<p>I'm an international school student, with aspirations of studying at Harvard.
I've done most of my standardized testing, and built what I believe to be a strong EC portfolio.</p>
<p>My question pertains to international school results, and how Harvard (or any other selective university) considers them. Obviously, I don't have a GPA. Considering that most of the students that Harvard will accept are US candidates with GPAs, how exactly does Harvard make a comparison between my results and theirs? Is it useful to convert my results to a GPA (<a href="http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/">http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/</a>)? Although, I am skeptical of how accurate that conversion is. </p>
<p>I have read that apparently Harvard will look for a 'standard' within that country, and then check that the results are above that standard. For example, if country X considers an A to be over 80%, then Harvard will check that all of your results, or your average is over 80%? I have also read that Harvard may consider standardized testing more than the school transcript when reviewing international candidates, as it is the only way of making meaningful comparisons. </p>
<p>Is any of this true? If not, does anyone have any insight on how selective universities consider international results?</p>
<p>I’ve been busy for a few days and only got a chance to check back now… My thread posted 5 times?! I’m sorry everyone- I know it’s a pain. Could a mod please delete 4 of the 5? I tried, but I was told that I ‘don’t have permission’. Apologies!</p>
<p>It’s a mystery – and I don’t think anyone knows the answer of how Harvard, or any selective college, considers and compares International Students, other than to say, “They’ve been doing it for years, so they understand different school systems in various countries, and you just have to take their word for it that they know what they’re doing.”</p>
<p>COLUMN B is Harvard College (the undergraduate school). The other columns are graduate schools within Harvard University, so don’t pay attention to them. Just look at COLUMB B. Those are the TOTAL number of students from each country currently at Harvard College. Divide by 4 to get an idea of how many freshman from each country have been admitted in the past. </p>
<p>To be admitted to Harvard (or any selective college) as an International student you must be one of the top students from your country, whatever that means and however that is measured in your country. </p>
<p>As Harvard doesn’t require the TOEFL, they probably put more weight on the SAT Critical Reading and Writing portion of the test to gauge a student’s ability to read and write in English. Other than that, I doubt standardized testing plays a bigger role than your transcript, teacher recommendations, EC’s and essays. </p>
<p>Thank you for the response! I suspected that that would be the case.
Also, thanks for the extra insight on the international odds. But, with that being said, I’m fully aware of the difficulty. Last year, a grand total of 5 students from my country were accepted into Harvard. It’s exactly those insurmountable odds that make the whole process so thrilling. </p>