<p>I’m an “unhooked” white male, and I got with a GPA between 3.8 and 3.9, though it was slightly closer to 3.9. Yes, there was a <em>B</em> on my transcript.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: the admissions game, at the level Harvard and its peer schools play at, is about much more than grades.</p>
<p>matrix, what kind of EC’s did you participate in then? And what makes you “hooked”? lol, I see it everywhere on CC -_-.</p>
<p>Please help me, I was wondering if I have to attend a fancy prep school to get into harvard. Must I do so?</p>
<p>^no
10chars</p>
<p>you must attend hogwarts before harvard and receive perfect o.w.l.s</p>
<p>HardcoreMD, I am going to Harvard this year, and I come from a small (very very small) rural town in the middle of the desert. Needless to say, the school I attended was very small and offered only several APs and honors courses. It’s not impossible, so have hope! =D</p>
<p>Oh, and to add my own thoughts, I think that it’s important to have a good GPA and a good SAT score. It’s important up to a certain extent. You need to have lots of extracurricular activities that you decided to do because you really loved to do it, not just because of college apps. But I know that it’s hard sometimes, so if you pursue what you really want AND do supplementary things, I’m sure that won’t hurt. But anyway, I guess what I’m saying is there should be a balance between ECs and grades. With low grades and great ECs, unless the ECs are so stellar that it stands out in an EXTRAORDINARY way, it’ll probably be hard. But with stellar grades and SAT and little EC involvement, you’ll most likely not get in.</p>
<p>Well, that’s my input. Hope that helps to all those who want to go to Harvard…</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>To everyone who’s asking specific questions about “is it possible to get into Harvard if X or Y”: as someone who’s a rising senior at Harvard and has been on these boards a while, I think the most important lesson to remember is: Almost nothing guarantees you’ll be rejected, and absolutely nothing guarantees you’ll be accepted.</p>
<p>This includes:
Private/public/large/small/prep school
High/moderate SAT scores
Perfect/good GPA (B’s on transcript or not)
Legacy/not
Many/a few ECs</p>
<p>Not only won’t these factors make or break your admission, but it’s not productive to think this way. Rather than ask whether one factor or another will “prevent” you from getting into Harvard, I recommend you focus on what you can do or change. What courses should you select, and what extracurriculars should you join or focus on?</p>
<p>So if a fancy prep school doesn’t guarantee your admission to H. Does it INCREASE your chance SIGNIFICANTLY in the admission game? If I stay at an underperforming school, will the interviewer ask me: “Why didnt you enroll in that [top public school of your town] if everything about you is so stellar?”</p>
<p>Peytoncline or anyone else, is there NO chance for a urm from a low income, single parent family, who is also a first generation college to get into harvard with a 3.46 gpa, that’ll most likely be 3.55+ by the time he applies to Harvard? I mean my gpa is low, but i think my essay will be able to explain the adversity i’ve faced and my goals for the future. And would it a advantage or disadvantage to have a older sister that goes to Harvard currently?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say there is “no” chance. Your GPA is on the low end, yes, but you can counteract that with a spectacular essay.
It is an advantage that your older sister goes to Harvard. It’s not quite a legacy (which is when your parents go), but it’s a plus that you have a sibling attending Harvard.</p>
<p>Alright. It appears my essay will need to be nothing short of amazing. Peytoncline.</p>
<p>hi, i am 14 and i am going to be a freshman in high school. Ever since I was little, i wanted to go to Harvard. I want to go to Harvard to fulfill my ultimate dream, which is to become a doctor. I reside in a fairly small town where Indiana University is. I kind of know the basics of “how to get into harvard” like doing extra curricular activities that you love and good academic and standardized testing scores, interviews, and good personal qualities, etc. I have not taken the offical SAT test yet(waiting until sophomore) but i have taken dozens of practice tests out of different books and have gotten higher than 2300 every single time, with 4 or 5 (out of 6) on the essay graded by my tutor. I received perfect score on all practice PSAT tests i have taken. I am lacking on math, only because i have not taken algebra 2 yet. For the extracurricular activities, i am going to try to do tennis, science olympiad, basketball(maybe), JETS(engineering club), track, solar bike racing team, jazz band, all state band, volunteering at hospital, community kitchen, children’s museum, student council, National junior honor society, and other clubs. I’m hoping that i can participate in all groups listed or more for my highschool “career” and i’m going to do these because i like them. I am very into science and reading. (Laugh all you guys want, i’m practically a nerd and i’m proud :)) I’m kind of athletic, but great in music.(excellent at flute, mediocre at guitar&singing{planning on forming a band}) Any comments or suggestions on how i could increase my chances??? If i fulfill all these would i have a chance of getting accepted to Harvard?
P.S. i’m working on increasing my SAT score to 2400 and my ACT score to 34 or higher. I’m gonna take PSAT this year and hoping to get at least 230. THANKS =)</p>
<p>Wow that’s a lot of potential ECs! The key is not just the number of activities you pursue, but your depth in them. When you write your application in a few years, you will need to make sure that your application makes you jump off of the page. That means that although you need to show that you are well-rounded, you must show individuality and personality. So, try to make sure that you limit your significant endeavors to a few activities that you can pursue in depth. And remember not to be afraid to do something out of the ordinary. I will be attending Harvard next year, and I know that outside of my academic accomplishments, one of the main reasons I was accepted was because of the time and effort I put into amateur, also known as “ham”, radio. I showed my more intellectual science interests through summer research but also showed that I wasn’t afraid to step outside of the box to pursue unique activities that I really enjoyed. </p>
<p>For you specifically:
You said your high school was small. If it doesn’t offer many AP classes, self-study for a few AP tests. This shows academic commitment. </p>
<p>It looks like you have the standardized tests under control but remember to keep schoolwork your #1 priority. Rank does matter.</p>
<p>For your extracurriculars, you might want to look into summer research programs since you are interested in science. You said you lived by a university, so they may have some programs. </p>
<p>Everything else looks great. You’ve done everything right so far. Just remember to have fun in high school and to remain an individual throughout the whole process: Harvard doesn’t just want students with a laundry list of activities. Personality, especially in the essay, goes a long way.</p>
<p>Are you a well-rounded student,kd5qdf? Honestly I’ve heard a lot about whether an applicant should be well rounded or not. Like this one in EC, if you say you’re an amateur at everything, will Harvard see your commitment in anything you do? I’m curious to know. Thank you</p>
<p>Well-rounded is a relative term. I’m not saying that anyone should be an amateur at everything. Rather, every applicant needs a niche in the extracurriculars they pursue, some area where they are more talented and experienced than the vast majority of other applicants. When I say well-rounded, I mean a student who has, in addition to a a compelling extracurricular record, standout grades and test scores. Even if one has a very compelling extracurricular talent or niche, Harvard still wants to see competitive grades and test scores. In high school, I was not a true specialist outside of school nor was I an amateur at everything I did. I had about 2 related activities that I pursued at a very high level and then a handful more that I was involved in because I was interested in them but not at the same level. I consider myself well-rounded but, like I said, that term is relative. Anyway, Harvard will accept both generalists and specialists as I like to call them, but since the pool of specialists is shallower than the pool of generalists, the specialists probably have a better chance of being accepted. I was somewhere in between and was able to get in, but the whole process of admission is highly subjective anyway.</p>
<p>So, to clarify, EC specialists may have a higher chance of acceptance to very selective institutions like Harvard. So, if you have a passion, pursue it to the highest level possible and demonstrate that passion in the application. However, if you aren’t passionate about one specific activity, don’t limit yourself to an activity that will eventually bore you. You will end up submitting an application devoid of the characteristics that make specialist applications so compelling: passion and zeal. If you happen to be more of a generalist with many different interest pulling you in different directions, make sure that you have a strong sense of why you love the many activities you are pursuing. Be able to make connections between your diverse group of activities. This way, when it comes time to write the application and essays, you will be able to avoid the lackluster appearance that plagues so many generalist applications. The key is to make sure that no matter what you pursue, whether you are “well-rounded” or not, your application has to stand out from the rest, which is most easily done by showing passion for what you choose to pursue. I know that it sounds a little cliche but after reading a few books on the subject and doing it myself, I have found it to be true.</p>
<p>If we declare our major as undecided, will it prevent the chance of getting in?</p>
<p>^No, not at all.</p>
<p>I still wonder about the EC. Do we have to be well rounded, like into Science competition and at the same time painting or singing? What if our EC just gears toward one side, is it gonna hurt?</p>