I’m new! I’m a sophomore and it’s been my dream to attend Harvard.
Kinda new to this platform, so forgive me for not knowing how to use it.
Welcome to the forum. Sophomore year may be early to fixate on one school, but if you follow the posts you’ll learn quote a bit.
Hello! First, I want you to know that you shouldn’t set yourself for disappointment this early. Harvard is extremely hard to get into, even for geniuses. Make sure to follow the advice on the forum to understand how to reach your goal. Oh, and watch your grammar. This forum can get a bit cut throat at times.
Why is it your dream to attend Harvard? Really. If you are going to think about college, make sure to learn about a wide range of schools. Do you like small classes taught directly by professors? If so, Harvard may not be for you. Learn about the particulars of schools you are interested in. Generally people dream about Harvard for the wrong reasons- because they have heard about it, because it is prestigious etc. Just make sure you have good reasons when you apply- but don’t think about it yet. It can ruin your high school years!
Having a dream is excellent! Reading through the Harvard portion of the site should be very helpful in regard to gaining understanding of what Harvards admissions process entails.
There is typically a lot of discussion about whether being admitted to Harvard is an arbitrary event. The point being that with an over all acceptance rate of around 6 percent there are many amazing students/young people who are not admitted.
I would suggest you work very hard to keep your grades as high as you can and focus on efforts to score well on your standardized tests, be involved in things of interest to yourself and be a kind and gracious person.
If you succeed with these things you will enhance your likelihood of getting into not only Harvard but many other amazing schools.
It is great to have a dream provided you have a healthy outlook and you realize that if you are not admitted to Harvard it does not mean you were unsuccessful. It just means there was some where else you were meant to be.
Wishing you well!
So many young people say they have a “dream” of attending Harvard. Why? “Dreaming” of Harvard is often the product of lack of sophistication, honestly, or a desire for the prestige. Living high school with a goal like that in mind is very unhealthy. By all means consider it as a choice among many, but don’t dream about any one school.
I mean look at my user name. Its literally Harvard Dream 101. I was an ambitious an ignorant senior when I just joined, but then I learned how truly hard it is to get in. Still, follow your dreams and nothing is impossible.
Thank you for all your advice!