compare to the top 75th of accepted students.
There is an old joke about Harvard boasting a 0% acceptance rate. It’s funny because it’s only a slight exaggeration of the truth. Harvard’s 5% admission rate includes hooked kids like recruited athletes and people with last names like Kennedy. That means for an unhooked kid like OP, the true acceptance rate is a good deal lower than 5%. My unhooked son got a 36 composite on his ACT (36 on three sections, 35 on the fourth, supposedly equivalent to a 1590 or 1580 on the SAT). He never even thought about applying to Harvard - waste of time.
In your favor, being from Australia. Otherwise, it’s a steep climb. Honestly I think you should focus on places where the likelihood of acceptance may be best for you/your intended major. If you are full pay spend a little time on the app, otherwise, I’d reconsider. You need something REALLY special to get in as an unhooked candidate. Even then it’s a crap shoot.
Actually, that is not in the OP’s favor. If the overall acceptance rate is 4.6%, then international acceptance rate is closer to 2.5%. Relative to its population, Australia is not an underrepresented country (and I don’t think Harvard cares if a country is underrepresented) and at least half of the Australian accepted applicants are athletic recruits - primarily crew.
The OP has as slim a chance as anyone else, but absolutely should explore less selective schools if college in the US is a goal.
Agree with @skieurope that athletic Australians have better chance and OP’s chance is very slim. I would be surprised if it’s not an outright rejection as we see so many students with such credentials.
Yes, I would agree with the above posts if you were a recruited athlete, with your stats you may have a decent to good chance of being admitted. But without any significant hook, you as well as thousands of other applicants will have a chance, but not a good one.