<p>This is for my younger sister's friend, who is going to be a senior in high school and is a Harvard hopeful.
She has amazing test scores and grades, but is somewhat lacking in her extra curriculars and leadership roles and she wants to know if she has a realistic chance at Harvard. These are some of the stats she told me:
SATs: 2360, one sitting
SAT IIs: 800 Math 2, 760 French, 750 Bio E
Junior year grades: AP Bio - A; AP French - A; AP USH - A-; Honors Math - A; Honors English - A; Spanish - A
Ethnicity: Half black/half white
ECs: Varsity swimmer for 3 years, broke a school record but probably not quite good enough to swim D1; Club swimming for a long time (which takes up a lot of her time that could have been used for other activities); Peer mentor for transfer students; Guidance mentor for freshmen; Lifeguards and teaches swim lessons year round
School: Public but one of the best in the state
If you could give her any advice on how she could improve her chances and see if she is on track that would be amazing. Thank you!</p>
<p>Well, what does she want to major in? If she wants to be a science major, for example, she could apply to science contests or volunteer at a lab (it might be a little late for that, but it’s always worth a try). There are no things that stand out in her ECs as far as being super original (compared to some students who do crazy research or who have won intel and gone to RSI). URM may help her get in, however.</p>
<p>At this point, it’s the luck of the draw! Nothing much she can do. Best of luck to her!</p>
<p>In general, ECs are extremely important.</p>
<p>For those with mediocre ECs, I recommend taking a look at Canadian and UK schools, where they go much more by grades and standardized test scores.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what EC you do, but rather how involved you are with each EC. See Harvard’s website: [Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Freshman Application Process](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/tips/decisions.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/tips/decisions.html)</p>
<p>Notice that while EC’s are not directly mentioned, much information is being inferred from your list of EC’s, as well as the Common App Essay asking you to write 150 words about your most important EC and your personal statement:</p>
<ul>
<li>How has the candidate used her time?</li>
<li>Does the candidate have initiative? Is he a self-starter? What motivates her?</li>
<li>Does the candidate care deeply about anything—intellectual? Personal?</li>
<li>What has the candidate learned from his interests? What has she done with her interests? How has he achieved results? With what success or failure? What has she learned as a result?</li>
<li>Will the candidate be able to stand up to the pressures and freedoms of Harvard?</li>
<li>What choices has the candidate made for himself? Why?</li>
<li>Is the candidate a late bloomer?</li>
<li>What is the quality of the candidate’s activities?</li>
<li>Does the candidate have a direction yet? What is it? If not, is she exploring many things? Or is he just letting everything happen to him? Where will the candidate be in one year? Five years? Twenty-five years? Will she contribute something, somewhere, somehow?</li>
<li>What sort of human being is the candidate now? What sort of human being will she be in the future?</li>
<li>Will the candidate contribute something to Harvard and to his classmates? Will she benefit from her Harvard experience?</li>
<li>Would you or other students want to room with this applicant, share a meal, be in a seminar together, be teammates, or collaborate in a closely knit extracurricular group?</li>
<li>In terms of extracurricular, athletic, community, or family commitments, has the applicant taken full advantage of opportunities?</li>
<li>Does the person appear to have a genuine commitment and leadership role or does the participation appear to be perfunctory?</li>
<li>If a candidate has not had much time in high school for extracurricular pursuits due to familial, work, or other obligations, what does she hope to explore at Harvard with her additional free time?</li>
<li>How open is the student to new ideas and people?</li>
<li>What about the applicant’s apparent maturity, character, leadership, self-confidence, warmth of personality, sense of humor, energy, concern for others and grace under pressure?</li>
</ul>