You would be an complete outlier to obtain admission at that point, without being an athlete, high-end legacy, or have a discernable hook, (e.g. Natalie Portman–which in all fairness is not the best example, as her professors said she could have had a stellar career as en elite academic).
OP, Harvard and elite colleges accept the top kids in the nation and the world. You are not even anywhere near the top of your local HS. You really have almost zero chances of being accepted to an elite school. You should not be looking at schools in the top 20 let alone Harvard. Please sit down with your GC to develop a more realistic set of colleges to apply to instead of wasting your time filling out applications for uber-reach schools. Sorry for being so blunt but the deadline for earlies is coming up and you should be looking at a completely different set of schools.
Your comment about CEO’s, billionaires etc was very disconcerting and shows that you have little understanding of how the world works. Harvard, or any other schools or that matter, doesn’t hand you these things. Work on being at the top of your HS class first and worry about being at the top of the world later. Good luck!!
@falcon1 explain students with no legacy who were able to get in with a range of 2.0 and 2.5’s. I know several people with that story. Explain there story. They did not have Out of this world EDs but got into Harvard. Please explain that scenario then
Perhaps they’re able to donate billions of dollars to buy their way in, who knows. There’s no point to being defensive; apply if you want, but have safeties so you will definitely have somewhere to go in the fall.
Wait- I want to hear more, @determined2498. You say that you know several people, with no hooks, who got into Harvard with GPAs of 2.0 and 2.5? I can’t explain that, and I’ll bet @Falcon1 can’t either. What do you think happened with those people? Can you tell us more about them? b/c it is always helpful to have new information.
While optimism is a great thing, you have to pay attention to the facts. Harvard, above all, is an academic institution. They are very well known not only because of their famous graduates. They are consistently ranked highly because of the numbers. You need a GPA higher than 3.2 to have a chance. This is not 1980 anymore. You can apply, nobody will stop you. That is ALL you, OP. However, just don’t expect too much. I hate to sound this harsh, but there are kids out there who have done significant scientific research that could help with the human epigenome project that have 4.0+ GPAs. You seem quite scattered in you aspirations as well. You seem to only be concerned with the wealth and the fame that comes with Harvard. No shame in that, I mean we all strive for further education to go somewhere in life, right? But you don’t seem to clearly know what you want to do. While that’s fine in general, it’s not necessarily going to help you if they are questioning your commitment to academics in the first place. Try going for scholarships in NJ universities. There is NO shame in attending a university that is not top 20 or Ivy League. You do seem awesome. Just remember as a future CEO that you want to make the best financial decisions. The Ivies may not help in that sense. And realize that where you go to grad school truly matters. And even after that, all that matters is you, your knowledge, and your aspirations to make it in this world. Just remember that Harvard is above all an academic institution, as are most schools. And a school most likely won’t accept you if you do not have what they want
If you donated numbers that are 8 figures and above to the univerisity, or you have the talent to be a forward for the Red Wings, or if you survived a genocide in Rwanda, then you might be that rarified person, who goes outside the band of credentials where almost 99% of their accepted students reside…those are some rather profound IFs…
Harvard can be a nasty, snobbish place. You need to have a thick skin and a sense of irony to get through it. I don’t know about a thick skin, but you don’t have much of a sense of irony judging from your posts here. That’s not a fatal flaw in life but I wouldn’t recommend it at Harvard. People would laugh in your face if you talked about your self-published books. There are many other places where you would be happier. Best of luck, you seem like a nice, smart kid.
@determined2498 No problem. I am in the same pickle as you. I really like schools like Yale and USC but my GPA AND test scores are way too low to make the first round of review. You have the good test score (amazing job on the 34 ACT. Congrats on your accomplishment!). Go ahead an apply, because you’ll always wonder what would have happened if you applied. Just work on your essays and grades. Continue to achieve because that is all you can do right now. Yes, odds are that they will say no to people like us who may have accomplished something outside of the classroom. These are above all academic institutions. I understand that it’s super easy to get stuck in your dreams because the world has been harsh and unfair towards you. But you just need to learn to accept the irony that comes with life and move on. You need to use your logic so much in situations like these. Harvard won’t reject you because you are truly not qualified or unintelligent. If they reject you, it’s probably because of that GPA. And guess what? This is not a big deal. Why? Because you are not equal to your GPA. I think you should apply because if you don’t, your chances will obviously be at 0%. However, don’t expect to get in, even a waitlist would be highly unlikely for applicants with our GPAs. If you do get in, think about what going to Harvard would mean. If you don’t, move on and do your best at an “easier” school and apply to Harvard a year or two later. The thing about our system, with its countless flaws, is that just because a door may be locked the first time around it doesn’t mean that you will never find the key. Best of luck.
@manwiththeplan Sorry, the very definition of outlier means his chance is miniscule. Given the uber level of competition of actual qualified applicants is in the low single digits. He is not. So, to say he could be easily one of them is utterly incorrect…his chances are a fraction of 1%.