@Lost153 No worries about the mid-year report. It is to be submitted in February, so if that’s all you and/or your counselor (or teachers for that matter) haven’t submitted, you’re fine 
Just got contacted for an interview, from South Carolina.
Would you still recommend sending 2 subject test scores if one is lower (say by 60 points) than the other? @skieurope
In your opinion @skieurope , how big of an impact does the optional essay have? I have seen a thread from 2006 saying that the majority of people do not write the essay and get in… Does this hold true today?
@Lost153 I know I’m not @skieurope , but I was recently reading an article and I believe that the statistic was 86% of successful applicants in one of the recent years submitted an optional essay. Just a thought, I imagine that it not only shows off your good stuff as a candidate but also shows that you care enough to bother to write it, making you more competitive. Also, if everyone else is writing it and you’re not, then it would put you at a disadvantage.
Like many things, it depends. 740/800 is fine. 640/700, not so much.
Unlike many things in academia which move at a glacial pace, college admissions is constantly evolving. I would not lend much credence to something from 9 years ago. IMO, the AO’s want to get a sense of who you are, not simple what your transcript shows. For most applicants, the optional essay helps show this. If your application can stand on its own without the optional essay, then feel free to omit. I’m of the opinion that I can see no valid reason (other than majorly hooked applicant like a recruited athlete), not to pull out all stops when applying to a college that rejects 95% of its applicants.
When does committee voting happen/how does it work?
@skieurope
I’ll quote an excellent post from an alumni parent @gibby . I will also say that neither one of us has special insight into the process; we’re going by what we’ve heard.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20880152/#Comment_20880152
In terms of timing for the committee, I’m not positive, but half of the committee is composed of full-time faculty who have academic commitments until classes end 12/1. Meeting typically last until a day or two before final decisions are posted.
So going off of his (Gibby’s) post, is it virtually impossible to get in SCEA without high SAT scores (20th percentile)
You mean 25th percentile as listed on the Common Data Set?
Obviously some cohort has to be in the 25th percentile. While it is certainly possible for an applicant to be accepted with lower than average scores, I have said many many times that it my belief that the majority of those accepted students are heavily hooked applicants.
@skieurope Should I bring a resume or anything to my interview?
No, what is the 25th percentile? I thought it was a 1470 from what is listed on some sites.
@Tobster18 I asked my interviewer if he’d like me to bring anything and he said a resume would be fine. So I’d contact him/her and see if they’d like you to bring anything.
I gave my opinion earlier in the thread:
You do not need to bring one, but it might be helpful if you are asked for one. On the flip side, if you are not asked for one, no need to volunteer it, either.
Check these out:
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/hear-our-students/student-blog/my-unofficial-tips-interviews
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/college-interviews-how-to_n_1989877.html
Still waiting to be contacted for an interview. I hope I hear soon.
Section C9 on the link below
https://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf
Unless the site is harvard.edu, I would question its accuracy. AFAIK, Harvard does not publicly release what the average SAT score is, nor do they say what any SAT percentile is on a 1600 (or the old 2400) scale. One cannot simply add the 25th (or 75th) percentile subsections together (which is a common mistake that sites like Prepscholar makes). I gave a more detailed explanation on anther thread.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20460743/#Comment_20460743
Is it common for AOs to contact students they like during the early round and if so when does that usually happen?
@MaybeHarvard2022 why would they contact students they like?
I mean, if they really like me I’m perfectly happy being contacted Dec. 13th, at 5:00 pm…
I just screwed up big time!!! I just sent in a research abstract as a supplement but I forgot to take off one edit comment made by my biology teacher!! It doesn’t actually show up on the paper, but the part he commented on is highlighted, and if you click it pops up.
EDIT: And I sent it as a document instead of as a PDF!!!