<p>Hello everyone! This is my first post, i am very glad i have found this really useful forum.
Firstly, my name is Victor, I am a high school student in New Zealand (next to Australia, population 4 million, where the Lord of the Rings were filmed). I would just like your honest opinion in my chances of getting into Harvard and possibly other Ivy Leagues. Here's a list of my achievements and involvements!</p>
<p>Academic
-5th out of 500 students
-top 0.05% of the country in Year 13 (final year of high school)
-attended the National Science Fair, and will go to the Beijing International Youth Science Competition as NZ representative in March
-one of two students in the country in my age group to receive Bayerboost scholarship to carry out research during summer break at a university</p>
<p>Music
-Trinity-Guildhall grade 8 cello
-grade 8 classical guitar
-school orchestra for 3 years
-part of a trio (performing in rest homes and concerts)</p>
<p>Sports/Leadership
-Head Boy of 2008 (highest leadership position in high school)
-Captain of Fencing
-fencing for 4 years
-School swimming team for 4 years
-swimming for 6 years
-equestrian for 5 years</p>
<p>Of course, SAT scores are important, and i am yet to sit the exam. However, from my practise tests i am expecting between 2200 and 2300. I agree that i do not know that for certain, but honestly, i know i am not a genius capable of 2350+. But please don't post comments telling to come back after i have sitten my SATs, that would not be of any help to me.
I am basically hoping that my extracurricular and leadership will strengthen my application. Also, i am not sure how common this is in US, but i graduated high school at the age of 16, i was the first asian and the youngest student to be appointed Head Boy in the histroy of our school (50 years, not too long yes).</p>
<p>I would highly value your opinions and suggestions, thank you so much for your time!</p>
<p>haha awesome, another kiwi! you trying out for Ivy League? Good on you dude. Haha yup i will be, taking a gap year ay. build up some more music and sports.</p>
<p>Very Impressive. Id say you have decent chances (barely any1 applying to H has great chances!). You said you were Asian? That can hurt your chances just a bit since they are overrepresented in top universities. Nevertheless, you should be proud of all your achievements (especially the fact your just as good at sports as you are with academics). Theres just one little thing that personally upsets me about your stats (the college admissions will not care): you don't play rugby :(. I started the sport just three years ago, and it is by far , BY FAR, the most enjoyable. Coming from NZ its sad you have not yet experienced the thrill of such a sport. If by some impossible chance we both get into Harvard (my acceptance to Harvard is the impossible part of the deal :) with a 1410/1600 SAT score), maybe you might consider playing rugby? Good luck anyways!</p>
<p>I agree, I dont think it would affect him even if he was a US citizen because he is so qualified. Rugby in the US is not as competitive (maybe at a college level) as it is in NZ, but I play for a nationally competitive high school team, and I can say from experience that size does not matter too much when you start the sport. There is a position for everyone. The fact that he is active in other sports makes him even more qualified. Perhaps the other sports leave him with no time to play rugby, but they definitely will not impede his physical ability to play such a sport. In fact, they condition his speed/strength/skill (especially swimming). Are you from NZ? You play the sport :)?</p>
<p>haha i love it how this convo turned into a rugby fan thread. anyhow, i play a little touch rugby, which is a form of rugby where there are no tackling involved. Sure people might say wheres the fun in that but still fun! I used to play it during lunch breaks with my mates, but im not a huge 6-foot smtg guy, and with league or touch u use more skills and speed, so play that more.</p>
<p>Lol, no i agree with you. Touch rugby can be fun. We play that early on in the season to prevent injury but get some feel for the game. We play HUGby to, lol, which means you wrap around the person to imitate a tackle. Read what I wrote about size wise ^^^^^, by the way I am about 5'8'' and 140 lbs and probably the more consistent tacklers on the team. I am sure you can play rugby . Sorry I turned this thread into a rugby fan thread (I being the only fan lol), anyways you are very qualified in my opinion. But the thing about Harvard is that their admissions is very unpredictable. They turn down a lot (somewhere in the thousands) of perfect SAT score (2400s) per year; and about 2000s applicants who are ranked #1 in the class (grade-wise). Im guessing the reason those extraordinary people couldn't get in is because they are not close to being as involved or as diverse as your are. Or they might have written bad essays or had bad teacher recs. Most applicants apply to several Ivy League school, that way they have a chance of landing in at least one. Hope this helps give you an idea about Ivy League admissions. Its pretty crazy. Either I will be one of the 2000 who get accepted or the other 2000 valedictorians (#1s in their HS class) that dont get in.</p>
<p>Oh no worries mate. Just wish i played more rugby haha. Yeah at my school tackle was "the game" and we played a bit of touch too, but it was too dominated by the First 15 (the rugby team) who were never too shy to show off and tackle with the force of a small car lol.
Yeah i read the MDapplicants site, which is just for ppl applying for graduate medical school. Harvard is quite inconsistent if you just look at the accepted applicant's test scores, but im sure there are some other factors that are hidden under the surface of their decisions. I am really happy that ivy leagues dnt just go for academics, like Australia universities, otherwise i wouldn't have had a chance! lol.
Wow a valedictorian ay? Awesome, congratulations on getting that! I was pretty close as well, but just had too many things on my plate. Kind of regret not trying harder now, but oh well no use crying over spilt milk aye.</p>
<p>Thanks alot. My class size isnt too big so its not too big a deal. As long as your up there in your class ranks, you should be perfect. I agree with you, its definitely a good thing that they consider more than academics; otherwise, zombies would compromise all Ivy Leagues. Either way, its always nice to see someone who excels in sports. So your applying next year? Maybe I will see you there if I get in (highly doubt it). Either way I highly recommend rugby if you go to college in the US as long as your not involved in another sport at the time. You probably will have an advantage over most people who start the sport (even with just touch rugby experience!) because most college students start playing the sport in college. But anyways, good luck.</p>
<p>Hey thanks flyfly.
To all readers, I kind of forgot a lot of details when i made the OP, so here are some additional information:
-went to 65th National Fencing Championships (placed 5th in Sabre)
-swam at the Canterbury (population around 550000) Secondary School Swimming Championships Final
-Received the Leadership Award while at the National Science Fair
-was one of 30 students in New Zealand selected to the second round of Biology Olympiad Training
-appeared in the national newspaper (The Press), the Korean community newspaper, and online news sites numerous times
-one of 5 students in my city to receive Jin's Auto Scholarship for Excellence in Academics
-Was a Peer Support Prefect as well as Head Boy (Class President) (community service?)
-Gave free classical guitar lessons to community (30hours)
-Ambassador for raising awareness of the National Science Fair event (60+hours)</p>
<p>And my mistake, I am (unreported) in the top 0.1% of the seniors in the country, not 0.05%</p>