<p>listen, there is really no way to gurantee you are going to get into harvard. I was a slightly below o.k student at a very good prep school. I didn't do any sports and was almost not at all involved in extra curic. my SAT was like 1320 (back when 1600 was the highest) so when I wanted to apply early people didn't think i had much chance, but they liked my essays and my "life story" and so i got in. if someone would have told me this story i wouldn't have believed them, but it's true. there is no telling. just follow your bliss and let the great gods of harvard admissions decide if that's o.k by them ---you have no way to know what they might be thinking.</p>
<p>The valedictorian of our class was rejected. (But he's going to Yale.) Number three was waitlisted. (But he was accepted at Princeton.) Number seven (Mathson) got in. It's really hard to predict.</p>
<p>just curious...do you call eachother "mathmom" and "mathson" at home?</p>
<p>because that would be pretty cool....</p>
<p>i hate to say it, but greenday has a point. everyone is likely to be rejected by HYP. the people who get in, you have to understand, are just really really lucky.
and i just finished the college application process and honestly THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT COLLEGES OUT THERE. dont fixate on just one because you "have to go there"
you may say im being hypocritical becuase im going to Princeton, but i wasnt expecting to get in at all. so yea....dont get mad if someone tells you its impossible to get in</p>
<p>LOL. No I don't call him Mathson at home, but it's sort of fun referring to him that way here. :)</p>
<p>OK seriously, look dont have your heard set on that Harvard tha it is the ONLY school you want to go to. Thats what I did since 9th grade but this year, I stopped talking about, I literally just put Harvard aside and started thinking about schools like Tufts and BC where I actually had a chance. Set high goals for yourself and stay optimistic, but think about the rejection beforehand so you wont get surprised. There is no sure way to get in, but seriously if you want advice, show passion. My SATs were REALLY bad (less than 2000), but I wrote amazing essays, 4.0 GPA, and I did ECs I liked, I didnt do something just because "it will show up on my application". They will notice the people that do that. My interview went great. and well I got in this year (I got waitlisted and rejected at A LOT of others schools, but I got into Harvard) I know a bunch of ppl this year that rejected at Princeton, TUfts, Georgetown, Upenn, Brown, and williams, and they got into Harvard.
Have fun, seriously, you'll regret it later if you dont.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Mel, GreenDay is just being honest (and really realistic, at 16!!!) Obviously you have good shots at those schools. However, I have a lot of friends this year with perfect (yes, literally perfect) test scores, amazing ECs, fabulous internships and hundreds of volunteer hours waitlisted or even denied at the "lower ivies" (ie the schools you would deign to go to if Harvard turns you down). Add some matches and REAL safeties (Brown is not a safety just b/c its acceptance rate is higher than Harvard's) like some state schools that could offer you $$. With acceptance rates dipping below 10% at a lot of top-tier schools, the chances of getting rejected at all of them is going way, way up. Don't be bitter, just be realistic, and keep a good long list of safeties and matches that you like!</p>
<p>My suggestion: Don't go.</p>
<p>save some life some remote place in the world and you will enhance your chance by 5% . Please enjoy your high school life !! I am a reject from Harvard check my stat out but Princeton , yale penn ,cornell.... accepted. No one including the admission officers at Harvard cant tell you your chances!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sad but true</p>
<p>i agree. they were just giving kind suggestions- you should have some safety schools other than HYP- and prepare yourself for rejections- this is what i get during the past year. last april, i was also like,well, i wouldnt go anywhere except harvard cuz this school has been my dream for six years(and still is)...but you need to know that nearly everyone who applies to harvard has the similar feeling, most kids have outstanding ECs and excellent standard test scores- you can never predict whether or not you'll be accepted- the best thing for you now is to do your best to be a well-rounded person and then wait for the results with no regrets.</p>
<p>more than half year ago i posted a chance thread and many people said 'wow, your stats are amazing...you have a decent chance...whatever' , but i still got rejected. i didnt prepare myself for this result so i was pretty pretty sad- you would never imagine how i feel these days, believe me- and i still am. i know this pain will last forever because it is a COLLEGE rejection- sometimes i just told myself, if i gave myself a lower goal, say a top 20 university, at the very beginning, i would feel so happy now cuz i achieved it. but now im buried in the sadness.- although i never regret to apply to harvard--which accepts only three people from my country this year.</p>
<p>what i want you to know is that, even if you are rejected( i hope you get in of course), there's still hope, you may do better in other schools, or you may finally get in after more experience.</p>
<p>wish you the best :)</p>
<p>"If I don't go to Harvard I'll probably kill myself . . . other than that I would like to go to Brown, Yale, or Princeton."</p>
<p>Wow, if every college applicant who wants to go to Harvard does that... then there might be a chance I could get into harvard..=p </p>
<p>Seriously: If you really want to go to harvard I guess you gotta go with the formula: 4.0 GPA, A's in every class, crazy good/perfect SAT scores, t0ns and t0ns of ec's, no sleep, stomach full of ulcers from too much caffeine, and a whole pot o' luck. </p>
<p>Research tons, ask people who you know who got into Harvard/Ivies, research some more, work your butt off, and hope for the best. Don't get your heart set on it though.</p>
<p>g00d luck!</p>
<p>Chances are that none of you are going to get into harvard. Applicants with 4.5 GPAs, perfect SAT scores, tons of extra-curricualr acticvities, and all AP and honors courses get rejected from harvard all the time. The fact is that thousands of well-qualified applicants apply evey year and less than 10% get admitted.</p>
<p>My best piece of advice is to be yourself: follow your passions. Challenge yourself and excel, but don't forget to live life. Do the things that you truly enjoy, not what you think will get you in. Remember that you are unique...show it. Personally, I took many AP classes, not because I wanted to get into Harvard, but because I enjoyed working at that level. I wasn't in tons of clubs like many people because that is not who I am. </p>
<p>Truth is, you will never know whether you will get in or not. Thus, you can't guide your whole high school life on such a difficult thing to achieve. Do your thing, and if it gets you in...great! I was worried that I wouldn't get in because I didn't follow the stereotypes of having zillions of clubs, leadership, etc, but I ended up getting accepted into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Columbia a month ago. My case shows that admissions are unpredictable and surprising at times. Be different. Stand out in some way or fashion. </p>
<p>I hope this helped all of you prospective applicants out there :)</p>
<p>usless you plan on going to grad school, graduating from an ivy league is completely pointless. first off, you're going to be in debt. secondly, going to an ivy league and getting a low GPA (< 3.0) might actually be worse than say you go to a state university and get a high GPA (>3.8). frankly, the ivy league is overrated in terms of undergraduate academics. it's only worth going to an ivy for grad school. also, in a recent wall street journal article, ivy league students are mislead when they graduate, they are taught the philosophies and theories from their respective teachers and aren't well prepared to handle the real, practical world. if you insist on attending harvard, you must, MUST, do more extra-curricular activities, become president of national recognized clubs (Key Club, Honor societies, etc.) you also must have outstanding academic credentials to go along with the extra-curricular things you do inside and outside of school.</p>
<p>I still think they just put all the applications in a box and grab out the first 1000, because I know some slacker kids that got in with no EC's and mediocre grades.</p>
<p>relax and let the admissions people see the fun side of you! it works wonders...as long as you have the grades , sat scores and ECs as well!</p>
<p>k you're going into the 10th grade stop worrying so much. Just get A's in your classes and start to worry next year.</p>
<p>schools normally dont like kids that are entirely academic. this is a huge misconception kids have. schools dont care how much u can cram into your head. they want to see that you can be EXCELLENT at something.. so pursue something thats not academic because otherwise, chances are that you may get disappointed. i've just gone through the early application round and kids with 4.0s are getting into colleges when kids with 4.59s arent. why? extracurriculars. get involved and get really good at something as blunt as that sounds. its ur only chance at top schools.. u gotta be unique</p>