Hey I have submitted my Harvard application and my though it doesn’t make much of a difference if I do chance or not I thought I might do I can see where I actually stand. Please give constructive criticism but do not be malicious or rude. Thanks
SAT: w:740 r:660 m:600☹️
Rank: 2/823
GPA: 3.98 un
14 AP classes taken throughout hs.
Extracurricular:
Eagle Scout
3 time National Junior Olympic Gymnastics Championship finalist
NHS
Business Professionnals of America National Torch Award recipient
State debate (2014,2015)
Captain Jv football (9th&10th)
A Capella and show choir(kinda like glee)
Volunteer:
380 hours
Spent summers volunteering at the hospital
Work with student council on projects at school
Mission trips with church
Rec:
One was my 11th grade English teacher who knows about my past 10/10
One was by my AP physics teacher which I had last year and this year as a senior. It was great. I coach his son in gymnastics
My other two were from my Debate Coach which was great and from my football coach which was also pretty good.
(They all talked about me from different perspectives which is why I chose such a diverse set of people.)
Essay:
I wrote about my brother who’s attempted suicide multiple times and how that has effected the family and how I see things. And I wrote my other one over being born in another country and being raised in America and kind of the culture shock I experienced especially going into highschool because I was homeschooled until hs.
Hooks:
Urm, first gen, dual citizenship, (athletics?)
I was born over seas.
Interview:
My interview went amazing. I’m a very energetic and personal kinda guy so it was easy for me to talk. My interviewer and I had many things in common so we were able to relate really quickly. Lasted almost 2 hours
I’m sure everyone will say this, but Harvard isn’t exactly known for being predictable, so I would take college confidential users’ advice with a grain of salt. I think your athletics definitely gives you a nice edge, but I’m not sure if it’ll make up for your SAT score – I just read that people who score 2100 and below make up the bottom 25% of Harvard’s class. So your scores will definitely hold you back some.
What are some awards you’ve gotten or just some really, really cool events you’ve participated in? You mention all these EC’s, and that’s great, but I still don’t have an idea of what exactly you accomplished in them?
Again, I’m literally just a high school senior from Texas, so I don’t have a clue what Harvard admissions officers are thinking, but this is just my take. Good luck!
So your ECs seem solid, and i assumed your recs/interview are great too. Honestly, it seems to me that ur SAT score will kill you. Even for a URM first gen, a 2000 is a pretty low score for Harvard - generally, the lowest scores are taken by recruited athletes. It’s a little harder to chance you more accurately, as you mention having taken 14 APs, but don’t tell us your scores. If they’re mostly 5’s and 4’s, then you become a significantly stronger URM candidate. If they’re not, then it’s much harder to say.
Well as far as awards I got my eagle which was probably my biggest thing. Less than 5 percent of scouts ever get it(last percentage I heard), so it’s pretty big. I also have got minor things like student of the month a couple times but I was mostly just highlighting the big things. I forgot to add that I am a coach at the gym I trained at. I work about 20 hours per week to support my own school activities so my parents don’t have to. As far as the SAT I visited Harvard and in the little seminar where they essentially sold themselves to us they said that SAT is one component of the Academic evaulation, which is only 1/3 of the total “holistic” review. That’s of course just what they say;if it is true is another question. My SAT is not great but I’m in the 99th for my high school and relatively high for the south(I’ve heard kids in Cali and east cost tend to score higher in general). Besides my SAT what other parts of my app look weak or strong?
Thanks
I did not take the exams for 2of them(computer science,French,) I didn’t have great teachers and I heard that those were pretty hard and since I wasn’t that good at them I didn’t want to take it and screw up. The rest have been 4&5
Hooks are limited in definition- URM, recruited athlete, legacy, developmental case. First generation is increasingly being seen as a hook.
Harvard doesn’t need to “sell” itself to anyone really. Of course, admissions will stress holistic review. The colleges want more applicants to decrease their acceptance rate.
Go to the CDS and look at the stats and where you compare. Those accepted on the low end will usually have a hook.
Hope that you have safeties and matches. None if this means that you will not be accepted. Good luck.
I am African American. I am not a recruited and I understand that if you are not recruited then it just counts as a extracurricular activity and not at something that’s super impressive. Yes I was just referring to when they were advertising the college to us understand that Harvard does not have to “sell themselves” to us. I also have some safety schools also.
