Interesting Harvard Applicant Chances

[msbox44]

Hi all-- I’m kind of a different applicant as I want to pursue the possibility of becoming a news anchor/political reporter. I know Harvard does not have any journalism program, but there are countless anchors who have gone to Harvard and just because of that employers do not really care what their degree was in. I would probably major in government and minor in business (or whatever unique name harvard gives them lol). Wanted to know what you think about my application, and I stressed in my essay what I want to do.

GPA: Above 4.0 UW, 4.5 Weighted. No B’s in high school

Half A+s, half As, 1 A- (97+=A+, 92-96=A, 90-91=A-)

SAT:
800 Math
740 Writing
700 Reading
Total: 2240

SAT Subject:
Math 2: 770
US History: 770
Biology: 750

Classes: 2 honors- Freshman (no APs available), probably should have taken the other 2 honors offered… But, it’s Freshman year and everyone is still finding themselves

3 honors and AP US1 - Sophomore (1 AP available),

AP Lit, AP US2, AP Environmental Science, AP Micro, AP Psych, Honors Latin (and Academic Calc, but not interested in math and already a year ahead of most kids) -Junior

AP Lit, AP Physics , AP Micro, AP Prob/stat , AP Gov/Pol, AP Computer Science, Honors Latin - Senior

AP Scores:
Lang (5)
US (5)
Enviro (5)
Micro (5)
Psych (4)

Took 3 classes over the summer over my high school years.

ECs- Habitat for Humanity 2 years, JSA 2 Years (treasurer both years), Television station 4 year (Freshman year-technical director and control room worker for 3 shows a week in our high school, Soph/Junior/Senior sports anchor), Newspaper (Contributer 4 years, sports editor Sophomore, Editor in Chief Junior and Senior), Junior State of America 2 years, VP senior year, National Honors Society, Latin Honors Society, History Honors society, (leadership position all 3), started a tutoring program to help kids in elementary schools with their work (founder/president) Visited the school every week to help out. Technical director and editor of all school plays/musicals.

Attended advanced sports broadcasting camp for 5 years and at the camp hosted own 10-minute sports show. Ran by two leading figures in broadcasting industry

Summer program at Northwestern

Recommendations: From 1 outside of school- big figure in the broadcasting industry- 11/10, Lit/Newspaper- 11/10,

Volunteered in the Dominican Republic the summer before junior year to help the locals rebuild home, create better living arrangements, etc. Took suitcases worth of baseball equipment and school supplies I collected down to them, contributed to the blog for the company I went with.

Two-Week Summer Video Journalism Class at Harvard, limited to 15 kids from across the world, recommendation from the professor who won a Pulitzer for work in South Africa covering Apartheid

Intern at National Swim meet freshman year, published on the biggest swimming website in the world.

Contacted by Cartoon Network for some of my broadcasting work

Awards- National Latin Exam highest possible award all four years. Best Original Screenplay at NJ State High School Film Contest Challenge.

White, from Public school in NJ. No financial aid requested.

Essay- 9.5ish/10

[expertiger]

Your scores and grades are within the harvard range, so it’ll be up to your ec’s (pretty good, i think), essays, and recs. I would say you have a decent chance, although given the fact that Harvard has to throw away about 19 applications before they even accept 1… it’s a long shot for every applicant. Best of luck.

[snarlatron]

For your career plans you should go somewhere like Missouri with a good journalism program. No one is going to hire you anywhere just because you have a degree from H, this is a myth.

[gibby]

While you certainly have the stats to be admitted, many of your EC’s scream “entitled and privileged kid.” I would emphasize your writing and journalism skills and awards, but would NOT mention Habitat for Humanity or Volunteering in the Dominican Republic at all: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jd-rothman/ivy-league-admissions_b_1398145.html

Why Your Brilliant Child Didn’t Get Into The Ivies
3. Your child’s application stinks of privilege. You had the best of intentions when you sent your son or daughter to Oxford last July to read the classics. But guess what? The colleges, who eventually are happy to accept your $200,000, aren’t thrilled about $11,000 summer programs, even the life-changing ones. Outward Bound now looks dubious as well – it used to be about achieving clarity through eating bark, but now could be a euphemism for “troubled teen.” And forget those service opportunities in Central America – the whole isthmus is now frowned upon.

[msbox44]

@gibby I’m not going to not mention it. I don’t care what they think, I’m not the rich privileged kid that it would be made out to be. I will stand by what I have done

[msbox44]

@snarlatron you cannot say that a degree in government from Harvard and a masters in journalism from let’s say northwestern would be less acceptable than a bachelors from anywhere else.

[HRSMom]

You don’t seem to like the answers you are getting…a journalism aspiration doesn’t really make you stand out. You will still be one of hundreds…

Find a way to make your essays catch their eye.

[J2H239]

Just do it what you could and do not expect too much, this is the fact faced by most if not all applicants…

[gibby]

I will stand by what I have done

Okay, but at least don’t write a cliched essay about it: http://www.hercampus.com/high-school/7-worst-college-application-clich-s-how-avoid-them

2. Writing about volunteer work… and not being the least bit original about it

We get it—your service trip to South America was the best thing that’s ever happened to you. You made the best friends, had the best time, met the most amazing people and learned so, so much (insert more gushing superlatives here). We believe you! And it’s super impressive that you enjoy helping others. The problem is, so do a ton of other awesome applicants, and they’re writing the exact same essay as you are. How the heck is a college admissions officer supposed to tell you all apart? They’re only human, after all!

Even so, Hillary, a sophomore at UC Berkeley, says that, like most rules, college essay rules are made to be bent. “It’s a known concept that you’re ‘not supposed’ to write about trips, or community service projects, etc.,” she says. “I didn’t follow this advice, because I knew what I had to write for myself. * ended up writing about my journey to [San Francisco] for the first time, and how I spent $10 on a luggage cart to maneuver my way to the community service summer program in which I was partaking. It was theoretically breaking the ‘rule,’ but I knew it’s what I needed to write, and it worked.”

Why did it work? Likely because Hillary chose a unique detail about her experience—the luggage cart—and wrote insightfully about its significance to her. “It’s understanding how to write deeply about something so they can really put us in that moment for them and we can see [the applicant’s] perspective,” says Podbelsek. “For every one kid that’s done it in the most boring way, other kids will take that exact same situation and they’ll find some sort of nuance that truly connects with them more deeply and put it in the essay, and then it works perfectly.”

She says to avoid focusing on ideas like “‘I went to Guatemala and I helped people and I never realized how great my life was until I did that.’” Instead, dive into a particular poignant moment or conversation. When you think about your topic, ask yourself, “Could anyone else but me write this?” If the answer is yes, head back to the drawing board!

Here’s another article basically making the same point: https://www.c2educate.com/content/cliche-college-application-essay-topics

The “Service Work” Essay

The fact that a student has taken the time and put in the effort to help others is wonderful, and it should be celebrated. However, service work as a college application topic is a cliche because admissions officers see it over and over again. To a high school student, a month spent helping to build schools in a developing country may seem like a unique story and one that only they have to tell. To an admissions board, however, this essay topic is all too common.

Which topic to choose instead: The problem with the service work essay is not so much the topic itself but the angle that most students take to elaborate on the topic. In most cases, students who write service work essays end them all the same way: I learned so much from my experience. The people I helped ended up teaching me more than I taught them. I had an epiphany about my own privilege. However, if students aren’t very careful, these approaches can paint them in a negative light and make them come across as uninformed.

Here’s what Cezar Mesquita, admissions director at the College of Wooster, has to say about service work essays: “I would love to have a student answer the question, ‘Why is it that you have everything and they have nothing?’ or ‘What did others learn from your participation in the trip?’”

[Desiree2]

Your extracurricular uniqueness is not very important - at least not as important as your commitment to your passion. Being an unique EC helps, but it does not help as much as you would think.

[AmericaAbroad]

What part of your application is the “interesting” part?
A rec from a hotshot broadcaster is only valuable if it exemplifies who you are, not who they are. Not only does your application show privelege, it highlights a bit of extra egotism.

[msbox44]

@AmericaAbroad can u explain the egotism

[J2H239]

You are one of well qualified applicants for sure but may not expect too much. I believe that you know what is the egotism, which may not be helpful in everywhere.

[NYDad513]

I think you are a qualified student and your chance will be around 5-6% like other qualified students who applied Harvard.

[T26E4]

My kiddo is home for thnxgiving break. She went to one of the top ten rated high schools in the country. She’s in the Honors college of one of our state schools, turning down some more prominent engineering colleges. She’s doing great in her general engineering courses and only her honors college course, does it match the rigor and expectations she was used to in her old HS. Everyone in that course is pretty well accomplished. But it’s also very clear that one student, who was used to being far above his fellow students, hasn’t understood that he’s pretty average in the context of the honors college. But he’s too arrogant and blind to this fact and continues to assume his opinions and answers are the last word. He’s completely blind to the eye rolls and head shaking of the others in the class, even the instructor.

Applying to Harvard et.al, I continue to see many kids who cannot fathom being considered average as they’ve often been the most superior achiever in every situation in their lives up to this point.

OP, you have great accomplishments. But you’re hearing from people that your profile isn’t unique in the highly accomplished H applicant pool. Consider some of the wisdom parsed out on this thread. Good luck

[giraffeinatree]

Ha.

“No financial aid requested.”

“I don’t care what they think, I’m not the rich privileged kid that it would be made out to be.”

If you can afford almost $70,000 a year in tuition and room & board, sorry to break it to you, but you’re rich and privileged. A lot of families barely make even one-FOURTH the cost of attendance of a school like H.

I swear, rich people wanna be oppressed so badly.

Also, a 1-to-10 scale implies that 10 is the 100th percentile; the best possible in the world. Just by you rating your rec letters 11s, and even your essay a 9.5ish gives some insight to the egotism you better hope doesn’t show up on your app.

[HRSMom]

Wait a minute! I don’t want to be oppressed!!!

[gibby]

For the record: More than 60% of Harvard students are on financial aid – which means that 40% of student’s come from families who can afford to pay the full-sticker price. What’s truly amazing though is that it’s actually pretty rare to find a student on Harvard’s campus who would admit their family is from such privilege. When my daughter was at Harvard, she couldn’t tell the haves from the have nots. I think that’s what Harvard Admissions looks for in a wealthy applicant – someone who can converse with the president and the plumber. Best of luck to you “Interesting Harvard Applicant!”