I find out about Harvard SCEA in 2 weeks. Let's play a little game ;D I'll chance back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’ll be finding out about Harvard Dec. 10/11. I’ll also be applying to Cornell, Duke, Penn, Tufts, and Amherst (among others) in the RD period. Guess whether I’ll be accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected and I’ll be sure to tell you the official results when the day comes!

Of course it’s almost impossible to predict for these schools, but meh, it’s a way to pass the time.

Here are my stats:

Hooks: Hispanic, 1st generation
Household income: ~$50k
State: Florida

SAT: 1550 / 2280 (750 CR, 800 Math, 730 Writing)
UW GPA: 3.94; all my B’s/B+'s came from freshman year, since then I’ve gotten all A’s
Weighted GPA (6 point scale): 5.63
Class rank: 1/272

Subject tests:
US History: 800
Biology: 770
Math 2: 750 (didn’t submit to Harvard, and not submitting to any school that allows score choice because this score is like the 65th percentile or something)

AP Scores:
Human Geography: 5
Art History: 5
World History: 5
Environmental Science: 5
Statistics: 5
English Language: 5
US History: 5
Comparative Government: 5
Microeconomics: 5
Biology: 5
European History: 5
Calculus AB: 4
Physics 1: 3

Courses (H - Honors, S1 - Semester 1, S2 - Semester 2, CC - Community College, FIU - Florida International University, FAU - Florida Atlantic University)

7th grade:
Algebra 1 H

8th grade:
Geometry H (B second semester)
Spanish 1 (B second semester)

FRESHMAN:

Full year
AP Human Geography (B+ both semesters)
Biology H (B second semester)
Earth/Space science H
English 1 H
Algebra 2 H
Spanish 2
Leaderships skills development
HOPE (mandatory PE class)

SOPHOMORE:

Full year
AP Art History
AP World History
AP Environmental Science
AP Statistics
Chemistry H
Spanish 3 H
Precalculus H
English 2 H

S1
Child psychology (CC)
Health and Wellness (CC)
World religions (CC)

S2
American literature pre-1800 (CC)
Philosophy (CC)
College algebra (CC)
Speech (CC)

Summer
American literature post-1800 (CC)
Liberal arts mathematics (CC)
Social and personality development (FIU
Marine biology (Harvard, summer program)
Psychology of diversity (Harvard)

JUNIOR:

Full year
AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
AP English language
AP European history
AP US History
AP Comparative government
AP Microeconomics
AP Physics 1

S1
Spanish 1 (CC)
Composition 1 (CC)
Oceanography (FIU)
Religious studies (FIU)

S2
Spanish 2 (FAU)
Microeconomics (CC)
Anatomy and physiology 1 (CC)
Computer literacy (CC)

Summer
Composition 2 (CC)
Geology (CC)
Corrections (FAU)
Terrorism (FAU)
Veterinary Medicine: Small Animals (Cornell, summer program)

SENIOR:

Full year
AP Physics 2
AP Calculus BC
AP Psychology
AP English literature
AP Computer science

S1
AP US Government
General Psychology (CC)
Communication Skills for Policy and Management (FIU)
Theories of Personality (FIU)
Special Topics in Literature: James Bond (FAU)

S2
AP Macroeconomics
Environmental Law and Policy (FAU)
Biological Basis of Behavior (FAU)
Adolescent Psychology (FIU)

Letters of rec:
Harvard professor from my summer program (only using it for Harvard of course): No idea/10
Guidance counselor: 7 or 8/10
Algebra II, AP Environmental, and AP Bio teacher: 9/10
Statistics teacher and guidance counselor: 8 or 9/10
Supplemental rec 1: 10/10
Supplemental rec 2: 10/10

Harvard Interview: 6.5/10

Essays:
Commonapp: wrote about my background, and how influential my interests in the environment and animals have been (8/10)
Harvard supplement: wrote about being teased for being an effeminate, hetero male throughout my life, and how it’s helped me empathize with others (9/10)

ECs:
Cross country varsity (8th-10th grade)
Student government liaison and morning announcements anchor (9th-12th grade)
700 Volunteer hours fostering kittens (9th-12th grade)
90 Volunteer hours at a dog shelter (9th - 12th grade)
120 Volunteer hours at a wildlife rehab center in Costa Rica (3 weeks in summer between 11th and 12th, sponsored by my school)
Animal and Environmental Science Club (9th grade VP, 10th-12th President, started recycling program in my school in the 10th grade)
Brain Bowl team (9th-11th grade, 12th grade captain; won regional competitions and qualified for national competitions we couldn’t go to and have appeared on local TV)
Under a Tree, Inc. Director of Policy and Communications (11th-12th grade; work on development of civic leadership curriculum and outreach to minority-majority schools in South Florida)
Harvard SSP (summer 2014)
Cornell veterinary medicine program (summer 2015) (I wanna be a veterinarian!)
Editor for #Animals on Tumblr (May 2012 - November 2015, the program was terminated like 2 weeks ago sadly)
Blog on Tumblr with 24,000 followers where I share my photography and others’, mostly of animals and some nature (Dec. 2011 - present)

Awards:
National Merit Scholar semifinalist
National AP Scholar
National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar
AP Scholar with distinction
Photo selected as en editor’s favorite on National Geographic

Accept/defer/waitlist/reject for:
Harvard SCEA as an Environmental Science and Public Policy major
Cornell CALS as an Animal Science major
Duke as an Evolutionary Anthropology major
UPenn CAS as a Biological Basis of Behavior major
Amherst as a Biology major
Tufts as a Biopsychology major

I’ll chance back!!

2

It’s irresponsible to predict acceptances to most of those schools for almost any applicant, so I’m going to give you some fairly generic chances.

~30% chance at Harvard thanks to a strong profile, URM, first gen, and SCEA. About 20% at UPenn and Duke. 30% or so at Cornell, Amherst, and Tufts.

These are all guesstimates, so don’t read too much into them.

3

Yep, you’ve definitely got a great chance. I guess it’s all down to luck now. :slight_smile:

Chance me? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1834024-chance-me-for-ucs-particularly-berkeley-la-sb-davis-usc-and-uwash-seattle.html#latest

4

bump

5

Based on the people I know who have gone/go to Harvard, I’d say you have a great chance. Chance me?

6

If I had to guess, I would guess an acceptance. But then again who am I to make that decision (also a HS senior). If you wouldnt mind could you do the same thing for me http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1782431-chance-me-at-upenn-ed.html#latest

7

For comparison sake, Brown accepts about 18% of its valedictorian applicants. So seeing Harvard is more competitive, maybe they are say 15%. If one then weights the cards you play (FirstGen, Pell, URM) let’s about double your chances.

I predict 33% acceptance to Harvard.

Greater than 50% for Cornell, Duke, Tufts.

Not sure on Amherst and Penn.

8

@NotVerySmart is SCEA that huge of a boost? Are my chances at Harvard about the same as Cornell or Amherst?

@collegechic123 @camrun I’ll do yours guys’ now :slight_smile:

9

SCEA acceptance rate is ~20%. Some of that is athletes/famous people who will get in anyway, but SCEA is probably a 5-10% boost. You’re an academically qualified SCEA applicant with a triple hook (URM, first-gen, low-income). Your chances are very good IMO.

10

SCEA to Harvard was 16.5% last year - second lowest in the Ivies. Unhooked the acceptance rate is single digits with most of those acceptances going to kids with stellar credentials. The fact that your hooked helps quite a bit with your app but it’s still anybody’s guess. Good luck!

11

Your stats are AMAZING! I think all of the schools you have applied to are reach schools for everyone.
I think you will most likely get into Cornell, Amherst, or Tufts with your stats compared to stats from past years. Harvard is harder to get into, but with your background and statistics, you have a strong chance; I would say 70%.

Cornell does have the highest acceptance rate in the Ivies, but also a bigger applicant pool.
Harvard has a decent applicant pool, but is ranked as one of the top ivies with a lower accpetance rate.
Amherst is less competitive, in my opinion, almost like a safety school.
Tufts and Duke is like Amherst.

have you considered Vanderbilt or Emory??

12

Harvard- admit/waitlist (this one will be the biggest reach)
Cornell- admit/waitlist
Tufts- admit
Duke- waitlist
Amherst- waitlist/reject
Penn- admit/waitlist

It seems like youre a really strong candidate for all these schools!! Since there are so many other applicants with similar achievments it will all come down to your essays and luck. Will you chance me back?? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1831441-chance-me-for-my-list-of-schools-i-will-chance-back.html?new=1

Best of luck!!!

13

@em1998 Thanks!! And yea, I’m applying to Vanderbilt as well, but probably not Emory.

@plsnu1234 I’ll do yours now. Thanks for actually doing the accept/waitlist/reject thing lol. Most people did percentages for w/e reason :stuck_out_tongue:

14

I think your chances are pretty good. Also, how on earth did you take so many AP and college classes. I’ve only taken 11 APs and 2 CC classes. Blows my mind how you did it.
Chance me back?: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1834712-applying-to-13-colleges-with-questbridge-chances.html

15

@leaguemaster420 Thanks for the response. FL pays for all the AP exams and makes it really easy to dual enroll at local colleges for free. Of course it takes some initiative, but FL makes it much easier than other states!

16

I’d say you have a pretty good shot, especially since you’re a hooked applicant with awesome scores and very clear, focused extracurriculars. Of course, with the acceptance rate being what it is, I’d say it’s up to luck and your essays. Good luck!

My guesses:
Harvard- deferred -> admit
Cornell- admit
Tufts- admit
Duke- waitlist -> reject
Penn- reject

17

woah…the amount of APs you took as well as your grades are insane!! I’d say you have an extremlely high change to most of those schools, including Harvard. Furthermore, your SATs are impeccable, your heritage & fact that you’re first gen will increase your chances, and your diversity in class choices will show how well rounded and intelligent you are. Good luck!

Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1834470-can-i-get-in-please-help.html#latest

18

I personally think Amherst will accept him?

19

Honestly, you have a pretty stellar profile and with that amount of extra-curriculars it might be hard to turn it down (my only problem is that due to the amount of extra-curriculars, they might see you as being not focused in any one specific area).

My Guesses:
Harvard- admit/defer (definitely the hardest one with an SAT lower than 2300)
Cornell- admit
Tufts- admit
Duke- waitlist > admit
Penn- admit

Could you chance me? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1835352-for-cornell-ucla-and-berkeley.html#latest

20

@gettingdat2400 @jackisawesome Did both of yours’. Thanks for chancing me! :slight_smile: