International applicant: Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<h2>I'm a student from Taipei, Taiwan (i'll be a senior this September). Could any of you tell me my chances of getting into Harvard? Thank you. </h2>

<p>GPA (Unweighted, there are no AP classes in Taiwan): 4.0
Rank: 2/100</p>

<p>Test Scores and Classes:
SAT I: highest individual score 2260, composite scoring 2300
SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 800, Chemistry 800, Bio E 770 (will retake)
(probably will take Bio M and French this November)
TOEFL:116/120
Classes: (including 2nd semester of senior year)
Math: 8 semesters<br>
6 semesters Basic Math
2 semesters Electives
Physics: 8 semesters
2 semesters Basic Physics
6 semesters Electives + Lab Work
Chemistry: 8 semesters
2 semesters Basic Chemistry
6 semesters Electives + Lab Work
Biology: 7 semesters
3 semesters Basic Biology
4 semesters Electives + Lab Work
General English: 8 semesters
Chinese: 8 semesters
Social Studies(including History, Geography, and Civics, 1-2 classes per week): 8 semesters
Creative Writing: 4 semesters
Novel Studies: 2 semesters
Art and Music (1-2 classes per week) 8 semesters
Individual classes: First-aid and Military Defense</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (including volunteer work) and Honors:
Freshman Year:
-Canoeing Camp,
-Choir (have been in choir starting from 6th grade),
-songfest in Shanghai (commemorating 300 days to the Expo) </p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
-Cheerleading captain,
-Dance Club,
-Soloist and actress in Christmas musical,
-vice-president of class,
-Tiger Eye Global Community (with University of Missouri),
-Thesis on Antioxidants, placed 3rd nationally
-Homeroom Class t-shirt design
-4-Day volunteer work program in rural area with elementary school kids
Summer: Completion of 1. Houston Space School program, July 19th-23rd
2. HASSE Space School program, July 13-th -23rd
(valedictorian at end of program)
3. Introduction to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,
FranklinCovey</p>

<p>Junior Year:
-2nd place in National Spelling Bee,
-6th place in National Chemistry Lab Work Competition (group effort),
-International Flora Expo Guide--Local Guide: The Art Complex
International Guide: The Yuanshan Park Area,
-Aboriginal Culture Camp (weaving, hiking, and bamboo carving),
-Academic Exchange with high-schoolers in Beijing,
-T-shirt Design for School Sports Day,
-Presentation on the Flora Expo to a committee of English teachers (group effort)
-Hike of Mount Syue (12,749 ft) with class (hike included environmental efforts such as clearing the mountain of trash),
-2011 Harvard Book Prize Recipient,
Summer: HSMUN camp, delegate of Netherlands in the UNDP section. Awarded Overall Recognition. </p>

<p>Clubs (for all four years): High School Choir (mixed voices) and Bridge Club. </p>

<h2>(Since our school is quite small, there aren't that many clubs).</h2>

<p>Personally, I find my academic performance to be lacking, since there are no APs in Taiwan, but I hope that my grades and the intense curricula our school employs will make up a bit for that. I don't really know if my ECs are enough. Please let me know how I stack up. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>You need not to retake bio, but, on the other hand, you need to go take a history or literature or language-not-Chinese subject test. The French is good, but if you’re qualified for any other history/literature/what have you tests, I would take them. You have more than demonstrated that you can do science. Now you need to demonstrate that you can do humanities. (Also, the subject tests and your school curriculum should make the fact that you don’t have APs irrelevant, I think.)</p>

<p>Your extracurriculars might be quite good (spelling bee: good), but I can’t tell that for certain in less than a minute. You should organize them by theme more clearly, so that I can see “aha! this applicant does a lot of singing!” and find all the relevant line items relatively quickly. (Or whatever other categories you think best.) This probably wouldn’t be replacing the yearly organization, but adding subheadings within the years.</p>

3

<h2>Thanks for the advice. By arranging, do you mean like this?</h2>

<p>Extracurriculars (including volunteer work) and Honors:
Freshman Year:
Sports: -Canoeing Camp,
Singing: -Choir (have been in choir starting from 6th grade),
-songfest in Shanghai (commemorating 300 days to the Expo) </p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Sports:
-Cheerleading captain,
-Dance Club,
Singing:
-Soloist and actress in Christmas musical,
Science:
-Thesis on Antioxidants, placed 3rd nationally
Art:
-Homeroom Class t-shirt design
Other:
-vice-president of class,
-Tiger Eye Global Community (with University of Missouri),
-4-Day volunteer work program in rural area with elementary school kids
Summer: Completion of 1. Houston Space School program, July 19th-23rd
2. HASSE Space School program, July 13-th -23rd
(valedictorian at end of program)
3. Introduction to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,
FranklinCovey</p>

<p>Junior Year:
English:
-2nd place in National Spelling Bee,
-International Flora Expo Guide–Local Guide: The Art Complex
-International Guide: The Yuanshan Park Area
-Presentation on the Flora Expo to a committee of English teachers (group effort)
Science:
-6th place in National Chemistry Lab Work Competition (group effort),
Art:
-Aboriginal Culture Camp (weaving, hiking, and bamboo carving)
-T-shirt Design for School Sports Day,
Sports:
-Hike of Mount Syue (12,749 ft) with class (hike included environmental efforts such as clearing the mountain of trash),</p>

<p>Other: Academic Exchange with high-schoolers in Beijing,
2011 Harvard Book Prize Recipient,
Summer: HSMUN camp, delegate of Netherlands in the UNDP section. Awarded Overall Recognition. </p>

<p>Clubs (for all four years): High School Choir (mixed voices) and Bridge Club.
(Since our school is quite small, there aren’t that many clubs).</p>

4

<p>^No, I don’t think that’s what exul meant to say. Organize it by types of activities.</p>

5

<p>uh…should i group all three years’ worth of ECs into groups like Art, Science, Sports, and etc.? Is that what you mean?</p>

6

<p>Yup. 10char</p>