<p>lowellbelle good advice. I trust that your suggestions are geniune based on your profile/scores. But your title is misleading in the sense that you should state some of the MOST crucial requirements for Harvard Admission are solid, no, spectacular academia like yours. But nevertheless, many of the wisdom you give sheds light on common misconceptions.</p>
<p>True tofulover, but bear in mind that the academic credentials of most of Harvard's applicant pool are virtually equal. A 1600 SAT might sound like a great advantage over a 1400, but it's really the difference between the 99.9th percentile and, what?, 98th percentile? Grades that are all A aren't really of much greater significance than ones that are mostly A with a few Bs. In the long run, the strong academic credentials will only get an applicant into the running for spaces that must eventually be determined on some other basis. But you're right, an academic record that is merely solid probably won't get the passionate pursuits looked at.</p>
<p>Anagarcia: No, I am not. I am about as waspy as they come. Sadly, I am incredibly boring ethnicity-wise.</p>
<p>lowellbelle- </p>
<p>I think what you were saying (and lots of people have been interpreting wrong) is that to go to a school like harvard the adcoms only use gpa's and SAT's to weed out the bottom half. From there, the only thing that matters is passion.</p>
<p>I hope this "PASSION" CCer's mention all the time is really true. Can "PASSION" compensate for mediocre scores?</p>
<p>haha sunglasses--i could have sworn you were for some reason hehe</p>
<p>Well, I am from Arizona.</p>
<p>oracle1:
EXACTLY. Although a few people <em>may</em> bypass (partly) the scores thing, it's very unlikely. Thanks much! Sorry I didn't clarify before...</p>
<p>lowellbelle- </p>
<p>I've got plenty of documented passion with EC's and great things to write for the essay. As we were talking about the stats needed to get through the gatekeeper of places like Harvard, I'm curious to see what you think. </p>
<p>I have a 4.0 uw (4.5 w) at a fairly elite prep school
but my first round of SAT's are surely lacking.
2000 SAT1 690 chem; 660 math2c </p>
<p>As is, would you say those are enough to get through. </p>
<p>And if not, what would be the minimum needed if I retook the tests?
(still waiting on ACT...which i think will be a little bit better)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help!
:)</p>
<p>Unless you're an under-represented minority, I suggest you retake both your SATI and those two SATIIs.They're extremely low by Ivy standards.</p>
<p>what is ivy standards?</p>
<p>bump........</p>
<p>aim for a 2300.</p>
<p>geex! i just read everything you guys posted on this thread. and i have to admit i'm kinda down now. :(
anyhow, i have a few questions:
1. which minorities are urm?
2. how did you guys figure out what you were passionate about? (this is really hard for me)</p>
<p>oracle1:
I disagree with the first reply to your post...(don't remember the name, lol)...if you have a 4.0 uw, 4.5 w--and don't quote me on this because I know nothing about weighted grades, but I know that 4.0 uw is all A's--and have taken THE BEST classes your school has to offer, that's a good thing, very good. You can take your SAT IIs again, and I would definitely advise that, just to show admissions officers that you are serious about improving. 2000...I don't know exactly how that stacks up on the old SAT scale (my class was the last one to take the "normal" (haha) 1600 one, and I got a 1510 my soph year and decided I was done...I have no idea what a comparable score would be). Mostly, I advise you to keep your grades up and retake your SATs if possible...I would also HIGHLY advise that you take the ACT, as it measures the curriculum you've taken. I think people are getting sick of me talking about "activities" and (especially) "passion", but there you go...those can and will distinguish you from other applicants.
I hope that helped! Again, it's not necessarily scores...1/2 of 1600 (2400, whatever ;)) applicants are turned away because they won't fit into the class. You have to be better than just a brain--you have to be a person with enormous potential, or at least that's how I see my classmates.
Good luck!
~lb</p>
<p>I have to say, I don't think minorities are "under-represented" at Harvard, but I can't seem to find any statistics...anyone help me out? :) Maybe it's half white, half "everything else" (no offense to anyone!) but that's fairly represented, I think, all things considered...</p>
<p>thx lowellbell 4 the quick answer</p>
<p>lowellbelle you are amazing!</p>
<p>I really appreciate your comments (most posters usually tell me how little chance I have of ever making it into an elite school). </p>
<p>I agree with your post, most universities I have visited are about 1/2 1/2. Right or wrong I wouldn't know.</p>
<p>Let me add to lowellbelle's advice on ec's and passion. Remember that most of the other valid candidates will have exceptional scores and grades. If I remember correctly (Byerly, please correct me if I am wrong) these will be summarized in your admissions folder by a clerk - so that the admissions officers don't have to root around looking for them - or convert your school's special GPA into something understandable, etc. It is going to take them maybe 1-2 minutes to evaluate these items in the context of your school, economic status, etc. </p>
<p>Then - or maybe before - are the items that put a face to the numbers. Your GC report - teacher's recs - and what you have to say about you - your essays. These take longer to evaluate. They may provoke thought and discussion. If something about these materials finds resonance with the reader AND you have a talent or quality that Harvard needs to build its class ... then you've got a shot. Its still a long shot (Harvard only accepted about one out of fourteen of its RD applicants this year) but if you are a bit of a risk taker, go for it.</p>
<p>good point ohio mom</p>
<p>it seems so difficult these days to get in. i feel like u can do everything right... then they put your name in a hat with 9 others, pick one, and throw out the rest. who are they admitting?</p>