Harvard material?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I have listed my stats below. Note that I am vague on purpose for the sake of my privacy.

Demographics:

  • Male, Asian, first gen, < $40,000 family income
  • Intended major is computer science

Academics:

  • ACT: 35
  • SAT II: haven't taken (expecting 800 on Math II and 750+ on Chem)
  • Rank: 1
  • GPA: 4.0
  • Most rigorous courseload (11 APs); 5s on all exams except for 1

Awards:

  • I will omit my awards (once again, for privacy). I will mention, however, that I was a U.S. Presidential Scholar Nominee.

ECs:

  • Research at a university; in the process of publishing a paper; machine learning
  • Administrator of a network of websites; 14+ million views; 950,000 users; $30,000 in ad revenue
  • International, paid internship at a top software firm
  • Newspaper club; editor-in-chief; spearheading development of online version; all 4 years
  • YouTube channel; 1.4 million views; 14,300 subscribers; $4,000 in ad revenue
  • Web design social enterprise; develop websites for local non-profits
  • Student Council representative; all 4 years
  • Link Crew leader; help incoming freshmen
  • NHS; treasurer
  • Volunteering; variety of things; mentor an elementary school student

Questions:

Should I mention my YouTube channel?

Note that I am being EXTREMELY vague in my descriptions above. There is more to each of the ECs listed above. My main question is this:

Are my extracurriculars “Harvard material”? Do I even have a shot?

2

Absolutely Yes to all of your questions. Good Luck!

3

You have the stats to make the first cut. Your recs and counselor evaluation will present your character traits and may or may not convince adcoms whether you are a good fit.

4

I think you should go for it. Those are very interesting & some impressive ECs…i.e., the ones that will get the admissions committee’s attention are the ones that aren’t ‘cookie cutter,’ like your paid internship, the research you’ve worked on that’s getting published, web admin, etc.

Should you mention your YouTube channel on your application? I’m not sure. It depends on the content of the channel. :slight_smile: if it has more adult content (risque), then leave it out. Or if your YouTube channel is full of stuff like unboxing toys or you commenting off-screen while viewers watch your game character play video games, then no.

5

@tucsonmom Unfortunately, my YouTube channel does contain off-screen commentary while I play games. However, the types of games that I play are not what your average teenager plays in his/her free time. Rather, I have built a small “brand” by providing tutorials for children’s games. I started my first channel back in 2010. Should I still eschew from putting it on my application?

In other words, the videos are not of me playing video games in my free time. Rather, they are scripted and edited tutorial videos for digital children’s games.

6

@fauve Thanks for the feedback. Should I mention the YouTube channel?

7

Bump. I’d love some additional feedback on my two questions above.

8

Unless your youtube video demonstrates a contribution to society–like helping children’s education, not just video game improvement, I would omit it.

9

I personally think the youtube channel would be beneficial. I think it would set you apart and help demonstrate your personality. Obviously don’t make it the highlight of your application but to show that you have been able to build a channel with a million views proves how hardworking you are.

10

Yes, certainly. Especially since you are first generation, you have excellent scores, and variety of strong EC’s.