<p>I am a junior working on a research project (cancer based). In the past few years in my school, we usually have 1-2 semi finalists in either competition. Recently, the students receiving this recognition have been "strong," but not in the context of CC (4-5 APs, no real hooks). Both of them were admitted to Harvard and Yale (both chose Y), and I believe these awards held a significant weight in their admissions. Is this true? I am a pretty solid student, but wouldn't be admitted to HY without Intel (I think) because I am not valedictorian, do not have 2400 SATs, and a white male from LI. In the unlikely event that I am recognized in either competiton, as doing so is probably just as hard as getting into an Ivy League school, would it boost my chances significantly?</p>
<p>Science2014,</p>
<p>Folks get into Harvard and Yale who 1) don’t have a 2400 on their SATs, 2) aren’t valedictorians and 3) don’t win the Siemens or Intel competitions. There are students accepted who have none of the three of these.</p>
<p>That being said, winning the Siemens or Intel competitions, or even getting deep into them, will help.</p>
<p>How much? I imagine it depends on the student.</p>
<p>@notjoe, Yes I was aware of that lol, I was just trying to make it clear that I probably wouldn’t be too competitive anyway. After reading some of the results threads on here, I guess you could say I have a pretty standard Ivy app, with some uniqueness to it, and one glaring weakness that I hope doesn’t hinder my chances…</p>
<p>Something like 60% of valedictorians get rejected. It’s hard for everyone. The more you do, the better your chances. Do as much to better your chances as you can and then hope for the best.</p>
<p>Science2014,</p>
<p>What is your “glaring weakness”? I don’t think I saw it mentioned.</p>
<p>
I think you meant to say 60% of 2400 SAT scorers get rejected. There will be 42,000 valedictorians this year. Among those who apply to H, I imagine their reject rate to be in the 90s, to be frank.</p>
<p>The rejection rate for perfect SAT’s and ACTs is about 70% for HYPSM and some other top schools.</p>
<p>To be frank, no one here has any idea. Certainly there are people who have done well in Intel/Siemens who get into HYP. However, there are just as many people (of course, this is all based on anecdotal evidence…) who do well in Intel/Siemens who don’t get into HYP.</p>
<p>That being said, doing well in Intel/Siemens can only help your application.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Whoops! Quite right.</p>
<p>@notjoe, because of my middle school courses, by the time I decided I wanted to enter the advanced math track it was too late. I took algebra I frosh year, then geometry, then A2T. However, I have gotten 100s in all of them, and have an 800 in math in both the SAT I and SAT II: Math IC. Would this make up for it? Also, right now we are making our schedules for senior year. I am slated to take pre-calc, but since there is no NYS regents exam, I will request to skip straight to AP Calculus AB. Would that be a wise choice, or would it be too much that I was never taught? Is it even worth it?</p>
<p>^are you serious right now?</p>
<p>Your glaring weakness is that you didn’t take algebra in junior high?</p>
<p>Science2014,</p>
<p>Harvard actually has math courses for folks who didn’t take calculus in high school. The school will look at your transcript in context and will note that you didn’t get to Algebra till 9th grade. I doubt it will harm your application.</p>
<p>That being said, obviously, if you can skip pre-calculus and go directly to calculus, it will enhance your application. Perhaps you might see if you could do something over the summer to cover the topics in pre-calculus that will be important for calculus. My older son’s experience at his high school was that very little of pre-calculus actually pertained to what he was taught in AP Calculus BC, which, at his high school, is taught very, very rigorously.</p>
<p>My younger son, who really likes math, got his brother’s pre-calculus textbook and taught himself on his own while taking trigonometry and geometry during his sophomore year. His high school let him test out of pre-calculus over the summer (they are insistent on requiring pre-calculus to take calculus). As a junior this year, he’s taking AP Calculus BC and doing fairly well. Little of what he taught himself in the school’s pre-calculus course has been applicable to calculus.</p>
<p>So, it can be done. But you need to be a self-starter, self-motivating, persevering, and fairly bright. The risk is that in your case, you may have done better with pre-calculus first, and may wind up over your head without it. You have to weigh the potential rewards in terms of enhancing your application against the downside of stumbling academically.</p>
<p>However, not getting to calculus next year doesn’t qualify as a “glaring weakness.”</p>
<p>Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to exaggerate when I said “glaring weakness.” It’s just that looking at these threads, I don’t think I’ve seen a single person that doesn’t have some sort of AP Calc, unless he/she is URM. I thought it was a given in a school like Harvard that an applicant is in all advanced classes, especially in those that pertain to his major (mine will be molecular bio). I thought math was related to science, but either way I’m taking AP Bio this year and AP Chem next year</p>
<p>Do people get into Harvard with low SAT scores? Under what circumstances? I know admissions are very unpredictable, yet it seems that a low SAT score would mostly result in outright rejection. To be more specific, I am a 4.0 student with low SAT scores? Do you think I shouldn’t have bothered applying to a college like Harvard?</p>
<p>staymotivated, it would be best to start your own thread rather than ask questions on Science2014’s.</p>
<p>Yeah I agree…</p>
<p>@Science2014, I didn’t mean any offense.</p>
<p>Bumpppp
Pp
Pppp</p>
<p>“I believe these awards held a significant weight in their admissions. Is this true?” </p>
<p>Anecdotally, yes it would seem to be true. Last year, Stuyvesant High School had more Intel Science Semi-finalists than any other school in the nation. All of those students are now attending HYPS or their first choice college.</p>
<p>“I am a pretty solid student, but wouldn’t be admitted to HY without Intel (I think) because I am not valedictorian, do not have 2400 SATs, and a white male from LI.”</p>
<p>Read this thread and you will understand that you do not need to have 2400 SAT’s and be a valedictorian to be admitted to HY: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html</a> </p>
<p>“In the unlikely event that I am recognized in either competition . . . would it boost my chances significantly?”</p>
<p>Yes. What more do you want anyone to say? Best of luck to you.</p>