<p>Hi everyone. I'm a high school student from the Czech Republic and I'm considering the option of applying to this summer's Harvard SSP. I have really tried hard to find out as much as I could myself but there is a lot of countervailing information here on CC.
I don't have a clear idea of how competitive the program really is. I mean, my last school report was somewhat mediocre (GPA of around 3.60). It was my worst ever, as my previous reports were ranging from 3.70 to 4.00. Would this be a major problem?
Another issue is that I got a Czech equivalent of B in English, which was a coincidence as I had always managed to get As effortlessly before. However, I proved my level of English to be sufficient by scoring 7.5 in the IELTS test. Again, would the B kill my potential application?
My ec's are not outstanding either. I have recently become a member of a student anti-corruption organisation, since graft is a major problem in our country. I am also a member of Prague Student Summit where I take part in a UN model. However, I have never done any serious volunteering, because it is not very habitual in my country. My only experience that resembles voluntary work is helping some of the younger and less talented students from destitute families with English.
My biggest asset, I think is a great zeal for the subjects I would apply for, i.e. Philosophy and Politics. I have read loads of books from those fields and I'm quite knowledgeable in them.
I know my chances are probably not very high but I would like to know your opinion anyway. Thanks a lot for any answer.</p>
<p>You should definitely apply! Especially if you are interested in attending Harvard–it gives you a great opportunity to see what the campus is like. From my application experience, it is the essays that are truly what put one over the top; but I don’t know what it is like to apply as an international student. Based on your grades, I feel that you should be fine. Also, the acceptance rate is probably way higher than the actual college acceptance rate–this program is more of a if you can pay you can go program b/c not as much financial aid is able to be awarded to students in this program; however, I don’t have an exact number on the acceptance. Also, I encountered SEVERAL kids of foreign countries!</p>
<p>I went last summer and it was an AMAZING experience! Best of luck and continue posting if you have further questions! I hope I helped!</p>
<p>Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me, mate! I really appreciate it. I’ll start to work on my application in the upcoming days.
I would like to ask you some more questions if you don’t mind. Firstly, could you please tell me what your essay consisted of? I have virtually no idea of what the typical content is. Should I write about myself or is it better to write for example a philosophical essay?
Secondly, they say that prospective student are only required to submit the current transcript. Didn’t they want the older ones from you as well? It would be great for me to wait till the first term ends and submit just the latest transcript with GPA above 3.90.
Thank you for your time, mate. I hope my questions don’t bother you too much :)</p>
<p>I am glad to answer your questions! Your transcript should include all high school grades up to the current semester, so you shouldn’t have to send ones from each grade (but double check with your guidance counselor just in case your school has a different system)…also, you don’t have the send every thing off at once. I sent my application in parts with everything, including the counselor reports, by the end of January. The only deadline I know of is the one if you want financial aid–I don’t know if internationals receive aid.</p>
<p>Since the application isn’t open yet, I don’t know if the questions will be different. But for my application, the question was "What have been your most rewarding courses and academic projects recently? And how are your current academic interests related to the subject areas you’d like to explore. " I talked about other summer programs I’ve done, my current course load, and how it relates to my future collegiate plans. There is also a question about your favorite extracurricular activity. The final question is about a book that has deeply affected you. This is the time when I would have a mix of philosophical and how it affected you. Make sure that the book isn’t just a “oh my gosh it’s so advanced book” but a book that really is your favorite (though, it should be at least grade level); one that has truly meant a lot to you. I hope this helped.</p>
<p>I said the essays were important because it gives the admissions committee a chance to see your personality. Also, this program is rolling admissions, so after all materials are submitted, you should know your results within 2-4 weeks. (I don’t know when they start rolling, but it is fairly early. I sent in my app in late January and received my decision in early February.)
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for this information. It’s very helpful for me.
The SSP application is already out, so I’m gonna start working on it asap. I just hope that my English teacher, who is supposed to fill the teacher report, won’t do any problems. Her lessons are quite boring and I don’t pay much attention to them. Thus she might think that I’m not academically motivated in general, which is far from truth. I’ll have to be more active in the upcoming weeks 
Anyway, thank you very much for your help. From now on it is up to me.</p>
<p>Good luck Sisyphos!</p>
<p>yo. Getting accepted into the harvard ssp program is not hard at all. They accept ALOT of the kids that apply. I had a 3.4 gpa and got in…</p>
<p>The best reason to go to the SSP is to see what Harvard is like. The worst reason to go is to improve your chances of getting into the college.</p>
<p>DE: Good for me. My intention is to learn new things, meet new people and see what Ivy League is like. I know that it wouldn’t boost my chances for undergraduate study.
Anyone: I’d like to send my application in late January but I still have no idea what the writing sample should be like. Firstly, should it be a school essay that has already been graded? That would be a problem because we don’t write any serious essays in any subject bar Czech. The application form says it should be “English expository prose”. Do you think that I could have one of my Czech essays translated by a specialized company?
Or may I perhaps write an essay at home and then give it to the teacher to grade it? I’m not sure whether this is really an option as my English teacher is not usually very helpful but I could try it anyway.
I would be grateful for any reply.
Sisyphos</p>
<p>The writing sample should be a school essay that has been graded with the teacher’s comments written on it. I would go with your second option…</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply! I hope I’ll find a decent work that could be used for my purpose in some of my previous papers.</p>
<p>Ok, so my English teacher consented to grade an essay that I’ll write. Now I’m not quite sure what topic I should choose. There is almost no restriction about the subject-matter of the work, but also almost no instructions. I consider three options- to write an essay concerning Vaclav Havel’s political philosophy and my stance on some of his ideas; to use part of my History seminary work (Comparison of Hannibal and Mithridates VI) or something about problems with our Gypsy minority.
But still, I have no idea what is expected from this writing sample- I may be totally off topic, so please tell me if I’m heading in the wrong direction. Could anyone tell me what was the subject of his or her writing sample? I would be very grateful.</p>
<p>You do know there is no financial aid available for international students? I was planning on applying last year, but was not able to pay for it. Good luck!</p>
<p>catiee: Unfortunately, financial aid is available for domestic students only. You could try some NGO based in your country, but I doubt they offer aid for short courses like this one. Anyway, I hope you’ll solve your problem and succeed with your application!</p>
<p>^ I know, I just wanted to warn you 
It’s already too late for me to apply, because I am currently a senior. I have applied to Harvard College, however.</p>
<p>cattiee, even students who will graduate this may can still attend Harvard Summer School. I met several people who had graduated in 2011 and who will be attending college in the fall. I wish there was more aid for students in general! </p>
<p>Have a great senior year!</p>
<p>catiee: I also wish you best of luck with your application ;)</p>
<p>Thank you both!
And Sisyphos, good luck with your application too!</p>
<p>Hello I’m applying for the SSP at Harvard this summer as well, and I was wondering the same thing about the essays. I have a few essays that I got As on but they’re persuasive essays, so does that mean I can’t submit these? The guidelines say that I need a English expository prose so I wasn’t very sure 
Thank you in advance :)</p>
<p>It’s awesome. The people are great. The location (Cambridge and Boston) is great. Course choices are great. Many international students add to the awesome mix.
Definitely recommend.</p>