<p>THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE. an admissions lady called me on friday, but i was in a basketball game. i guess she had already left for the weekend when i called back around 5. i was sweating bullets all weekend. was it good news? was it bad news? did i forget a part of my application?
so i called back first thing this morning. 8:00 on the dot.
and when she said "i'm happy to inform you..", i think i started crying. harvard's been recruiting me to run track since early this summer. i went on my visit a couple weeks ago, and totally fell in love with the place. ahh i'm so happy right now. i've been smiling all day. you guys will understand once you get yours to whatever the college of your dreams is. good luck to all you guys. i'll post stats and all that stuff later. i just really wanted to get this out. ahhhhh! sorry for the bad grammar and really long post. this is seriously the happiest day of my life. </p>
<p>Decision: Accepted…(All but officially. I got a likely letter)</p>
<p>Stats:
Fee Waiver Used?: Yes
SAT I (by section): 2200 (750 M, 720 Cr, 730 W)
SAT IIs: 790 on Math IIC, 740 Spanish, 670 on US History
GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 3.99 and 3.65
Rank: N/A
ACT: N/A
APs (including this year's): AP Spanish (5), AP USH (3), AP Calc AB, AP Stat, AP English, AP Bio
IBs (including this year's): N/A
Senior Yr Courseload: AP Calc AB, AP Stat, AP English, AP Bio, Spanish V
Number of Apps from Your School: 5-10 eventually. Nobody else has applied yet.
Other stats (Awards, etc.): National Merit Commended, National Achievement Finalist, Spanish Honor Society, Cum Laude, Blah Blah Blah
Subjective:
ECs listed on app: Football 9-12, Basketball 9-12, Track 9-12 (Recruit), Student Council 9,10,12, School Newspaper 9,10,11,12 and some other smaller ones
Job/Work Experience: A part time job at a car dealership
Essays (subject and responses): One was funny. One was serious. Probably the best one I’ve ever written.
Teacher Recs: Only read one of the two and it was good. Nothing spectacular though.<br>
Counselor Rec: Good, but nothing special.
Interview (feel, interviewer and general location): I thought it went really well.<br>
Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.): Nope
Location/Person:
State or Country: TX
School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Rich, private school. Sends A LOT to HYPS and Ivies. Median SAT is like 1400/1600 ish?
Ethnicity: African-American/Black
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80-100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM and recruited athlete
Strengths: Dedication to extracurricular activities. Good SAT’s(?).
Weaknesses: GPA and maybe lack of AP’s. There were a couple more I could have taken
Why you think you were accepted: I think all the stars just really aligned. I’m black. They need sprinters on their track team (bad!), and my scores/grades were in the range.
Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
This is the happiest day of my life.</p>
<p>Congrats! I received my Master's at HU and TA'd (Teaching Fellows at Harvard, so I should say, "TF'd") undergrads in stats and worked w/ them in the Fogg Art Museum. Harvard, along w/ Cambridge and the Hub of the Universe, Boston, is a dynamic place to be for four yrs. That all said, you will go in w/ expectations that might never be met, and many undergrads end up depressed b/c Harvard College never met their sky-high expectations. If you realize this ahead of time it'll make studying there possibly a lot more enjoyable. Track will help too, having something to get your endorphins up. But the bottom line is that Harvard will forever be your school and no matter what anyone says about schools in New Haven, Palo Alto, or wherever, Harvard is and in our lifetimes will remain the most famous. Make the most of your four yrs as they'll fly by, take chances w/ course choices and broaden your horizons as much as you can. You can also take classes at Tufts, MIT (if you can figure out their catalog, and other area schools. I suggest you get a taste of how the other half studies. Have fun-- you should feel proud.</p>
<p>Saretsky looks to be building a fine program now, from what I have heard you will be joining an exceptional group. Mostly distance guys last year, this year fewer distance but maybe some national names. So yes, the stars aligned, sprinters are in demand, but your academic numbers are great, don't ever feel like you didn't deserve it. Harvard is supporting the new coach nicely.</p>
<p>nice... as bad as it sounds, sometimes i wish i were black and could run really fast. thatwould be nice lol. i think it's safe to say that if it weren't for those two factor you wouldn't have gotten in. not to downplay your acceptance or anything.
seriously, congrats.</p>
<p>Token89, Hearty congratulations from a H parent. </p>
<p>JohnC613, your post is inappropriate and mean spirited. For the record, Token89's stats are in line with those of other students who have been accepted to H (see last year's acceptance threads).</p>
<p>very nice! congrats, i guess this means that harvard has used the lack of EA to start sending likely letters much earlier than they normally would.</p>
<p>Uh, not to put doubt on your credibility, but I was under the impression that the admissions officers don't even get together until middle December. How can they have already made a decisions so quickly when the priority deadline hasn't even passed? (since you mentioned they called on Friday) I'm just surprised that they would make a decision so early. What are your track times for the events you run?</p>
<p>^^ kyzan, recruited athletes are admitted starting Oct 1, the earliest day the Ivy league agreement lets them communicate admissions decisions. Coaches are not allowed to, only the admissions office can. My daughter got her call from Harvard at 9 am Oct 1 PST, and that was a Saturday! :)</p>
<p>Token89, congratulations! I am sure you will enjoy your years there. Charlie's World has some good advice, though - go in knowing that you will love some things and not others, and don't expect nirvana, and you are sure to have a wonderful 4 years. Well done!</p>
<p>hey! maybe you'll get to meet my friend who's playing soccer for H next year!</p>
<p>she's really cool</p>
<p>congrats on the acceptance, she was really happy too! but, as i'm sure you will get, many people think she only got in because of soccer (it's definitely not true tho)</p>
<p>thanks guys for all your congratulations. i'm super pumped. i don't think it's really set in yet.
JohnC613, if i ever find you, i know i'll be fast enough to find you AND DESTROY YOU.
charlie's world, thanks for the advice.
kyzan, you were under the wrong impression.
ailey, a call on a saturday. they must have really wanted her. congrats.
eating food, i'm sure i'll meet plenty of cool girls next year. and i saw the soccer team....i was impressed to say the least.</p>
<p>Grats man, good to see everyone making moves this year. I should've stuck with track I could have been high ranking but eh, too much running lol. Shows you've got a lot of dedication man good job.</p>
<p>And to the clown who says he wouldn't have had a shot a 2200 puts him in the 97 (or 8th) percentile, mid range in harvard is a 1390-1570 IIRC, and on top of that a 2200 is in the 99.5 percentile of african american scorers. I'm in something like the 97th or something of b lack scorers with a 2020 so he definitely deserved this. Not to mention his extra ECs? Three years of THREE varsity sports? Stop hating my man.</p>