Outside of US, GCs are less knowledgeable about the rules or are less concerned about the consequence of rule violation because they have few students apply to US colleges.
Congratulations! Could you please share your childās extracurriculars.
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Thanks! Two STEM ventures. One in partnership with a national organization that scaled rapidly. Second, focused on teaching engg. design to youth in underserved communities. Immersed in social justice areas in her school and local community. She started a club that scaled quickly and won state award. Serving as youth rep to town initiatives on racial justice. She is also a product designer with some innovative prototypes solutions and separately has co-led robotics team in town for 5 years. She is a club softball player for 6+ years and a rock/pop musician since very young, with a lot of performances at prestigious venues. Rank 1/220 and 11 APs, including the ones this year.
DS got in. No ALDC, is an ORM. Has a 4.0 UW with 7 APs at a very competitive public HS in CA, 1560 SAT. He has a talent where he has achieved a very high level by winning national competitions, including YoungArts this year. He also has taken his passion for the environment to the next level beyond his school club - most of it developed to fill his time while he was stuck at home during the pandemic. All of his achievements are his own - these are self-driven activities that he chose for himself without our input. He had a second interview with an AO, so we were very nervous about what that meant, but figured he had a 50/50 chance.
He is our last child. Our others kids went to a private school in the NE and a public in CA. Itās all about fit and where you think you can thrive. Second child had multiple disappointments before being accepted to his current school. He is very happy and doing well. Take time to process the disappointment if you didnāt get in, but donāt lose hope - there is no one perfect school, and most of you will be able to thrive wherever you land.
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Thank you for sharing. This is really helpful.
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I was wondering the same thing.
I would speculate that the product design and rock music were factors.
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Congrats bro. Iām from India and I also got deferred, so did 7000 other EA Applicants.
What you do to get off the list is what matters now.
Yes, possibly. Her optional essay was on how to make product engineering more minority-centered. She talked about her ventures and what sheās achieved in that area as well as what she could learn/do at Harvard with it. She also discussed what companies and education systems should do to make that shift. So, it was a pretty holistic point of view. I think that resonated with the AOs.
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Also the focus on unrepresented minorities.
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@threesix, Congratulations on your sonās admittance!! Can I ask whether he submitted an arts supplement as well since he won YoungArts?
Thank you! My son ultimately wants to major in some combination of music and science. He is considering all options including conservatories, and in fact, applied for the Harvard/NEC dual program. Since he had to record music for the conservatories as well as YoungArts, he included those videos in the Harvard supplement. I believe he also submitted his music resume.
He did develop a nice rapport with a Harvard prof in his area of music, who was impressed with my sonās talent. This may have moved the needle in the decision process.
YoungArts decisions were not released in time for the app deadline. During the second interview with the AO, my son mentioned his YoungArts win and she said she would note that. He wasnāt sure if she knew about YoungArts, but Iām sure there are others in the admissions committee who do know the significance.
Also, quick edit to something I wrote in my previous post. He took 8 AP classes, not 7 
I Feel guilty not correcting that!
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Heās very accomplished! Best of luck with NEC, Iām assuming auditions happen Jan or February?The dual program would be an amazing cherry on top.
Thank you for your kind words 
I assume auditions happen in Jan/Feb, but Iām not sure. The dual program would be amazing if it works out!
My kid very seriously considered NEC, and then realized that for them, taking demanding classes, it just was not possible. As it was, taking 4 tough classes, one with a lab, and playing with the HRO was all they could handle this fall. Theyāre thinking about adding in playing for the freshman musical in the spring. Thereās just no way that they could have handled NEC too. Kid says that thereās a reason why very few do it.
BTW, kid absolutely loves playing in HRO. Fed Cortese, the conductor, is just wonderful. Says itās where they feel most comfortable on campus. They do a Labor Day weekend retreat at New England Music Camp - kid said it was fantastic, being with all the other aliens. Hoping your son will consider HRO. NEC does give credit for it as an ensemble - itās very high level.
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Thank you for the information. Heās definitely excited to be involved in Harvardās extracurricular music community. DS has talked to several Harvard seniors/alumni who did the dual program or did one major and cobbled together music opportunities on the side and perform professionally. I trust him to make an informed decision that will work for him. He is also looking at other non-Harvard options as well. He is far from done with this yearās decision process, though he has (gratefully) nailed down one of his top options. Heās a very humble kid who knows his limitations and strengths. If juggling two disparate degrees doesnāt work, he can always drop one later 
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I applied to Harvard. My 2 nephews applied to them .
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congratulations to all that made it. my son made it too from NJ. he will be pursuing a pre med track. folks interested in getting a group created to introduce the incoming students to each other, are welcome to reply.
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Daughter got accepted but she is not thrilled with their engineering program. She thinks highly of U of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Georgia Tech. Well, their engineering schools are ranked higher than Harvard. Iām in favor of Harvard but cannot convince her. She is waiting to hear from UofM. Any thoughts on how to get her to rethink Harvard as an equivalent program??
Thank you to all.
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