<p>Well, ´tis the season. I´m making my list and the rec teachers have already been asked, but... I´m embarrassed to be applying to Harvard. </p>
<p>Is it crazy? My teachers love me, and my scores are all ¨ivy-league average,¨ but there´s something about having to tell them that I´m thinking Harvard...
I´m not quite sure where I´m going with this thread... but anyone out there for moral support? I feel utterly ridiculous.</p>
<p>Yes! Absolutely. That is, I was embarrassed. </p>
<p>You’ll do well. Just tell them before you have time to think about it. :)</p>
<p>“Thinking breeds uncertainty. Doing breeds confidence.”</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be embarassed to apply to Harvard, but I’d be embarassed if everyone knew I applied – and then (have the possibility to) see me get rejected :-/</p>
<p>Not sure if that’s how you feel, but I definitely feel mixed emotions on this…</p>
<p>The only time you would be embarrassed is if you boast to everyone that you are applying to Harvard (or any school) and that you are a guaranteed admit: legacy, athletics etc…and then you are rejected.</p>
<p>Apply and hope for the best!</p>
<p>I was embarrassed because my GPA was only slightly above my class’ median, and my SAT Reasoning score was only in the 98th percentile–I was relying entirely on hooks. Needless to say, it did not end well.</p>
<p>But, if you’re both smart and hard-working, and you’ve got the numbers, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.</p>
<p>Hey, I can definitely understand how you feel. I felt as if it would be utterly cocky and arrogant to say that I would be applying to Harvard, so I took another route. Rather than telling anyone about my plans, I simply said I was interested in and trying for Dartmouth. Not to insult Dartmouth, but it is one of the more “low-key” Ivies and wouldn’t draw the attention of most of my peers. Even my teachers writing my recommendations thought I was only applying to Dartmouth. Only my Counselor knew about Harvard and she promised to keep it absolutely to herself out of respect.</p>
<p>That way, if I was rejected, only one person other than myself would know in the school and spare me the embarrassment. If I got in, it would be a total surprise for everyone in the school. My advice is this, stay low-key about your plans and play it close to your chest. If things go your way you’ll be on top of the world, and if they don’t you won’t have to deal with the extra baggage.</p>
<p>"That way, if I was rejected, only one person other than myself would know in the school and spare me the embarrassment. "</p>
<p>I don’t know why anyone would be embarrassed about applying to Harvard, a school that attracts applications from the nation’s best and brightest, but only accepts 7 out of 100 of them.</p>
<p>It’s a big deal to have the stats to apply there. Nothing to be embarrassed about if you’re rejected. Most people respect anyone who has the stats to apply because most people know that they themselves have no chance of getting in, so would never bother applying.</p>
<p>“Hey, where are you going to college?”</p>
<p>“Some state school.”</p>
<p>“But didn’t you apply to Harvard?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, didn’t get in though.”</p>
<p>“Oh well good luck.”</p>
<p>I was the top student in my school and set many academic records while there. As such, a lot of people (teachers, administrators, students, etc.) kept asking me where I applied. The thought of telling each and every one of them that I didn’t get in would only rub salt into my wounds. Very few, if any, would mock me at all. But the embarrassment stems from myself after having my heart set on Harvard.</p>
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<p>Precisely, it is bound to get people to ask the question, why would you get in to Harvard? Harvard has this reputation of being on Mt. Olympus far far away from the average student. So even if you are a fantastic student, it still sounds weird to tell people you are thinking of making the journey.</p>
<p>"“Hey, where are you going to college?”</p>
<p>“Some state school.”</p>
<p>“But didn’t you apply to Harvard?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, didn’t get in though.”</p>
<p>“Oh well good luck.”"</p>
<p>People are more likely to respond, “Oh, Harvard sure missed out” and then to think that the “some state school” that you’re going to was the dream school that they either felt lucky to get accepted to or didn’t apply because they knew they had no chance of being accepted to it.</p>
<p>It’s silly to set one’s heart on a place like Harvard. Certainly, apply and give it your best shot, but pin your hopes on something that’s reasonable. If Harvard comes through for you, you always can happily go there. Odds are, though, that you’ll be rejected through no fault of your own, so don’t dream of being at Harvard. Shelve those dreams until you receive an acceptance.</p>
<p>You also can modestly tell people that you’ve applied to Harvard, but you know it’s really unlikely that you’ll get to Harvard since they get so many wonderful applicants, so you are expecting to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>And only boors would ask you, “Why do you think you’d get into Harvard.” If anyone asked such a question, you could just say something like, “I’d just like to give it a shot though I bet I’ll end up not getting in.”</p>
<p>People really don’t care as much about your business as you probably think they do. They’re far more concerned about where they’ll go to college. Indeed, they may be as concerned about getting into their dream school (which may be your safety) as you’re concerned about Harvard.</p>
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<p>I highly agree. I didn’t have my heart set on Harvard, that was just a hypothetical statement. Rather, I had the mindset you clearly describe. </p>
<p>My point is that, given Harvard’s reputation for “attracting the best and brightest” it is normal to feel weird to tell people you are applying to Harvard.</p>
<p>There are a lot more boors out there than you would think. And the question is a viable one from Recommendation writers. They have their own perception of what Harvard looks for, and they would want to push those qualities in their letters, stressing why this student deserves a place in Harvard’s class.</p>