Harvard SCEA 2023 Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

SCEA results come out on 12/13 at 7pm ET. Good luck to all of us!!!

Put your result, stats, ECs, etc. here to help future applicants. Use this format:

PLEASE REPLACE THE [* BELOW WITH JUST [ BEFORE POSTING
[B][size=4][color=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size][/b]
[B][size=4][color=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size][/b]
[B][size=4][color=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size][/b]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

2

MODERATORā€™S NOTE:
Please use this thread for results only, since non-result posts will be deleted. General discussion posts should be placed in the following thread:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/2088794-harvard-university-class-of-2023-scea-applicants.html#latest

3

Decision: Deferred

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1540 (760 EBRW, 780 Math)

ACT (breakdown): taken once but not sent; 32

SAT II: 690 Math II, 750 Biology M

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85

Weighted GPA: 4.35

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none

AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (3), AP Biology (5), AP US History (3), AP English Language & Composition (5)

IB (place score in parenthesis): NONE

Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Government, Teacherā€™s Assistant for AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, Physical Education (mandatory in my school), AP English Language & Literature, News Journalism
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd place in World Tang Soo Do Association World Championships 2018 Individual Competition, 3rd place in World Tang Soo Do Association World Championships 2018 Demonstration Competition, National Merit Scholar Commended Student, AP Scholar with Honors, Illinois State Scholar, Best of School Newspapers Online

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech Team, School Newspaper (News Editor), Martial Arts (Black Belt and Certified Instructor), Team Eagle Extreme Martial Arts Team, Eagle Academy of Martial Arts Demo Team, Waubonsie Valley High School Break the Ice Cultural Dance Competition, Girl Scouts, Fresh Connect Mentor, Indian Student Association

Job/Work Experience: Assitant Instructor at Eagle Academy of Martial Arts, Bookkeeper at Eagle Academy of Martial Arts, regular Nannying for a local family, Tutor for peers

Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Eagle Academy of Martial Arts

Summer Activities: Shadowed OB/GYN over the summer, Loyola University High School Digital Storytelling Workshop

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
COMMON APP: Iā€™m really bad at considering my own essays because no matter how often I revise I wonā€™t ever think itā€™s perfect but (8/10), used my love for Jeopardy! as a metaphor for my love of learning and my interest in a variety of subjects.
Harvard Supplement: (7/10) I did the prompt about what I want to give back to my peers at Harvard; I read it a little while ago and I feel like it wasnā€™t terrible but I think it could have been better; I talked about the importance of taking up learning opportunities wherever they may appear and about what specifically I wish to do at Harvard to give back to the community and to be engaged.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): AP3 Teacher (10/10); I havenā€™t read it but I know her really well and we had a really great connection; she also wrote a letter of recommendation for the girl who got into Harvard from my school last year; she knew me very well intellectually and read my CommonApp essay so I feel like she knew what foot I wanted to put forward.

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): AP Biology Teacher (8/10); I havenā€™t read this one either, but I believe she wrote a good letter; I had her my sophomore year of high school and Iā€™ve been her assitant this year; weā€™ve talked a lot about random things and I think she knows my work ethic and my passion.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Two counselors (7/10); I havenā€™t read this, but my school switched counselors last year so my new counselor and old counselor worked together to write mine (most counselors donā€™t do that); my old counselor specfically said she wanted to make my rec ā€˜glowingā€™ so!!

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): My Newspaper adviser, (8/10); he talked about what I was like in a class that I actually had a lot of passion for, and added a unique not necessarily academic perspective of me. My other additional rec was my karate Master (6/10); I give it that score because I think it was a good recommendation but I feel like it was more surface level than my other recs.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): (8/10) I think it went well? I wouldnā€™t say we became best friends but I think we had an interesting conversation and I think I was able to elucidate a lot of important things about myself, like how maybe I want to major in biology BUT I want to study so much more and learn so much more like I want to take language courses and writing, so I expressed that it wasnā€™t like ā€œI know exactly what I want to doā€ but I know what I want to study.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none :confused:

I submitted two additional materials. I submitted one of the articles Iā€™ve written for my school newspaper because I feel like it was a really good representation of my skills in writing and investigating. It was a pretty involved story. I also submitted an update about two weeks ago because I and a friend started an organization and there were new developments that I felt were important enought to warrant adding; we got a lot of attention in our district and town because we basically exposed my school for not following a state law and then we started like a movement to make the school follow it; we were featured in a lot of articles on local news and were on radio.

Reflections: Wish my GPA was higher but thereā€™s not much I can do about that, I think I could have refined my supplemental essay more

Strengths: I think my essays count as strengths because I feel like they really spoke to my interests and my personality more than things like my grades and scores. I also think that my recommendations were good because they

Weaknesses: Relatively speaking, grades and GPA most likely were my greatest weakness combined with the fact that nothing else was particularly spectacular.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

4

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510: Math: 780, Reading: 730
ACT (breakdown): 31
SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 750, (US History: 650 not reported)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4
Weighted GPA: 5.2 (6 max)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: Euro, AB Subscore, Physics 1, Macro, Micro; 4: Lang, Calc BC
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Phys C, AP US Gov, APUSH, AP Latin, AP Lit, Calc III (dual enrollment)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): DAR Good Citizen Award Nominee for my school, Rho Kappa Written Communications Commendations (Scholarship, Overall Excellence)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN, Piano, Science Olympiad, Bowling, Scripture study class before school (contradicts my essay, but itā€™s a big enough commitment I listed it anyway)
Job/Work Experience: 7 hrs/week, (June 2017 - present) at a Nationwide office
Volunteer/Community service: 90 hours at Humane Society listed on application
Summer Activities: Secondary School Program at Harvard (2018), NC Boysā€™ State (2018), Job (see above) (2017)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 talked about my faith transition out of Mormonism into atheism/agnosticism

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): (I havenā€™t read any of them)
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9 Latin Teacher Iā€™ve had all of high school. Knows I have a strong work ethic.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9 Taught Honors intro to law & politics (Jr. year) and APUSH (sr. year). Got very good grades on my research papers in her classes, and improved throughout the year.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 6 I donā€™t know her too well and was more reserved than I should have been during our meetings.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8 The Professor who taught one of the classes I took at Harvard last summer I have no idea what he wrote, but I was elated he wrote it.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 2 Iā€™m terrible at interviews. This wasnā€™t really an exception. I forgot everything Iā€™ve ever done in my life and had difficulty keeping eye contact. I asked several questions that he answered extensively and it was still barely 40 minutes long. Tried to do some damage control in a thank you email the next day.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Government
State (if domestic applicant): NC
School Type: Independent
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: M
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections: Disappointed
Strengths: Recommendations, GPA, essay (I thought)
Weaknesses: Interview, SAT (sort-of)

5

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 M, 760 R
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.41
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/320
AP (place score in parenthesis): 15 total, took 8 exams and got 7 5ā€™s and a 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Differential equations, Modern physics, College-level engineering, AP Government, AP Literature, AP Chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US Philosophy Team

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): XC 9-12 (captain)
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 6.5/10, my French teacher canā€™t write in English whoops
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9/10
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, got it from a professor whose lab I work in
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Oh yes
Intended Concentration: Physical sciences (oops)
Region (if domestic applicant): South
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Split between public/magnet
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, nada

Reflections: Iā€™m an idiot.
Strengths: None.
Weaknesses: Iā€™m an idiot.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Duh. Iā€™m not that bad but Iā€™m definitely not very good.

General Comments (if any): Felt very neutral about the whole process. Totally unsurprised.

6

Decision: Deferred

SAT I (breakdown): 1540 (790 Math, 750 English)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 730 Math II, 690 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Unsure, around 3.8 probably
Weighted GPA: 4.23/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unsure, top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: English Language & World History
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Physics C
AP Calculus BC
AP Spanish
AP English
Honors Engineering (Virtual High School)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major, National Honors Society, Saint Anselm Book Award, #6 in DECA role play (state-level), maybe a few more small-scale awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Soccer
Varsity Tennis
Varsity Basketball
Class President (Leadership)
I run a Make-A-Wish Golf Tournament that has raised >$30,000 (Leadership)
Math Modeling Challenge - Top 200 in US
Peer Tutor
DECA Senior Vice President

Job/Work Experience:
Camp Counselor
Youth Basketball Coach
Tutor

Volunteer/Community service:
Make-A-Wish thing
Volunteer at Rec Dept.
Volunteer for Rotary Club

Summer Activities:
Camp Counselor
Make-A-Wish Thing

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Commonapp : (9/10) I feel like I snapped, connected my fear of public speaking to my job of doing the morning announcements, showing my dedication to helping my community and my ability to cope w fear

Harvard Supplement: (7.5/10) Hard to say, I feel decent. I wrote about campfires with my ideologically different friends where we talked about politics, morality, etc. This showed how I could have complex conversations and deal w/ those close to me having different views.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
(8/10) AP English teacher: she showed me the letter, it was pretty good and she talked about my intelligence and maturity throughout the year

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
(7.5/10) Honors/AP Physics Teacher: we get along great but heā€™s kind of absent-minded so idk how good the LOR would be. Hopefully he did well which Iā€™m sure it was good.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
(7/10) I donā€™t know how well my counselor knew me and I feel as though she probably didnā€™t put in too much effort.

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
(8/10) Make-A-Wish VP of Events: This was probably unique as she wrote about my success and commitment to the tournament and the charity so thatā€™s pretty neat.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
(8.5/10) We hit it off and chatted about a bunch of stuff. No awkward silences or anything, pretty good stuff.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Make-A-Wish, tying into my whole kinda ā€œspikeā€ which was bettering my community

Reflections: Unsure about my feelings, did all I can do I guess. Could have higher GPA/SAT II but you canā€™t win them all, right?
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Sports, Essays
Weaknesses: Grades, SAT II, LOR?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not bad enough to be rejected but not good enough to get in

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ULowell Honors College baby!

General Comments (if any):

7

Decision: Deferred

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A

ACT (breakdown): 31C, 32E, 35M, 27R (oof), 30S

SAT II: 730 Math I, 710 US History

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.000

Weighted GPA: 4.7917 / 4

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 371

AP (place score in parenthesis): Macro(5), Human Geo(5), Eng Lang(4), APUSH(4), Env Sci(4), Calc BC(3), Bio(3)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load:
AP Microeconomics
AP English Lit
PLTW (engineering) Civil Engineering and Architecture
AP Comp Sci
AP Stat
AP Gov & Politics
Honors writing class (probably going to be the one class I get a B in)
AP World History

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
2018 United States Senate Youth Program North Carolina first alternate delegate
2017 Making a Difference for (name of city) Families Youth of the Year
October, 2018 (name of city) Public Schools Student of the Month
2017 PAC-6 All-Conference award (baseball)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
North Carolina Teenage Republicans (chairman)
North Carolina Youth Advisory Council (voting board member)
(name of city) City Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee (Secretary)
City of (name of city) Youth Commission (4 year member, 2 term president)
Young Republicans of (name of high school) (founder, president)
Varsity Baseball team (co-captain)
Governorā€™s Page
Senate Page

Job/Work Experience:
Executive Intern for North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP)

Volunteer/Community service:
Kids Voting (name of city) Organization (precinct leader)
Co-organized Parentsā€™ Night Out events for 2 years with (name of city) Parks & Rec

Summer Activities:
Executive Intern for NCGOP

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 7/10, put a good amount of work into it but could definitely see it coming off as cliche
Harvard short responses: 7.5/10 for both, solid, not the best ever by any means
Harvard Supplemental: 5/10, lackluster, shouldā€™ve worked harder on it, it was maybe three short paragraphs

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, had him for three years, great bond. Son recently graduated from Harvard so Iā€™m assuming he mentioned being a parent of a Harvard student/graduate
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, had her for two years, another very solid relationship. Weā€™ve had many long discussions about politics, current events, and the world as a whole
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 5/10, doesnā€™t know me too well.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, rec from Mayor of my city. Weā€™ve known each other for a while now and he has seen me through my cityā€™s youth commission. Weā€™ve also talked extensively about politics, current events, and the world as a whole as well.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Really not sure. We spoke for a little over an hour and had a great time just talking about, well, politics, current events, and the world as a whole. I donā€™t think I ever had the opportunity to bring up my extracurriculars. We were too busy exchanging stories and laughing.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but wouldnā€™t have gotten any
Intended Major: Government concentration
State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public, around 1800 students total
Ethnicity: Asian American (Japanese/Italian)
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I wish

Reflections:
Work on those essays. Perfect them. Have a compelling story. Be charismatic and likable in the interview. Make sure to research your interviewer ahead of time. Get those test scores up.

Strengths: Extracarriculars

Weaknesses: My test scores SUCK. Well in the 25% for Harvard
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Lackluster essays, test scores
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: semi-finalist for Morehead-Cain scholarship at UNC Chapel Hill

General Comments (if any):
Make sure you have competitive test scores. Make sure you build relationships with teachers. Make sure you put 100% effort into your essays. At the end of the day, I was already more invested and interested in the Morehead-Cain scholarship at UNC and I think that showed through in my Harvard app.

GOOD LUCK TO THOSE IN THE FUTURE!

8

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1240 (630 EBRW, 610 math)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 690 BioE, 700 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.68
Weighted GPA: 4.14
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 37/615
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (4), AP Environmental Science (4), AP Biology (4), AP Lang (3), AP World History (3), AP Calc AB (2)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Statistics, AP Human Geography, Honors Economics, Spanish III
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Third place in regional solo music performance, Student of the Month

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club (Vice-President), Band (Section leader), Yearbook (Treasurer), National Honor Society (Secretary), Environmental Club (member), Fitness club (member)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: 20 hours per semester for Key Club plus summers so maybe ~200 total?
Summer Activities: Community college courses, summer program at a prestigious college
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Commonapp was about my commitment to the #BlackLivesMatter movement and racial justice in general. Supplemental was about how a trip to Haiti at 12 changed my views on global justice.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10/10

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): From Environmental Science teacher. I had one of the highest grades in the class and she was also the advisor for the club Iā€™m in. 10/10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): US History teacher who I wrote a really good term paper on Ralph Ellisonā€™s impact on American political thought for. 10/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Loves me. 10/10
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): A guy in his thirties. We had a lot in common and talked about a lot. 10/10

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Suburban public
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections: Attending Harvard has been a dream of mine since I was a 5 and to see it come true is just incredible. Iā€™m in disbelief. I had good but not eye-popping grades so it really goes to show you that they care a lot more than just GPA and test scores.
Strengths: Personal character, essays, extracurriculars, rec letters, interview.
Weaknesses: Grades and test scores not as good as some others.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Solid academic performer with commitment to a cause (racial justice) rather than just wanting to attend Harvard for the sake of attending Harvard.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Pretty certain Iā€™ll be attending Harvard this fall, but will apply to Stanford and Yale just in case.

General Comments (if any): Donā€™t ever give up. Try to be a genuinely interesting person. Harvard is admitting a person, not a collection of stats, extracurriculars, and awards.

1 Like
9

Decision Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):36
SAT II:800 Math2, 800 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.9
Weighted GPA:4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APs, all 5s
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Heavy, all honors . Designed a new interdisciplinary course
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Football, Model UN, Varsity Golf, Quiz Bowl (nationally ranked), Editor School Newspaper. Started many clubs where I have leadership roles.
Job/Work Experience:Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Worked with refugee children. Introduced Quiz Bowl to middle school students at inner city school
Summer Activities: Outward Bound. Volunteered as summer camp counselor in inner city for impoverished kids.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Good, not great. Probably 4/10 .
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 1. Said i was ā€œbest she has ever seenā€
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):2 . Said that i am unusual in being able to connect with kids and adults at both sides of the political spectrum.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):1-2
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Had on campus interview that i felt went just ok because questions were open ended. So 5/10. Alumni interview was excellent, probably 1-2/10

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?:no
Intended Major: social studies/humanities
State (if domestic applicant): NY

Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity:white
Gender:Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflections:
Strengths:Grades, scores, challenging curriculum, extracurricular leadership, nationally ranked in some EC, lot of community service, outstanding recommendations
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably 1-2 academic score, 2-3 extracurricular, 1-2 personal
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet
General Comments (if any) . Think it is good for the soul and for the application to do community service . BUT IT IS MOSTLY LUCK/RANDOMNESS. Harvard could use dice and come up with a great class

10

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36E, 35M, 34R, 34S)
SAT II: Math II: 790, Chem: 710 oof
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.471
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): HG 5, USH 4, Chem 3, AB Calc 4 (subscore 5), World 5, Physics1 4, Lit 4, BC Calc 5, Bio 5 (To be taken: physicsC e/m, psych, lang, stats)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics E/M, Orchestra, AP Psych, Research, Online English, Multivariable, AP Lang
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Commended National Merit, National AP Scholar, DECA Internationals Top 10, Emperor Science Award for cancer research, Gold Presidential Scholar, idk whatā€™s really considered major ahh

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Gov (Executive: Secretary), DECA (VP of Com & Marketing), Class of 2019 Service Project (leader), Orchestra (Highest auditioned orchestra President), debate, science bowl, science olympiad, theatre FOH, cross country skiing, cross country running, coffeehouse
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: I volunteered at my local arboretum, library, orchestra events, children events through my library, book drives-- my class service projectā€™s volunteer focus was education.
Summer Activities: I did a lot of volunteering & research over my summers. I worked at a lab for my junior year summer on cancer research basically all summer.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app 8/10, I worked super hard on this with a close writing center coach that helped me!! Supplement 9/10, I really liked my supplement, I thought it brought out my passions.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 My math teacher (for both AP calcs and multivariable)! He had me for like 3 years of high school and so he knew me really well, but I never got to read it.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (okay iā€™m ngl, I donā€™t remember whether I sent my AP Bio or AP Lit teacher rec for this one but I think they were both really good.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, my counselor was new for my senior year so she didnā€™t know me that well, but she saw me campaigning for stud gov a bunch and met with me twice before writing my rec!
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, my orchestra teacher that I love with all my heart wrote this one-- Iā€™ve had her for all 4 years (and have known her for longer) and sheā€™s like my mom at school.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, my interview was really good! He barely had to lead with questions because it flowed like a really insightful conversation! He even wished me the best of luck and said he would be putting in his ā€œhighestā€ recommendation.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, a really big school (3k + kids)
Ethnicity: South Korean
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflections: Wow!! This has been my dream school since I even knew what college wasā€¦ Iā€™m still shook.
Strengths: My essays & extracurriculars! I really took advantage of all my school had to offer and tried to get as involved as possible!
Weaknesses: Probably test scores? My SAT IIā€™s were kinda bad, but also I never got any outstanding academic awardsā€¦
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I feel like my two biggest points of differentiation are my cancer research but also my application of my research into a business setting!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Well since itā€™s still really early, I got accepted into the U of M TC honors but thatā€™s it haha. I think Iā€™m still applying to MIT though?

General Comments (if any): !!!

11

[B][size=4][color=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size][/b]

Decision: Deferred
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):NA
ACT (breakdown):36 C, 35E, 36M, 35R, 36S
SAT II: 730 Math1, 720 English (Didnā€™t send both)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 93/100
Weighted GPA: school doesnā€™t weight
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnā€™t rank but ~ 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APs, didnā€™t submit any scores tho
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: All AP classes. AP Micro, AP Macro, AP English Lit, APUSH, AP Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None:(

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial(Captain), School Newspaper(Business Editor), Investment Team(Founder, Captain), Model Congress(Captain), Debate(A. Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Tutor, Intern in the summer
Volunteer/Community service: 2 organizations for special needs children (leadership role in one)
Summer Activities:Intern, Summer Camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8/10 really good, true story about a really significant injury and how I bounced back
Supplemental: 10/10 I honestly thought if anything would get me in, it would be the supplement. I wrote s/t really unique but I cannot elaborate as I will be using again on a different college app
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 AP English past 2 years. She loved me, she was also my Mock Trial coach. She told me she wrote me an unbelievable rec
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10
AP Gov and AP Micro/AP Macro I had him for a lot of classes, we get along really well. He has a really high opinion of me and he knew I was applying to Harvard so he told me he would try extra hard. Not sure how good a writer he is tho :confused:
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 5/10 Canā€™t imagine it was great. She doesnā€™t know too much about me
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): None

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, Jewish Day School
Ethnicity: Jewish Caucasian
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): My mom likes to tell me Iā€™m uniqueā€¦so no, no really:/

Reflections: I told everyone who was was supporting me not to get to excited because the most likely scenario was me getting deferred. Still, as much as I tried to convince myself, I truly believed I was going to get in. I donā€™t know what more I couldā€™ve done (maybe higher GPA, also probably shouldā€™ve sent SAT 2) but honestly, I guess it just wasnā€™t meant to be.
Strengths: ACT, Essays, Recs
Weaknesses: No SAT 2, Maybe GPA, lack of a hook
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Iā€™m honestly not sure, but Iā€™ll reflect on things I couldā€™ve done better. My GPA is not bad, but it couldā€™ve been better. My ACT didnā€™t leave much room for improvement+ I think they care more about composite anyway soā€¦ My extracurriculars were great, butā€¦ I didnā€™t win national awards. Ultimately, I think I was deferred because I did a lot of things pretty well, but Iā€™m not unbelievable at one particular thing.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet (I know, I know, great way to start of college letter season :ā€™(

General Comments (if any): I didnā€™t do anything unbelievable in High school. I did what normal high school students do and I did it very well. But they donā€™t look for normal high school students who do really well, they look for extraordinary people who happen to be high school students. I guess I shouldnā€™t have watched so much TV and shouldā€™ve worked on Socia Justice or s/t like that. Oh well

Congrats to all those who were accepted. Please take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. I would kill to be in your spot right now, and just remember every day that you are there, how lucky you are to be at such a great school.
Best of luck :slight_smile:

12

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 superscore (790 M, 740 E), didnā€™t send
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 M/36 S/35 E/33 R, 10 Essay)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Bio (M)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.50
Weighted GPA: 4.01
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 15%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4), Seminar (4), Physics 1 (4), Calc AB (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, AP Comp Sci A, AP Research, AP Stat, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2nd Place Car Building Award Internationally, Presented at national neuroscience conference, etc

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Water Filtration Research (pubbed), Neurosci Research (pubbed), Car Building Team, Student Gov (school president), SNHS (pres), Robotics (Head of outreach), Spanish NHS (pres). Also a soundcloud rapper lmao
Job/Work Experience: Teaching Assistant for Neurosci Prof during the summers
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital Volunteer
Summer Activities: Research szn
Essays (rating 1-10, details): when I wrote it I thought it was a 8-9, but when I read it yesterday Iā€™d give them a 6-7.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): English teacher, very old school. I peaked when she used my essay as a ā€œmodel paperā€ in class. 7/10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): AP Seminar teacher, very close, like a second mom. 9/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): She was new to the school so I only had her for junior/senior year, but sheā€™s the student gov advisor so idk. 8/10?
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Neurosci Prof, surrogate father. 10/10
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Very chill, the dude and I talked about music and research primarily. 8/10.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yuh
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering/Int Relations
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

13

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: Math II: 780 Physics: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17 / 560
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP German, 5 English Literature and Language, 4 AP World History
IB (place score in parenthesis): None yet
Senior Year Course Load: BC Calculus, IB German HL/ AP German VI, AP Statistics, IB HL English IV, IB World History SL, Theory of Knowledge, IB HL Physics, IB SL Computer Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Deanā€™s list Finalist (National Robotics Award), National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics FRC (President), Orchestra (1st Chair of Cellos), No Place for Hate (Founding member), SACOT (Founding member), Amigos, NHS (Secretary)
Job/Work Experience: Internship at NASA, DLR (German NASA), Bosch (German electrical engineering)
Volunteer/Community service: a lot with NHS and Amigos
Summer Activities: internships, online programming classes, traveling
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 7 - it was well polished, but could have had more personality; Short answers: 9 - had humor and were well structured; Optional essay: 8 very personal and I hope represented me well

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7 - she was my ToK teacher, but I didnā€™t have her senior year
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10 - she has been my math teacher for 3 years and we are really close
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7 - big public school, so maybe not too personal
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8 - my manager when I did research, but she is used to German students; 8 - my manager at NASA who proved the experiences I had; 8 - my robotics mentor who knows me very well
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 6 - we got along well, but I donā€™t think we clicked

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: I honestly donā€™t know what went wrong. I do know, however, that Harvard applicants are brilliant, so Iā€™m lucky to at least be deferred.
Strengths: My dedication to engineering, I hoped.
Weaknesses: Maybe my interview? That was the only uncontrollable variable.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The number of girls who applied for engineering.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UT Austin, A&M, Colorado School of Mines

General Comments (if any): I hope I get reconsidered, but I donā€™t know what I have to change. If you see something that Iā€™m missing, feel free to send me a message!

14

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 Math, 790 ERW
ACT (breakdown): Not taken
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 790 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I have no idea, probably around 3.8-4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.46
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History: 5, US History: 5, Chemistry: 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C Mechanics + E&M, AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, The American Experience Honors (basically american foreign policy), Spanish 5 Honors, Computer Programming 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, National Hispanic Scholar, New Jersey Science League Top 10% for Chemistry I and Chemistry II, AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Life Scout), Taekwondo Black Belt, Chess Club Treasurer, Varsity Math Team, Tutoring Club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring Club and Boy Scouts
Summer Activities: Boy Scout Camp, Summer Honors Program for Finance at a college
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Around a 7-8 I guess, I wrote about overcoming my fears using an example from my trip to Philmont Scout Ranch

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): AP Chemistry Teacher, 9-10, she worked with me when I was in the New Jersey Science League
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9-10, my English teacher during sophomore and junior year
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Iā€™m guessing an 8 or 9
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Probably an 8, went on for over an hour which I think is good, but I didnā€™t prepare or memorize anything

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Parents are divorced, Hispanic (mother was born in Cuba)

Reflections:
Strengths: My test score were really good and my grades showed strong improvement over time, recommendations
Weaknesses: Lack of extracurriculars that stand out, shouldā€™ve gotten Eagle sooner, no work experience, also Iā€™m not sure if my supplement essay was good
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: A lack of meaningful extracurriculars and leadership positions definitely
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A

15

Decision: Deferred

OBJECTIVE:
SAT I (breakdown): 1540 Composite, highest categories are 790 CR+W on one test and 800 M on another test (submitted two tests with highest categories and composite)
ACT (breakdown): 36C - 36E/35M/36R/36S (submitted)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 710 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8/4 (oof)
Weighted GPA: 4.47/4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%

AP (place score in parenthesis):

Freshman - Environmental Science (self-study, 4), Psychology (self-study, 5), Human Geography (self-study, 5)

Sophomore - Comparative Government (self-study, 5), Macroeconomics (self-study, 4), Microeconomics (self-study, 4), Computer Science A (5), European History (4)

Junior - Physics 1 (4), Physics C Mech (self-study, 4), French (self-study, 3), Calculus BC (4 with AB subscore of 4), Statistics (5), US History (4), English Language (4)

Senior Year Course Load:

Major Awards (intl/major natl e.g. Olympiad, ISEF): highly ranked international mock trial awards as a lawyer (GLADIATOR 1-on-1 World Championship and Empire World Championship), national mock trial awards as witness
Minor Awards (state/minor natl e.g. NHS, Natl Merit, AP Scholar): Natl Merit commended scholar, Natl AP Scholar

SUBJECTIVE:
Extracurriculars:

  • CS Internship at million-dollar international nonprofit that hosts mock trial competitions for high schools and elite colleges like some of the T20s (10, 11, 12)
  • Head of Product Development in educational technology startup (11, 12)
  • Developing an LGBT positive high-fantasy game, hoping to finish and release in late 2019 (11, 12, I only do the programming, the actual design is by another high schooler)
  • Two year captain and four year varsity member of one of the worldā€™s best high school mock trial teams, consecutive top 5s at the world championships, placed top 30 at the individual world championship, qualified for national championship twice (9, 10, 11, 12)
  • Make and edit videos for two card game YouTube channels that have gained over 100,000 total views combined (10, 11, 12)
  • One year Executive Board Member of Computer Science Club, developing technology to improve school resources and providing weekly STEM discussions (10, 11, 12)
  • Model United Nations member, participate in the nationā€™s second largest Model UN sim every year (10, 11, 12)
  • Cast as principal role in school musical, which had local media coverage (11)
  • 100+ hours volunteering at local Indian cultural center (9, 10)
  • IT internship at local law firm (10, 11, 12)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

CommonApp - 6.5 - wrote about a card game and how it impacted my viewpoint of school, nothing really standout or good here

Roommate Supplement - 2 or 9 - this was a REALLY risky essay due to the intro and tone that I went with. This essay is either a solid 9 or 10, or a solid 1 or 2

Recommendations (Rating: Outstanding = ā€œbest of my career / in many yearsā€; Good = ā€œbest of this cohortā€; Average; Below-average; Verification: verified = I have seen the rec; somewhat verified = s/he told me this is what s/he wrote, or his/her past rec got me into some internships; unverified = my hunch)
Teacher Rec #1 (rating, verification, details):
Average, verified, Science teacher and mock trial coach, he didnā€™t write any real superlatives and just did a lot of talk about character traits in and out of the classroom

Teacher Rec #2 (rating, verification, details):
Good, unverified, English teacher, he wrote a rec for a super competitive research opportunity at a T5 and I got into the final round, but he wrote it at the last minute

Counselor Rec (rating, verification, details):
Average, unverified, assistant principal, she also wrote it at the last minute and she usually doesnā€™t write rec letters, but we have a good relationship

Additional Rec (if any) (rating, verification, details):
Outstanding, verified, president & founder of the nonprofit I work at, REALLY professional, great anecdotal evidence, lots of superlatives

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
6 - had one pretty rough answer, otherwise good presentation on my end. Guy asked super generic questions and randomly asked me about the classes and professors I planned to learn from. I had good answers for them, but it clearly seemed like he didnā€™t care about the interview

HARVARD-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:
On a scale of 1 (absolutely certain) to 5 (very likely to change),
how definite do you consider your academic plans to be?: 3
how definite do you consider your vocational plans to be?: 3
how definite are your extracurricular and/or athletic interests?: 1

Short Question (Elaboration of extracurriculars or work exp): 5, wrote about a murder case I worked on. Was super mediocre

Short Question (Intellectual life): 6, Talked about the AP exams Iā€™ve self-studied and the CS50 MOOC I was taking

Long Question (Unusual circumstances / Travel, living or working exp / Roommate / Intellectual exp / Use of college edu / Books read / Honor Code / Contribution to lives of classmates / Gap year / Diversity: distinctive backgrd or personal dev): Roommate supplement, refer to the ā€œessaysā€ section for my score about it

OTHER:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic) / Country (if intl): IL
School Type: Public (avg act right around 24)
Ethnicity: Indian (oof)
Gender: Male (oooof)
Income Bracket: >200k (oooooof)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): recruitable for mock trial i guess? Otherwise nothing

RELECTIONS
Strengths: Mock trial EC, strong ACT/SAT I score, strong W gpa

Weaknesses: Physics SAT II score, low UW gpa, super risky roommate essay, demographic, likely weak letters of rec

Why you think you were deferred: the GPA was probably the killer of my application since most of my Bs were from STEM classes. That, or the joke I made as my introduction did not make the AOs laugh

Where else do you intend to apply: a bunch of other Ivies/T20s and a few publics that are good for CS. Harvard is still my #1 choice though.

General Comments (if any): Donā€™t get cocky. Remember that ANYONE can get deferred, including you.

16

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1420 (1st try), 1430 (2nd try), 1470 (Superscore - sent to Harvard 780M, 690 R/W)
ACT (breakdown): 32 Composite, 35M, 31E, 31S, 30R (sent)
SAT II: 740 Math 2, 710 Chemistry, 710 Biology.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.43
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #1
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry (5), AP Biology (5), AP English Language and Composition (4), AP US History (4), AP World History (4), AP Human Geography (4), AP Physics 2 (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, Dual Credit government, Dual Credit english, personal fitness, technical writing, and PLTW Body Systems
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Finalist at an international science fair in brazil.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Research, Varsity Basketball, Technology Student Association, and Piano.
Job/Work Experience: Cancer Research internship.
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital and Airport
Summer Activities:Cancer Research Internship, Volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Strong (9/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Didnā€™t read

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): Iā€™d guess (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): Iā€™d guess (6/10)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Iā€™d guess (9/10)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Prof I conducted cancer research with (10/10)
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): No interview :frowning:

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yea
Intended Major: Chem (biological sciences)
State (if domestic applicant): Tx
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflections:I did the best I could. Though I think choosing biological sciences hurt me in the end.
Strengths: Essays, GPA
Weaknesses: Scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No clue
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at a couple state schools.

General Comments (if any): If you got deferred/rejected, keep your chins up. We got this RD round!!

17

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didnā€™t take
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35E,36M,36R,27S) and 34(36E,33M,36R,31S)
SAT II: 800 Math Level II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.889
Weighted GPA: School doesnā€™t weight
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didnā€™t take any APs
IB (place score in parenthesis): No IBs
Senior Year Course Load:

English 4 Honors
Advanced Physics
Advanced Biology
Linear Algebra
AP Calculus BC

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Attended SAMS
Couple of local research awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Math Team
Science Team (Captain)
Student council
School Newspaper (Editor-in-chief)

Job/Work Experience:
Have a job out of school
Did some research at a local college

Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities: SAMS, research at local college
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-8/10 (unique but could be better written)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (super close with her and sheā€™s really experienced)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (really close with him and he writes the best letters)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (She read it to me and it was really good)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): two additional recs from community members and such (7-9/10)
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): We really hit it off and she was super nice (8-9/10)

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Science
State (if domestic applicant): From a big city in a midwestern state
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African/African-American
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First-gen, low-income

Reflections:
Strengths:
Very pointed in terms of STEM and STEM accomplishments
Good enough grades and scores
Some hooks
Unique essays

Weaknesses:

My course-load is very STEM focused, especially in senior year with only 1 non-STEM class. So I thought that a liberal arts place like Harvard would see that as a bad thing. And from the lawsuit, we see that Harvard is reluctant at admitting very STEM focused people because they a.) donā€™t want to become like MIT/Caltech and b.) think that STEM students would be better served at tech. schools. But I think that applying EA showed that I was interested in the liberal arts philosophy of Harvard and how I didnā€™t want to attend a tech. school.

Only took three years of a foreign language (Spanish) and got a B in as a final grade for Spanish in sophomore year.

Submitted 1 subject test instead of 2. I didnā€™t have the time to study and do well in another subject test.

Maybe GPA, but I think it was enough.

Another Biological Science major, which is a popular choice.

Competitive region and competitive school

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Really canā€™t tell you. Probably SAMS helped a lot and I was lucky to have a great interview
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UMichigan (accepted EA)

General Comments (if any): It all comes down to who you have review your file and the priorities of the school that year (Ex: We have a new science building, lets get more STEM majors)
I was fortunate enough to applying a good year but I know that I couldā€™ve easily been deferred/rejected later on if I didnā€™t have something the school was looking for. For the people accepted, be humbled and look forward to the opportunities you have and the people you will meet For those not accepted, donā€™t worry. There are a lot of schools whoā€™d be lucky to have you. You didnā€™t get in because youā€™re a bad student or bad applicant. Itā€™s because there werenā€™t enough seats and ā€œinstitutional prioritiesā€ got in your way.

18

Hi Friends, Although some majors seem to have lighter load, Harvard is hard Just thought you may enjoy this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGupYFaCGs