My best advice to you all is to be confident in yourself. All of your profiles that I’ve read have been unique and stellar in many ways, but hearing people say that won’t increase your chances. Work hard! 
While Harvard does super score the SAT, they do NOT super score the ACT.
FWIW: Harvard is on record as saying that they don’t accept anyone in the SCEA round that they wouldn’t accept in the RD round – which is Admissions-speak for we accept “the best of the best” in the early round.
As your 32 ACT composite score is at Harvard’s 25th percentile (not the best of the best score: http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf?m=1457640342), you really should reconsider applying to Harvard in the SCEA round. The better, more practical, approach would be to apply to a broader range of non-binding colleges in the early round and apply to Harvard in the RD round.
@gibby can you still send multiple ACT scores or will Harvard only accept one?
@gibby Also, since you seem pretty learned in this area, would applying early to Harvard with my mom being legacy help? She’s very involved with Harvard still as she donated and does interviews with prospective students. Also, my test scores are middle 50% and I think my ECs are pretty solid. So, with that in mind, would I benefit from applying SCEA or should I apply RD?
@ap012199: An Admissions Officer spends less than 10 seconds looking at a student’s test scores. Let me repeat that – LESS than 10 seconds. In actuality, they probably spend 5 seconds looking at a student’s test scores. An Admissions Officer knows immediately what an ACT of 32 represents, as compared to a score of 35 or 36. While you can certainly submit more than one ACT score – what would be the point, as Admissions will just use your best composite score. IMHO, it would be a waste of money to submit multiple ACT scores as Harvard doesn’t superscore the ACT.
In terms of legacy, see: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/5/11/admissions-fitzsimmons-legacy-legacies/
Harvard’s legacy admit rate is about 30% – that means that 70% of legacies are rejected. Who are the legacies that are rejected? My guess is that most of them have test scores that are in the middle 50% with solid EC’s. So what separates an admitted legacy from a rejected legacy? Teacher recommendations, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR), essays, and interview report – the same as every other applicant.
That said, a legacy applicant probably has a better chance of being accepted during the SCEA round than the RD round. Keep in mind that many legacy applicants applying in the RD round have been asked these questions during their alumni interview: “Why didn’t you apply SCEA? Did you apply to another college SCEA? If so, where were you accepted?” A legacy can be assured their answers will be included in the interview report. So my recommendation is that legacies should apply SCEA.
In your opinion…
33 ACT or 2230 superscore SAT?
33 C 34 E 31 M 32 R 36 S
710 cr 800 m 720 w
I think the 33 ACT single sitting is better ( I do have a 760 math II that I’m going to submit )… but the overall score on my superscore is better.
IMHO, a single-sitting ACT of 33 is better that a 2230 Superscore SAT, even though they are about equal (30 points difference in the SAT’s favor) according to the ACT-SAT Concordance table: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ACT-SAT-Concordance-Tables-Report.pdf.
As the scores are so close, if you can afford to, I would submit both scores to colleges and let them decide which score to use based on their own institutional formula.
My top two schools are Harvard and Princeton, but I’m really unsure of which to apply to SCEA. Is it worth it to spend my SCEA application on those huge reaches anyway, or would it be a safer idea to apply early to safer universities like Georgetown or Vanderbilt?
SAT: 2290, 1580 (out of 1600)
ACT: 35 composite
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.46 weighted
APs: World History (5), Psych, Lang, APUSH, BC Calc, Chem, Physics (1)
Senior Year: AP Lit, AP Comp. Gov, AP Micro/Macro, AP Bio, Multivariable Calc/Linear Algebra, Political Science, Band
Major Awards: Harvard Book Award (is that major?), probably National Merit Scholar Semifinalisr/Finalist, hopefully AP scholar when I get my AP exam scores back, 3-time Scholastic Bowl state champion, #2 scorer in the state
Extracurriculars: It’s Academic/Quizbowl (Club President/Team Captain), American Youth Symphonic Orchestra (Principal Percussionist), Marching Band (Drumline Captain), All-District Band (never quite made All-State :/), Model UN, Science Olympiad, Young Democrats, National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: I spent my sophomore year regularly refereeing soccer games, but I was too busy junior year to ref for more than a few weekends.
Volunteer/Community Service: Hospital Patient Support Services (4 hours/week), Treasurer for Indian youth group that funds eye checkups for homeless in India,
Summer Activities: Congressional internship, University lab research (according to my mentor my name would be listed under his when he published the paper we wrote together, but he never got back to me about that so I’m unsure if I truly “published” a paper), Governor’s School
State: VA
Country: USA
School type: Public HS
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $250k+
Hooks: uhh I think I have the opposite of hooks
Strengths: I have solid test scores and grades, and I think my application shows dedication to quizbowl and music
Weaknesses: My application doesn’t scream “doctor” or “lawyer” because I started high school being nudged by my parents towards medicine, but after sophomore year I decided to follow my own passions and study history or government in college. I’m also an upper middle class Asian so no boosts there…
“My top two schools are Harvard and Princeton, but I’m really unsure of which to apply to SCEA. Is it worth it to spend my SCEA application on those huge reaches anyway, or would it be a safer idea to apply early to safer universities like Georgetown or Vanderbilt?”
Have you visited all four schools? They are all very different. Which one do you prefer?
I visited both Harvard and Princeton, but not Georgetown or Vanderbilt. In terms of undergraduate education, Princeton won me over far and away, but the Harvard campus and Boston area was much more attractive to me than Princeton, so I’m really not sure which to choose. Georgetown and Vanderbilt are schools I’ve only checked out online, but I like what I’ve seen and read and I think I have a solid chance of being accepted early.
Is anyone here applying from the A level stream? Iam considering SCEA Harvard but iam a little unsure of whether i meet their academic threshold (school doesn’t convert grades into GPA).
@rollngincash Some of my daughter’s friends are looking at Ivy League schools. The general view here is that you need at least 8 A-stars at GCSE, 4 A’s at AS level and at least 3 A-star predictions for A2 to be competitive plus the usual SATs, extracurriculars, etc.
Should I report my ethnicity? How will not submitting my race impact me?
I don’t feel like I really can be categorized to a particular/exact ethnicity.
Hi all - good to see this thread. Would love to get inputs from you all and hope to see some of you at Harvard next fall. Below are my details.
Objective:
SAT I: 2260 (690 CR 800 W 770 M) - Most likely will not submit
ACT: 34 (35 English, 36 Math, 30 Reading, 34 Science, 30 Writing) - Taking again in September - aiming for a 35+ Composite!
SAT II: Math II, Bio, and US History taken - awaiting results (to be released July 21)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.95
Rank: Top 5%
AP: European History (4) Physics I (3) English Lit (4) Bio (5) US History (5)
IB: Chemistry (7), other IB courses in senior year
Senior Year Course Load: All IB courses - IB French SL, IB English HL, IB Biology HL, IB Math studies SL, IB Contemporary History, IB Theory of Knowledge
Extracurriculars:
Florida State Science Fair - 1st Place + 3 other awards;
Regional Science Fair - 1st place in 2016, 2nd place in 2015;
ISEF Finalist (2016);
Chemistry Olympiad National Finalist (2016);
Astronaut Challenge State Finalist (Commander);
Student Govt Association (Senator for 2 years and Historian for 1 year);
Science Club (President (1 year) / Secretary (1 year) / Total (3 years));
IB Ambassador program;
Competitive year-round swimming (12+ years);
High school swimming / Varsity swimming (4 years);
High school robotics team;
Mu Alpha Theta Math club;
French club (4 years);
AP Scholar / AP Scholar with Distinction;
National Honor Society;
AP Biology Award;
World History Award;
French II Award;
Anatomy and Physiology Award;
AP European History Award;
Vanguard International Newspaper (Business Manager);
Job/Work Experience: Paid 8-week summer internship at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS / NIH) (Summer 2016)
Volunteer/Community Service: ~300 hours including Munroe Regional Hospital, Arnett House Youth Shelter, Key Club, DIYA Youth group, Youth United Way, University of Florida
Silver Springs restoration project, and Research for saving the springs.
Summer Activities:
Summer 2015 - 8-college-credit General Chemistry course - Harvard Secondary School Program;
Summer 2016 - Paid 8-week summer internship - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS / NIH);
Essays: In the process of writing common app essay - topic "my equal interests in swimming and academics and how I took thoughtful / courageous decisions in choosing one over
the other".
Teacher Recommendations: Plan on using my Chemistry teacher and Biology teacher. Both of them like me and I hope to have 10/10 recs from them.
Counselor Rec: Hopefully 10/10.
Additional Rec: The Harvard Prof who taught me the Gen Chem course will give rec. The PI & Fellow I worked with at NIH will give rec.
Other:
Financial Aid: Will apply but may not qualify!
Projected Concentration: Pre-med
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100,000-250,000
@MedSciBud I think you have great chances! I’m thinking about applying early, but my stats aren’t as high as everyone else’s
Here are my stats:
HARVARD LEGACY THROUGH MY MOM she’s an active alum who does student interviews
Objective:
-I attend a small public charter school (top 1% in California)
-UW GPA: 4.0
-W GPA: 4.6
-ACT: 32C (32.25 :|) (34E 30M 31R 34S / 30Essay) 33C SUPERSCORE (with 32 R) <-retaking for a 33+
-SAT II: haven’t taken but get 750+ on practice tests
-I take the hardest offered course load
AWARDS (nothing major)
-Chemistry student of the year
-physics student of the month
-World history student of the month
-Spanish student of the month
-1st place in flow run for Tempest Skills Challenge
-2nd place in farthest laché for Tempest Skills Challenge
AP tests: Lang (4)
APES (4)
*My school doesn’t offer APs, but we have to test into all of our honors classes (about 20% - 30% acceptance rate)
High School Schedule:
9th grade:
-Honors English 9
-Chemistry
-Honors Algebra II
-PE
-Art I
-Spanish I
10th grade:
-Honors Trig/Precalc
-Honors World History
-Honors World Literature
-Physics
-Spanish II
-Honors Biology
11th grade:
-Honors Environmental Science
-Honors Calc AB
-Honors American Literature
-Honors US History
-Spanish III
-Computer Science
12th grade:
-Honors Calc BC
-Honors Stats
-Honors Gov Econ
-Honors British Literature
-Honors Spanish 4
-Creative Writing
Subjective:
-ECs:
-FREERUNNING (like parkour or American Ninja Warrior)
-I practice around 15-20hrs a week and was recently hired by my academy to become a coach. I rank #1 between the three Freerunning Academies in LA and SD (they share 1 ranking system)
-competing in North American Parkour Championships in September (biggest competition in the western hemisphere)
-offered a spot on the Olympic Freerunning Committee (will hopefully be a sport in 2024 olympics)
-PIANO
- I play around 3-4 hours a week, take lessons, and have participated in the national piano guild
- I am in my school’s jazz band
-IMPROV/ACTING
-I’ve been participating for 5 years; I’ve been on the team for 3 years and will take over as team captain next year
-I’ve also been in some commercials and short films
-STUDENT GOVERNMENT/STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
-elected high school body president as a freshman (I am technically still president since no other school election has taken place)
-11th grade representative
- been an active member for all years of HS
-fund raise for school apparel and school goods
-NHS (member)
-KEY CLUB (member)
-COMMUNITY SERVICE
- through NHS and KC, I have done about 200 hrs of CS ( includes volunteering to teach kids freerunning and active beach cleanup)
- done around 300 independently
-PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB (VP, President next year)
-Held an exhibition at the end of the school year
-ASTRONOMY CLUB
-also took college astronomy class and got an A
-WRITING/WRITING CLUB
-fouonder of writing club in 10th grade, president
-writing a novella over summer and will be self published
-internship with my city’s newspaper company
Who else is applying early?
@ap012199 Ummm… probably most of the people who are responding to this thread… dontcha think?
@T26E4 haha true. Are you? I’m just trying to see what the pool will look like.
Me? Oh no. I graduated from a Harvard peer school +30 yrs ago. I’m only here to offer advice/tips
Since subject tests are recommended, would it be detrimental if I didn’t submit any with my app? While my ACT score is good by most standards, it’s about average for Harvard. Will having subject tests help then?