<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I'm a junior in high school and by the end of the year my weighted gpa will be around 4.3. I took the sat for the first time and got 1830 without much preparation, so I'm hoping to get it up in the 1900's and possibly 2000. I play varsity sports, have some work experience and some community service. I'm the oldest of 3 siblings and have had to be the "man of the house" since I was eight years old.</p>
<p>My dad went to Harvard and was president of the Spee club there. He then went on to the navy and was exposed to deadly chemicals, which later in his life (after me and my sisters were born) gave him cancer and after 8 months, he passed away. We have several family friends who went to Harvard including one who donates presumably large amounts of money.</p>
<p>I know my grades aren't up to par with Harvard's expectations, but is it worth applying? Do I have any chance at all of getting in? How many legacies do they usually take there?</p>
<p>Thanks for reading, don't be too harsh!</p>
<p>Not sure how much your family friend donates or how strongly they would be willing to go to bat for you, so I will leave that out for the moment. Your father’s legacy gets you some consideration, but not the allowance you would need currently to likely be considered a reasonable candidate. You EC’s, as described, are relatively weak as well. I believe your efforts may be better directed at the many well-regarded schools more within your target range.</p>
<p>I got into JHU with a 3.55 UW and a 2220 SAT with legacy. My parents aren’t big donors.</p>
<p>^Your SAT score is considerably above the midpoint for JHU (2082) and very close to the 75% percentile mark (2240) at JHU (meaning close to only 25% of enrolled freshman at JHU have higher SAT score than you). Your GPA is not unreasonable (depending upon courseload) and your stats are on target for the school, so your legacy, if factored, may not have even been needed.</p>
<p>The OP’s SAT score is 1830 vs. a midpoint for Harvard at 2225 - that is significantly more “allowance” needed than a simple legacy will likely provide - at least IMO.</p>