<p>worst case scenario, go to a comm. college, get a 4.0, and apply as a transfer. Write about how you didn't take academics seriously in high school and now you do. They love applicants like that.</p>
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do not let all the negative responses keep you from applying lots of people at harvard are surprised they got accepted who knows, you could end up being one of them.
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Highly selective schools do not randomly accept students with low stats for no reason; they sometimes do so for a very particular reason, such as if the person is a recruitable athlete or if he is from a family that has donated millions of dollars. But the OP's stats are low even for such a person. The only harm to applying anyway is that it will cost you money and time, and might divert your attention from the many fine schools where you can be admitted.
I guess this does, however, suggest one reason why Harvard's admit rate is so low.</p>
<p>^^It also suggests why the number of applications Harvard receives is so very high. Thousands of kids with stats like the OP's are throwing applications at H. They pretty much know they're not going to get in, but so what. No other school -- not Yale, not Princeton, not Stanford -- gets so many application based strictly on high name recognition.</p>
<p>Actually, the Harvard admissions dean has said that 90% of Harvard's applicants "qualify" for admission, meaning that they had the stats indicating that if admitted, they'd be able to do the coursework to graduate.</p>
<p>It's rare for someone with low stats to bother applying to a place like Harvard.</p>
<p>Take a look at the people from CC who applied last year, and you'll see that most had sky high stats and achievements. As is the case with all Harvard applicants, though, most still were rejected.</p>
<p>^^I disagree. I don't believe it means much for an admissions office to say that 90% of its applicants "qualify" for admission. It's spin. (I realize that H is not alone in making such pronouncements. Many top schools issue similar statements.) And I don't believe it's rare for students with relatively low stats to take a shot at Harvard. Based on what I’ve read on these boards and what I know about applicants in my own community, I believe that Harvard, because of its name recognition throughout the world, gets a surfeit of applicants with marginal credentials. (Obviously, it also gets a raft of applicants with excellent credentials.)</p>
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Actually, the Harvard admissions dean has said that 90% of Harvard's applicants "qualify" for admission, meaning that they had the stats indicating that if admitted, they'd be able to do the coursework to graduate.
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I think that's almost certainly true of the OP. But that's completely different from the odds of being accepted.</p>
<p>Isn't White Bear Lake one of the more affluent areas of the Twin Cities? Wouldn't that make your high school something more than "crappy"?</p>
<p>it's tough dude</p>
<p>'worst case scenario, go to a comm. college, get a 4.0, and apply as a transfer."</p>
<p>To my chagrin, Harvard has stopped accepting undergraduate transfers for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>You probably don't have a very good chance but who cares? Work hard in school - any school. Work hard when you graduate and you'll be successful not matter where you went to school.</p>
<p>whoooooooaa! get ur facts str8 he transferred to columbia...sorry lol :P just had to clarify</p>
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Isn't White Bear Lake one of the more affluent areas of the Twin Cities?
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</p>
<p>White Bear Lake High School isn't conspicuous for sending a lot of students to Ivy League colleges. Some other high schools in the same county would be more the expected source of a lot of the Minnesota students who end up at highly selective out-of-state colleges. (I live in a different county. The student I know best from the OP's town was homeschooled, and went to an LAC.)</p>
<p>"You probably don't have a very good chance but who cares? Work hard in school - any school. Work hard when you graduate and you'll be successful not matter where you went to school."</p>
<p>I completely agree with you.</p>
<p>Why do you wanna go to Harvard? Seems kinda random... Oh well. You should apply to other schools, esp state universities thatll give you money with all your ECs. best of luck to youl</p>
<p>
[quote]
Actually, the Harvard admissions dean has said that 90% of Harvard's applicants "qualify" for admission, meaning that they had the stats indicating that if admitted, they'd be able to do the coursework to graduate.</p>
<p>It's rare for someone with low stats to bother applying to a place like Harvard.</p>
<p>Take a look at the people from CC who applied last year, and you'll see that most had sky high stats and achievements. As is the case with all Harvard applicants, though, most still were rejected.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I have to disagree here, first of all because Harvard is probably not going to admit that, say, 50 procent of the applicants aren't qualified at all (There goes your prestige!), they're proud of their selectivity. And by stating that 50 percent of the applicants has no chance at all, they'll hurt a lot of peoples feelings. </p>
<p>Second, I think a lot of people do apply to harvard because it by far the most famous university in the world; I don't think its rare at all. I know a lot of people with crappy stats who apply just for the heck of it, who don't know ANYTHING about college admissions...</p>
<p>Lastly, I wouldn't want to call CC a realistic reflection of the applicant pool, people who actually bother spending their time on a internet forum discussing admissions, are probably not the average slacker. I mean, everyone here knows that CC is insane when it comes to stats. etc.</p>
<p>I think there are many people who apply to Harvard who would have no trouble graduating, but who nevertheless have essentially no chance of getting in. For example, a student who has all Bs in a demanding high school with lots of APs is not likely to flunk out of Harvard as long as he does the work. But he's not going to get in.</p>
<p>To be realistic, your gonna be waisting your money and time, by applying there. I just read an article about how Harvard turned down over 800 people that had a perfect 2400 on the SAT. Your best bet would be going to a fun school where you will enjoy yourself, and if you are still set on Harvard, then transfer. In college you'll have that as your second chance. Honestly though, Harvard denies people, because they dont think they will be able to survive their tough classes. Good luck with your apps, and remember to apply to a couple safeties.</p>
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Harvard has stopped accepting undergraduate transfers for the foreseeable future.
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</p>
<p>That appears to be the reality. Anyway, Harvard had a lower base rate of acceptance for transfer admission than it did for freshman admission for quite a few years. When 27,000 applicants apply each year to a college with 1,600 spaces in each entering class, the odds are long for everyone who applies.</p>
<p>WishWash, I'm sorry, but you need to be realistic with yourself. There are many schools where a B/B+ in a rigorous courseload is exemplary, but for Harvard, where many straight-A, 2300 applicants are rejected, a 3.0 won't cut it. I doubt your essays can save you at this point. I'm sure you're a smart guy; apply if you want, but realize that you'll probably (almost certainly) end up at a far less selective state U or private college. You can always attend H for grad school if you work REALLY hard in undergrad.</p>
<p>@ Oop.....</p>
<p>uhhh that's completely false haha. There aren't even 800 students total who make an 800 on the SAT per year, and not all of them apply to Harvard.</p>