<p>I attended the Harvard SSP program. I did well in one class, but I got a D in my other class, which is an ok grade in the class considering that all the high school students got D/F range. I am applying to Harvard this year, and the application says "Please" forward transcripts from SSP. I do not know what to do. I don't think SSP is very important in the application process, because very few students get to attend the program. These are the options that I am considering. Should I:</p>
<p>1) Not include the fact that I attended the SSP program. I don't want it to count against me. I am afraid that if I withhold information from Harvard, they will be able to find out</p>
<p>2) Include the fact that I attended the program, but not send in the transcript. I am sending in transcripts from two colleges that I am taking classes at, and I am doing very well in those classes. Maybe they will assume I am capable of doing Harvard level work and they will think my transcript was good. </p>
<p>3) Send in the transcript with an explanation to why I did poorly in the class I got a D in. This is the option I am least in favor of doing. I know that once they see the D, they will want to deny me. </p>
<p>I really want to hear from Harvard students or parents of Harvard students who have been in the SSP program. Does anyone have a similar situation? Are there any former admission officers who can give me some advice? Thanks.</p>
<p>May I ask which class you took that gave you such a low grade? When I did SSP, it seemed like all of the high school students were in high school-geared college courses like “law and psychology” where everyone got an A. </p>
<p>If I were you, I would choose option 1. The admissions officers probably won’t bother to check, and even if they do, I doubt they would think you were dishonest; they might just think you assumed that they already knew that you had done SSP.</p>
<p>Harvard SSP and Harvard College share the same database, as my daughter, who is now a freshman at the college, has the same ID number she had as a 2008 SSP student. So, looking at your options:</p>
<p>1) Harvard’s supplement asks what you did for the past two summers. You could lie, but if the admissions committee gives you the nod, I suspect they would learn of your SSP grades when they prepare your paperwork. (They would enter your social security number in the system and your SSP ID number, with your grades, would be revealed.) You would then be caught in a lie and an act of omission, which might adversely effect your admission.</p>
<p>2) If you mention SSP, but don’t send them the transcript, the admissions staff can easily look up the info on their computer and discover your SSP grades. Unfortunately, there would be no explanation in their file explaining why you got a D. This may, or may not, adversely effect your admission.</p>
<p>3) Even though this choice is your least favorite, it is probably your best option, as you would be upfront and honest about your past performance at the school.</p>
<p>The class I did poorly in was a graduates level psychology class. There were four high school students in the class. In order to receive graduates credit, students needed to submit one extra paper. Therefore, it was very difficult. I regret not taking the intro classes that Harvard.
Also, this is a response to Gibby. I am pretty certain that no school’s admissions office, including Harvard has the right to access someone’s transcript without their consent. I believe it is a law at schools. Thats is why you must request to send a transcript to the admissions office. The admissions office is a branch of Harvard University that has no direct connection to the SSP.
Do you have any advice with this new information?</p>
<p>Admissions requested transcripts–you need to cooperate to fulfill the admissons requirement (they did not say it was an option.) Although they MAY not be able to drectly access your transcript, they can certainly see on the records that you attended SSP.</p>
<p>“I am pretty certain that no school’s admissions office, including Harvard has the right to access someone’s transcript without their consent. I believe it is a law at schools.”</p>
<p>Laws governing the privacy and confidentiality of student records forbid the posting of grades by name, initials, or student numbers. In addition, no information about a student’s academic performance can be released to another institution without the student’s written permission. However, if as I suspect, Harvard College and Harvard SSP share the same database, your digitized file and grades are “in their system” and can be viewed by Harvard deans, admission staff, transcript officers etc – basically anyone who has access to the system.</p>
<p>"The admissions office is a branch of Harvard University that has no direct connection to the SSP. "</p>