It’s my pleasure authrey. Thank you for the kind words, and sincere best wishes to you! Our daughter is a Sophomore now and she is rocking it. She and we are very grateful for her to have this opportunity and know that she is incredibly fortunate.
I hope you are healthy and that the college opportunities that come your way are fulfilling and right for you! You just keep bringing who you are to what you are doing and I am sure good things will happen!
You’re most welcome and that’s awesome! 
Thank you for your wishes and yes I am healthy and prepared.
Work hard enough to get the scores that you need to be considered, but don’t let your academic life dictate everything that you do. Remember that essays are a vital part of the application, and you don’t want to find yourself at a loss for words because all that you know is schoolwork and standardized tests! Take every opportunity that you are presented with; however, make sure that you do these things with a purpose. Finally, please don’t believe that Harvard is the only place for you. I made this mistake, and I was absolutely heartbroken a few weeks ago when I got deferred. Nevertheless, I researched other colleges, applied to 11 other schools, and discovered that they all have a lot to offer! Do what you like and keep your mind open to all colleges throughout this process. Good luck!
Thanks for you input! Good luck with your applicants! Yeah I’m definitely trying to keep my eyes open about other colleges and realizing that there are more than just Harvard.
@authrey you keep coming back to Harvard even if you couch it. If you get your scores into the 99th percentile then you should revisit it until then it would make sense to be realistic in the schools you target.
Appreciate your honesty and thank you for your concern. @ClarinetDad16
Some great advices by @GreatKid and @ClarinetDad16 as well as the first two posts. I’ve helped three kids through this process and found that ‘what you want’, a subjective and often an emotional stuff, is almost always not the same as ‘what you can’, an objective and rational possibility. Work hard for what you want, but throw in a high dose of reality when it comes to making the list for actual application. I’d like to re-emphasize what @GreatKid said “These things are only meaningful if you remain healthy”, both physically and mentally/emotionally.
I agree completely about the distinctions between “what you want” vs “what you can”, especially after self assessing myself in these past few years. I do however need to be more realistic and actually listen. Thank you!
Quick question btw, what kind of personalities do top colleges prefer? I know that they look for people who are genuine but how is that shown across an applicant and in an interview?
My daughter is Harvard 2018. Her high school work was never about getting into Harvard. It was always about getting As in the hardest classes she could take. It was about enjoying the extracurriculars that interested her the most. Sure, she wanted to attend a great school. But she wanted to do it HER way. Harvard wasn’t even her first choice; Chicago was.
So yeah, she worked hard. But not obsessively. There was always time for Tumblr and Sherlock.
There’s no one personality. Most of them are trying to build a diverse class. Be who you are. And the best way to SHOW you’re genuine is to BE genuine. If you follow your interests and do your best (don’t overly stress yourself out, because that will eventually backfire), that’s who you’ll be, and thus how you’ll appear. And then if you are thoughtful about building your list, you’ll get in to the right school for you, which might or might not be Harvard, but that’s OK too. Honestly, I think most seasoned admissions people can sniff out grade-grubbers and resume-builders a mile away.
It should be about passion - and not about getting grades, but love of learning. Passion for a cause. Passion to make music, art, etc.
I am in agreement with WW and Porcupine 98. Being authenticly who you are is what is most important.
Our daughter is also Harvard class of 2018. At least within her friend group there the kids are all seemingly well adjusted, and comfortable with themselves. They are all also seemingly very considerate and kind.
How you express yourself in your essays and what is expressed in your letters of recommendation will have a lot to do with an admissions office perception of who they believe you to be.
Thanks everyone for the replies! A passion is indeed very important. It’s what separates the genuine from grade grubbers. Hopefully my passion of research in Soviet Union and in art will help
Authrey, people forget that once you get into a selective school, you have to do the work. Once, there, everyone got in, and then it becomes about actually attending the school. In many ways, ClarinetDad16 has it right. Look at that post. Are you really sure you want to go to Harvard, and why? Classes at a school like Harvard are harder than elsewhere. More reading, denser reading, very talented peers. It may not be the place for you. Think about it. If you decide no, then relax a bit. In fact, relax anyway
When posters suggest being yourself during high school, exploring genuine interests, being nice to friends, and working hard at subjects that engage you, the end point is not necessarily a top college. In fact, you may find more genuine folks at less selective colleges, because they have followed their own drummer. That said, there are applicants who do that and get into Ivies etc. Definitely.
I would encourage you to look into other colleges. Loren Pope’s books are very helpful in this (you can google them).
You’ll find that many people worked hard to get rejected while many didn’t work so hard only to gain acceptance. It’s all about what they want rather than working as hard as possible. You can work hard to achieve what you BELIEVE Harvard wants. Doesn’t mean you worked hard to ultimately achieve giving Harvard what they have been looking for that given admissions cycle. You’ll often find that the kids who get into Harvard often work hard to excel in their passions. This indicates a trend of commitment and a great love for what you’re doing. Even if you do that, you don’t really know who they will pick. It’s really all about what they’re looking for during the admissions cycle.
@compmom That is very true. There is more awareness on getting into the school rather than realizing what it really means to attend the school. I really do like Harvard and would love to attend there. I want to go somewhere I am challenged, motivated and learning in so many ways. Of course there are so many other colleges that do the same as well. Harvard at the moment is a college that I would like to go to, along with other colleges I’m interested in. I really appreciate your note on how being yourself doesn’t equal into getting into a top college. I guess in the end what really matters is being genuine, not how top of a college you get into, because your first priority is to be healthy (like @GreatKid said ) and usually that comes from being yourself fully, not someone trying to impress admission officers.
Thanks everyone for your responses.
ClarinetDad16, Don’t you think the “passion” notion has been overplayed. Isn’t it about achievements? You may need to be passionate about a topic to achieve at the highest level but plenty of people are passionate about things they have little genuine aptitude for. It is the ability to harness that passion for something you have aptitude for in a way that results in a remarkable or at least notable outcome that is important.
Good link but not sure I understand what you are conveying.