<p>Alright, some basic stats about me.
I'm a sophomore attending a somewhat-prestigious high school in Toronto, Canada.
Our school generally sends an average of 2 students to Harvard a year.
I have an average of around 92%, rank in the top 10%.
Ethnically, I'm Korean, but I moved to North America when I was 3, and travelled around a lot in the states and recently came to Canada.
I took the SAT for the first time a couple of months ago without prep, and got a 2210.
Extracurriculars: black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do, member of the volleyball and ultimate frisbee teams, reporter/junior-editor for the school newspaper, future exec of the school filming crew, peer tutor, cashier job in the summer.</p>
<p>My first question is generally directed at those who live in Canada.
I want to attend an ivy league university, but am not willing to take time from my extra-curriculars to study like hell for the AP/SAT II's.
Do I need these as an international student? Do I have an advantage by not living in the United States?</p>
<p>My second question has more immediate value to me right now.
I am thinking of attending a summer program in Stanford or Harvard for undergraduate credits. I truly enjoy travelling around, and right now, am looking for a good way to get out of Toronto for the summer.
Are these programs worth the money? Do they look better on the apps than summer jobs?</p>
<p>Any other tips you guys can give me?
Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>Summer programs at elite universities will have zero affect on your eventual admissions decision. These programs accept anyone that can pay the bill. Any program you can buy with daddy's money will have little affect on admissions. This includes traveling to foreign locations to "aid" the natives. You can achieve the same thing more economically by attending the local U or CC in the summer and making some money on the side, or volunteering for a real charitable cause.</p>
<p>Compare the elite Secondary School Program at Harvard, which has limited enrollment, where talented high school teens take classes for college credit:</p>
<p>I'm a Canadian and my general impression is that from a private school, it is much much more likely that one will gain admission over public school applicants. However, only about 10 or so people got into Harvard last year for freshman admissions so I don't really feel like 92% is very high, no offense. I didn't apply for Harvard out of high school because I wasn't able to write the SATs, but I entered a top Canadian university with a 97% average and still remember there being people with 92%s and 93%s who had applied to Harvard and were rejected. Their extracurriculars were ok, like yours, although some were much better. Who knows though, your essays might be the key. My impression is that sometimes its a bit of a crapshoot, but good luck anyway.</p>
<p>I'm still a sophomore right now though , and I have 2 1/2 grades to improve my stuff. What aspects, other than grades and ec's which should go up as I move through the senior grades, do you think I should work on?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Compare the elite Secondary School Program at Harvard, which has limited enrollment, where talented high school teens take classes for college credit:
[/quote]
Unless you have below a B average in HS, I can promise you that you will be admitted. They try to make it sound elite, but it really isn't all that much. They take a thousand or more per summer. Most of those will probably apply to Harvard thinking they have a leg up. Harvard only admits about 1600 per class. Very few of the admits will come from SSP.</p>
<p>I know a kid with a C- average who went to Harvard Summer School. He's the kind of guy who doesn't do any work at school, but gets a 2370 on the SAT.</p>