I still think that your scores are okay. By all means take it again if you like. HIghlight your extracurriculars. The mountaineering is quite amazing for instance.
…guess who just got diagnosed with lupus, thalassemia, and hep b?
Add that to file through counselor.
Are you applying to other universities beside Harvard?
Yeah…Yale, UPenn, Duke, and Amherst College.
Wait…counselor has already submitted my recs and stuff. What do I do now?
What about Grinnell or Haverford?
Gee no wonder you haven’t been feeling well. Is the Hep B chronic or acute? How bad is your thalassemia? Are they sure you have lupus or is there a possibility it is just stoked because the infection? I’m so sorry, but sometimes it is good to have answers, even unwelcome ones, compared to uncertainty.
Your guidance counselor can write admissions if you like. Or you can. You need to be registered with Office for Disabliites wherever you go and have a connection to health services via a primary care doc. Be open to medical leaves when things are bad, to preserve your record. Buy tuition refund insurance,.
So glad docs discovered all this and hope you can feel better. Good luck!
No. Only applying to schools that offer 100% financial aid for all admitted students. I would’ve preferred SoCal over Boston but to my dismay UCLA and USC (legacy there) do not offer aid.
I apparently got it from my mom. Probably was there when I was born. My liver is all sparkly though!
As for thalassemia…it’s not that bad. A Hb of ~10 goes a long way! Doc ran a ferritin test just to be sure, since iron deficiency anemia could present with high RBC, low Hb, and low MCV. But, again, my mom also has anemia so… uh…thanks Mom.
The tipping point was actually a checkup result (for all NTU freshmen) from August I received yesterday. I had like 3000 white blood cells and my rheumatologist told me that, yes, it was lupus. But I don’t have one of those certificates things yet. Just verbal confirmation.
I would write admissions myself. My counselor only vaguely knows that something’s up and I really don’t want to over-share. Plus, I’m pretty sure her command of the English language does not extend to medical lingo!
Usc has merit aid, but not much indeed.
I’m sorry about your situation. It’d be best if your medical records were sent with an explanation by a doctor or an official, or if you send official test results +doctor’s explanation+ translations.ypur health is not an excuse, it’s a legitimate reason that provided context for our academic success as well as insight into your resilience and character.
You can write the note and have it sent along with the transcript. Your note can offer documentation if needed. (Documentation WILL be needed for the disabilities office, but not for admissions most likely). It is less awkward to have the guidance counselor send it with the transcript. In fact, our GC requested that we write the note and then he included it in the package he sent.
Sorry for the delay. Here are some updates.
- I sent the note to AO, though I'm not sure if it'll be read in time for the decision. I'll post my note below.
- Got my subject test scores back (meh)...Math 1: 750/Math 2: 720 (ew)/Bio M: 780.
- Got an 118/120 on the TOEFL iBT test.
- Retook the SAT a couple of days ago. I think it went well and I'm hoping for a 1550+. Can't be sure though. My guess is that I'll be rejected or deferred, so I'm hoping that this score would help me in the RD round.
As for the note…I’m scared that it’ll be perceived as being too cheesy or “trying too hard”, but this is what I went through, and I would like the AOs to read my story.
So here goes.
A Brief Explanation of My Illness
In my submitted Common Application, I mentioned having a systemic autoimmune illness. After deliberation, I decided to share a bit more about what I went through.
One morning when I was in 11th Grade, I arrived at school early as usual. I felt a bit run-down, so I decided to take a nap before class started. I woke up just after 2:00 PM, with every single joint in my body feeling as if they were on fire. Everything felt wrong: there were fresh crops of ulcers in my mouth, blisters on my fingers, I was running a temperature, and I could barely walk. The school nurse took one look at my hands, peered into my mouth with a penlight, and told me to find a rheumatologist as soon as possible.
Dr. Yin, the rheumatologist at a nearby walk-in clinic, shook his head as he keyed in orders for six blood tests into the computer.
“We don’t have the labs to prove this yet, but I can tell you that you have an autoimmune disease. I’m going to start you on hydroxychloroquine and steroids first.”
I was terrified. None of my immediate family members had an autoimmune disease. It was nothing more than a term I come across now and then in medical literature, a distant concept of lifelong illness and horrible complications. And now, it was happening to me.
My ANA came back negative. I had a normal CBC, normal inflammatory markers, and no telling autoantibodies. I was the picture of health from a serological perspective, yet I felt like one of the walking dead. I was fortunate to have found a caring rheumatologist on the first try, and Dr. Yin prescribed medications that slowly improved my condition. Gradually, I became able to walk, and even run, normally. Gone were the ulcers and the blisters, the rashes, and the slow shuffle I used to call walking. Prednisone made me gain weight, but at least I was pain-free and on the mend.
A name was finally given to my illness, albeit tentatively, after two years of confusion in diagnosis limbo. Upon receiving the results of a health check-up, I discovered that I was anemic and leukopenic. A follow-up ANA test was done, and it finally turned out to be positive. Dr. Yin said that my combination of symptoms most likely meant systemic lupus erythematosus, and that it was controllable with appropriate medication and lifestyle modifications. It may sound strange, but I was actually relieved to hear all this. I didn’t have a rare, unidentifiable disease. Lupus is manageable, and I would still be able to live a normal, productive, and vibrant life.
I have at times wondered if I could really sympathize with my future patients. But after two years with lupus, I have emerged with an unprecedented view on what it’s like to be sick, and I am confident that my ordeal made me a better and more compassionate person. The majority of the achievements I am proudest of were attained after I became sick, as knowing my own physical limits, I was able to better manage my time and resources to focus on what really matters. To me, illness is not an excuse but a blessing in disguise, the best gift God has to give to an ambitious young scientist and future doctor.
Because of its excellent biological and medical programs, I remain strongly committed to Harvard as my top college choice. I look forward to deepening my understanding of immunology and physiology at Harvard, and to hopefully one day unravel the cruel mystery that is systemic lupus erythematosus.
Please stop focusing on scores. Yours are all excellent. Perhaps in your competitive school it makes some kind of social difference whether you get an 800 or a 750, but for Harvard, it really doesn’t.
Did you do a supplementary optional essay? The note could be considered one. I think the note is fine except that, after reading many essays, I can say that the part about one day unraveling the cruel mystery of lupus is typically over-ambitious! They need the basic information, mainly, but your essay gives the flavor of your experience, so, it’s fine.
Not a lot of kids from my high school even apply to US universities. They tend to prefer staying in Taiwan for university, which was sort of the way I was until I started college at NTU and didn’t feel too happy about the overall diversity and vibe. I’m relieved to hear that my SAT scores won’t matter as much as I think they will though.
Yes-I did write a supplementary optional essay on some of the books I read. I’m not sure if the AO would find it interesting though. I…also admit to being over-ambitious!
According to Harvard’s statistics website, there is only one (1) student from Taiwan currently enrolled at Harvard college. That means Harvard enrolls one student every four years – and those are just terrible odds no matter who how wonderful your stats.
My guess is that you will be deferred in the SCEA round and stand a good chance of being rejected in the RD round. Instead, you should be looking at other colleges, such as the University of Illinois, which enrolls thousands of students from China, Taiwan and India: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/07/u-illinois-growth-number-chinese-students-has-been-dramatic
What a coincidence. I was just checking that out and wondering how the count went from 3 to 1!!! :-?
I have no expectations whatsoever, and will instead attend med school if things don’t work out (meaning getting rejects from Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Duke, and Amherst)
…I actually am expecting a reject straight after the EA round, ha.
^^ The count went from 3 to 1 because 2 seniors from Taiwan have graduated and Admissions didn’t replace them with a like-minded students.
I see. Funny how I hear about Taiwanese kids around me talking about applying to UCLA/UCB/MIT/other schools but almost never to HYP. I don’t think they consider one of these schools to be “attainable” (and honestly neither do I)
Harvard’s financial aid is the single most important factor that led me to the decision to apply, otherwise I would’ve sent in my EA to USC where I’m a legacy.
I do hope Admissions realize that they’re running out of Taiwanese people, and that I could potentially be a good choice to fill in that hypothetical slot. 
Closing thread; OP posted an update with add’l schools.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1943559-non-traditional-intl-applicant-harvard-yale-penn-duke-amherst.html#latest