Harvard EA strong stats/essay/recs.. weak ec's

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Early Action: Harvard</p>

<p>Regular Decision: Berkeley, UCIC, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, U of Georgia (honors program), UMD, Montgomery College (2 yr), Princeton, Stanford, Swarthmore</p>

<p>-Public school in Maryland
-17 yr old Korean-American male
-Lived in Korea 1995-2000 (grades 3-7, 5 years)
-GPA UW 3.96/4.00, W 4.6ish
-SAT 1 1580 combined, 780 verbal 800 math
-SAT 2 800 Biology M, 800 Math 1C, 750 Math 2C, 750 Korean, 700 Writing (79/80 multiple choice subscore, 4/12 essay... i have serious handwriting issues. writing is actually my strength.)
-Recommendations: One best in career rec from 9th grade bio teacher, one excellent rec from 11th grade ap bio teacher, one very good rec from 9th grade biology teacher. Extra recommendation from the county public school system music executive.
-Essay: The most outstanding part of my application, I presume. Maybe some of my recs will match this. Very strong essay on nothing (no special topic but shows passion for music/life. very well written).
-Class rank: school does not rank. One of top few out of 400.</p>

<p>EC's:
It’s Academic/Quizmaster– Grades 10, 11, 12
Varsity Mathletes (Math team)- 10, 11, 12
Chess Club- 10, 11, 12
SVHS String Quartet (violin 1)- 9, 12 (did not exist in 10-11th grade)
Spanish Club- 12
Spanish Honor Society- 12
Science Club- 11, 12
Science Honor Society- 11, 12
National Honor Society- 12
Student Government (Representative)- 9, 10, 12
Class Office (President)- 10
Pit Orchestra- 9, 10, 11, plan to participate in 12th</p>

<h2>International Club- 11</h2>

<p>DC Soup Kitchen- Grade 9
Saint John Newmann Youth Group- 9, 10
Saint John Newmann Choir- 10, 11, 12
All-County Orch (violin 1)- 9, 10, 11, plan to participate in 12th
Maryland All-State orchestra- plan to participate in 12th
Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra (violin 1)- 9, 10, 11, 12
Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra (violin 1)- 10, 12
Academy of Saint Cecelia Youth Orchestra (violin 1)- 12
National Philharmonic High School Division (violin 1)- 9, 10, 11, plan to participate in 12th
Boy Scouts of America Unit 1352- 10, 11</p>

<p>Leadership:
Secretary, Science Club- Grade 12
President, Class of 2005- 10
Class Representative- 9, 10, 12
2004 MD Boy’s State (elected City Representative, City Health Officer, State Commissioner of Health, and party representative for Jr Boy’s Nation)- 11
Concertmaster, HS Symphonic Orchestra- 9, 10, 11, 12
1st violin HS String Quartet- 9, 12
Associate concermaster of Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra- 12
1st violin National Philharmonic High School Division String quartet- 9, 10</p>

<p>Awards:
not much.
National Merit Commended Scholar
Maryland Distinguished Scholar Semifinalist in Academic Achievement
Maryland Distinguished Scholar Honorable Mention in Talent in the Arts
Numerous subject awards, club awards, honor roll/straight a/student of the month awards.
Consistently recieved rating of 1-Superior (highest rating) at County and State level Solo and Ensemble Festivals</p>

<p>Senior year schedule:
AP Psychology
Symphonic Orchestra
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Calculus BS
AP Chemistry
Science Aide (Spanish wouldn't fit in schedule, stuck between art/aide)</p>

<p>Please give an estimate of my chances at Harvard EA.. and also RD. If possible, for the RD schools too. =D Thank you all in advance for your feedback.
I'm surprised at how many ppl are applying to Stanford EA.. last yr i knew 5 kids who went to Stanford, 0 who went to HYP. Best of luck to you guys and gals applying to Stanford.. I think you'll need it. xD Seems like it's gonna be harder than HYP this year.</p>

<p>btw.. to contact me-
aim- quixoticpio
yahoo- quixoticpio
msn- <a href="mailto:quixoticreverie@hotmail.com">quixoticreverie@hotmail.com</a>
email- <a href="mailto:quixoticpio@yahoo.com">quixoticpio@yahoo.com</a></p>

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<p>I would say that you have some relativly strong ECs... Harvard is very pickey from what I have seen, but your chances look good.</p>

3

<p>first of all, thanks for taking the time to respond.. i truly appreciate it. =)</p>

<p>eh.. i have a lot of ec's.. but nothing outstanding, in my opinion.
i feel like such a painfully averagely outstanding student, if you know what i mean.</p>

<p>mm yeah, they ARE really picky.. gah idk >_< kinda stressin out over this</p>

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<p>Don't be so stressed... looking at what you posted, you will most likely get into one of th top 10 schools in the country, and a pretty good chance at Harvard. Good Luck :)</p>

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<p>..thanks, i'll need it!</p>

6

<p>What exactly are you expecting Harvard applicants to have that you don't? I mean, they don't all cure cancer, just some of them do.</p>

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<p>something like math olympiad, intel/siemens-westinghouse/RSI, major music competition, etc.. or highly advanced courses.. published research, so on</p>

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<p>Eh, they can't all have that can they? Maybe I just don't know enough...</p>

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<p>idk.. maybe i'm just stressing too much.
..i certainly hope i am. =/</p>

10

<p>d W i'i 9</p>

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<p>averagely outstanding student??? you kidding me, you are good, man, better than anyone I know in my school...wish you'll get into Harvard...peace</p>

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<p>Harvard, you a are very well prepared student for many of the ivy league schools. Since many of the replies praise you, which you definately deservce. I will point out the things that you may lack a bit when apply to Harvard, pitted aganist the brightest in the world. </p>

<p>Your courses are challenging, but they are only at the AP level. Many of the students come with IB leveled classes and a decent number come with over 60+ CL (College level) classes at a major university.
The other thing you may lack in research, (this may not apply to Harvard as much as MIT/Caltech). Often times, a student who has done reseearch, and has it published by a distinguished publishers will boost their chances of getting in by about 10%+, which is alot for a shcool that only takes 10% of the top 1% of the nation that even thought of applying.
However you have a great shot regardless, go and apply :P</p>

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<p>JZL1129- thanks.. :-)
Anthony249- thx for your insight. yeah, i know that my courses arent as advanced, but i didnt have much opportunity. i'm not using that as an excuse though.. i will admit my course load is on the easy side.</p>

<p>And I don't intend on applying to MIT/Caltech.. =D</p>

<p>thanks to the both of you for your responses though.. and good luck if you guys are applying this fall!</p>

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<p>Harvard, make sure you say that in your essay though :P Tell them those are the most rigerous at your HS, but dont stress it so much, that is seems like its an excuse ;)</p>

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<p>i cant fit that into my essay.. it has no place xD
totally wouldnt fit</p>

<p>but isnt that what the school report is supposed to do, give a profile of the school? hehe</p>

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<p>yeah that's the point of the school report -- I don't understand what's wrong with APs though, many more high schools have APs than IB programs (I'd never heard of IB before I came on this board; no schools near where I live have the program, and I live in one of the most competitive areas for top colleges)</p>

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<p>yeah thats what a school report does :), but If you needed some space to fill in essay I would, but if you don't thats fine. As for IB's they are not very popular here either, but many schools consider them more rigerious, because the class if taught by an actual professor in an actual college setting, but you will need to take a test (similar to AP) in the end. As for CL classes, I think those are the best. You can spend your time in a good university (usually paid for by state) and earn both HS and College Credits (which can transfer once you apply as a freshmen to a college) without taking an test. However the disadvantage is that the grades you got in those CL clases will stay with you throughout college.</p>

18

<p>interesting</p>

<p>IB program here.. you have to take an entrance test in 8th grade to get into the only county IB school</p>

<p>i took the test and passed, but didnt end up going becase 1. it was an hour away, and 2. i thought it would be better to be the best here at this local HS than to be a mediocre/good student at the IB school.. i reget now though. i overestimated the ib school and underestimated myself.. there's no challenge at all here, and the educational opportunities are limited.</p>

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<p>Don't worry about that now, your 1580 SAT score will show them you would of performed well in an IB program, and you are as smart if not smarter than most of them. Which If I had to give a number, would give you a 40% chance of being admitted.</p>

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<p>"2/3 of kids with 1600's get rejected.." well, isn't that just great to know.</p>