Harvard SCEA vs RD 2020 Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hi everyone! I’m a rising senior and Harvard is one of the schools I have on my list (besides Princeton, hence my username). Chance me?

Stats:
SAT: 2100; 710 Critical Reading, 680 Mathematics, 710 Writing
ACT: 32; 31 English, 33 Math, 33 Reading, 29 Science (idk my essay score yet)
SAT IIs: Will be taking Math II, Chem, U.S. History in October
PSAT: 196
GPA: 3.99 UW, 4.72 W (our school unweight out of 4.0 and weighted out of 5.0. though we have a lot of unweighted reqs)
Class Rank: top 2% of high school class
Ethnicity: African American (more specifically, first generation Somali)

Sophomore Year course load:
AP Chem (Score: 4)
AP Calc AB (Score: 5)
AP Calc BC (Score: 5)
AP European History (Score: 4)
AP Political Science (Score: 5)
English Honors
Biology Honors

Junior Year course load (IB Diploma Candidate):
IB Higher Level Mathematics
IB Theory of Knowledge
IB Higher Level Biology
IB Higher Level English
IB Higher Level History of the Americas
IB Higher Level Spanish
IB Standard Level Computer Science
AP English Literature (self study)
AP Comparative Government (self study)

Senior Year course load (IB Diploma Candidate):
IB Higher Level Mathematics
IB Theory of Knowledge
IB Higher Level Biology
IB Higher Level English
IB Higher Level History of the Americas
IB Higher Level Spanish
IB Standard Level Economics
AP English Language and Comp (online class)
AP Macroeconomics (credit alongside IB class)
AP Microeconomics (credit alongside IB class)

Extracurriculars:
County Academic Team (3 year member + 1 year as a captain) – school won 1st place during my sophomore year
It’s Academic Team (3 year member + 1 year as a captain) --T.V. competition and my school ranked 3rd in tournament
Science Academic Team (3 year member + 1 year as captain)
Model United Nations (3 year member, will be secretary of school club next year)
Envirothon (captain of varsity team since sophomore year)
National History Day (4 time country winner, advanced to states every time) - each time did documentary
Econ Challenge (team won 1st place past 2 years)

Honor Societies:
National Honor Society
National Mathematics Honor Society (Vice President)
National Science Honor Society
Sociedad Honaria Hispanica
National English Honor Society (Vice President)
National Social Studies Honor Society (Treasurer)

Sports:
Junior Varsity Track and Field (2 years)
Varsity Track and Field (for senior year)
Varsity Cross Country (for senior year)
Unified Track and Field (volunteer and participant) (1 year)

Summer Programs/Internships:
Civics and Law Academy
Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation
National Institutes of Health Summer Intern at Shady Grove Branch (Dry Lab)

Work experience:
Student Writer for local newspaper (2 years)
Kumon instructor (upcoming summer)

Volunteering:
Shady Grove Hospital (starting Sept 2015)
Al Huda Center (100+ hours as a student instructor)
CAS Hours (150 hours, for IB diploma requirement)
Youth Leadership Council (~50 hours)

Awards:
AP Scholar with Honors (received during Sophomore year)
African American Award of Academic Excellence (received every year since freshman year)
Writing Expressions Martin Luther King Jr. Essay/Poetry Contest (won state-wide essay contest in MD)

Recommendations:
Two extremely well written recs from teachers I have known for 3 years:
1 was my AP Euro, AP PoliSci and AP CompGov (independent study) teacher and mentor
1 was my Theory of Knowledge teacher and Academic/It’s Academic Coach since my freshman year

Hooks: daughter of refugee parents from Somalia??? idk haha.

2

Considering your qualifications and hooks, I think you have a good shot at Harvard if you apply SCEA. :wink:

3

@azwu331, I am worried about my SAT and ACT scores. Obviously, I was extremely elated when I saw I scored above a 2000 (I got a 1890 on my first SAT) so my mind was set on applying to top schools more than ever. However, after some research, I realize that my SAT score is still fairly low compared other applicants. I think I want to apply to Princeton SCEA, but I also want to apply to Harvard. Are my chances better at Princeton SCEA or Harvard SCEA? Thanks! This question is for anyone who has the answer and not just you pal. :slight_smile:

4

That really is an unanswerable question; it all depends on the admissions officers of both schools. I honestly don’t think applying to Harvard over Princeton or vice versa would give you much of an advantage.

My best advice is for you to apply to the school you like better for SCEA. The acceptance percentages for both schools differ and fluctuate each year.

There is a post on the Harvard 2020 SCEA thread that explains this pretty well. I believe it’s Post #11 if I recall correctly. :slight_smile:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1787911-official-harvard-scea-class-of-2020-applicant-thread.html

5

@azwu331 Thank you! It was a fairly comprehensive post and I guess I will apply Princeton SCEA for now. I sincerely appreciate your insight and will apply Harvard RD. Praying I get into at least one of them, but hey - HYP admissions seem to be hard to predict anyways.

6

I’m an IB student too, and I’m so impressed that you were able to take five higher levels!!! Great job, girl!!! Especially Math HL, that kills me. You’ll definitely have a shot- your scores are pretty good and with your hooks and ECs you should be great!! Good luck! Hopefully we’ll be classmates soon (fingers crossed)!

7

Omg looking forward to it @archaeologygirl!!!

8

Look through the Class of 2019 Decision Threads – not one URM who posted their stats on CC in the 2019 Admissions Cycle was accepted with an SAT below 2100 or an ACT below 31. As a result, I think it’s too close to call as you’re right on the edge for either SCEA or RD. And that’s probably true for Princeton as well.

Class of 2019 SCEA Decision Thread http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1714730-official-harvard-university-2019-scea-decisions-only-p1.html

Class of 2019 RD Decision Thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1752941-harvard-university-class-of-2019-rd-results-p1.html

My advice to apply to the school you like best (Harvard or Princeton) in the SCEA round, and the other one in the RD round. Hopefully things will work out. Best of luck whatever you decide!

9

Thank you for that comprehensive post! I am aiming for a 34+ on my 3rd ACT attempt, so hopefully that will work out. If it does, it seems clear to me that my chances go up slightly. I’ll probably go for Princeton on my SCEA, and then go RD for Harvard. In any case, my chances are still slim but slightly better! @gibby

10

^^ I wouldn’t leave out Yale or Stanford when applying in the RD round!

11

Definitely Yale! But Stanford is too far from home for my liking. Vanderbilt Uni is as far west as I’ll go :stuck_out_tongue: @gibby

12

For half the school year – from early December through March – both my son (Y) and daughter (H) regretted their decision not to apply to California schools. Just saying . . .

13

Just thought I’d let you know that I’ve come around to adding Stanford onto my list! It’s a long shot, for sure, but I guess you’re right that it is better to try than to wonder “what if…” @gibby

14

I think you have as good a chance as anyone despite your SAT scores because of your rigor of courses and GPA. That said, there is no such thing as a good chance when applying to Harvard, so keep in mind that rejection is still very possible. Last, they make it abundantly clear that applying early vs. regular has ZERO bearing on your chances of admission. Your chances are identical either way; they just accept a higher percent early because the pool tends to be more qualified. Good luck!

15

I thought IBD only allowed 4 HL subjects at most.

16

They do, but I’m taking 5 HLs (Math, English, Spanish, History of the Americas, and Biology). I’m taking the Standard Level exam for Spanish, and I already completed my exam for Computer Science SL.

17

Are you eligible for Questbriidge?

18

Harvard, in their own wisdom, doesn’t do Questbridge.

19

Yes I am eligible, but I think the matching and “first choice done deal” thing isn’t the wisest decision for me. I have fee waivers from some of the schools I’m applying to anyways (i.e. went to flyins, interest in school, etc). @ClarinetDad16

20

You have an excellent chance! Don’t worry over anything :smiley: