Hypothetical Situation

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Say a Native-American student with sub-par grades (not abysmal, but not jaw-dropping stellar either) wins Siemens or Intel. Would s/he still be a shoe-in for Harvard?</p>

2

<p>I suppose it depends on your definition of sub-par. For example, for the past several years, Stuyvesant High School has had more Intel Semi-finalists than any other high school in the country – and every one of the kids has had a 93+ average. Is that sub-par? FWIW: All of those Stuyvesant Semi-finalists were accepted to at least one school in the pool of HYPSM et al.</p>

3

<p>Sub-par as in a high ‘B’/low ‘A’ average. How significant are these sorts of contests? Does having that kind of a ‘hook’ really give that significant of an edge over other applicants (esp. when combined with URMP status)?</p>

4

<p>Recruited athletes are probably the only students on an Ivy League campus who are given a “pass” on their grades – all of them must have at least a 3.0 GPA or higher. URM’s are not given the same “pass” as a recruited athlete, as Admissions can find top students who are URM’s, including Native American student’s. So, about 99.9% of the time, for non-athletes, grades are far more important than awards. But, there is always that one kid who breaks the mold and gets accepted. Are you aiming to be that one kid?</p>

5

<p>Possibly. :stuck_out_tongue: My situation’s a bit different, but I was curious to see what it would take, so to speak. </p>

<p>Do admissions officers really struggle that much to find athletes with the grades for Harvard? That’s a bit surprising.</p>

6

<p>By Ivy League rules, a 3.0 GPA is the lowest GPA any of the eight schools can admit. Most recruited athletes at Harvard are top-scholars as well. <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/sports/before-athletic-recruiting-in-the-ivy-league-some-math.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/sports/before-athletic-recruiting-in-the-ivy-league-some-math.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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7

<p>Oh. Understood. </p>

<p>If a student’s grades are OK, but they are highly appealing on every other component of their application, would they still have a fighting chance?</p>

8

<p>^^ That’s a highly subjective question that really cannot be answered by anyone who is not sitting on the Admissions Committee. For 99.9% of students, I imagine the answer is “No, they don’t stand a fighting chance” but, as I said, there is always that one kid that breaks the mold and is accepted despite their otherwise sub-par grades.</p>

9

<p>Fair enough! Really appreciate the answer.</p>