I was deferred by Harvard, and I have essentially accepted rejection. I have the stats to make the first cut (valedictorian, 35 ACT, 800s on subject tests, 4.0 GPA), but given the caliber of Harvard applicants, I am certain that my application will be overshadowed by your typical ISEF finalist or IMO competitor.
Being an Asian male going into computer science makes matters worse. The only “hooks” I have are being low-income and first-generation, but I am sure that these will not neutralize the stereotypical Asian qualities seething from my application.
So here is the issue: my parents have very high hopes for March. Though I have accepted rejection, they have not. I am aware that Harvard accepts ~100 deferred applicants during the RD round, but this amounts to an acceptance rate of about 2-3% for deferred applicants.
Based on my situation, is it sensible to maintain a sliver of hope? Or should I let Harvard go?
Sure, you can always be hopeful, but hope needs to be tempered with reality. And, the reality is that only 2%-3% of deferred students are admitted in the RD round – so, there’s a sliver of hope, but not much more.
Here’s my suggestion: All your applications have been submitted and it’s two long months before you will find out about Harvard and your RD schools. So, take a break from CC and enjoy the rest of your senior year.
“The waiting is the hardest part”
– Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
“…given the caliber of Harvard applicants, I am certain that my application will be overshadowed by your typical ISEF finalist or IMO competitor.”
You’re wrong. It won’t be. You’re a viable, competitive applicant. It wouldn’t be “foolish” to maintain hope but, as you know, the odds are against admission. Todd luck!
You should darn well maintain hope – and so should your parents – because everything about your background indicates that you are going to be successful wherever you go to college. Objectively, that’s unlikely to be Harvard. But, also objectively, assuming you had at least a half-rational application strategy, it’s likely to be somewhere whose differences compared to Harvard will matter little or not at all to you as a student. And objectively the college you attend will not hold you back from anything you might have achieved had you gone to Harvard.
So losing hope would be silly and immature. Just like obsessing too much about Harvard.
Put Harvard in the back of your mind, and try to get emotionally attached to some of your other excellent options! Read more about them, perhaps visit. Then, if you do happen to be one of the 2-3%, it will be a wonderful surprise. If you aren’t admitted, you won’t feel like you are choosing from “less than” options, as I would suspect that your admitted schools would be total reach and dream schools for most of the kids applying…perspective is all in your expectations.
I think hope is a really painful and even destructive emotion. Try not to indulge in hope. That may sound like an unusual viewpoint, but think about it. It’s much more comfortable to give up hope. If a surprise happens fine, but stop hoping.
I hope your parents are learning about other colleges, because that would reduce the pressure on you. Are they educated on other options or is your family focused on Harvard because it is famous?
I am concerned at your use of the word “seething”: " I am sure that these will not neutralize the stereotypical Asian qualities seething from my application." Did you misuse the word?
Oh that’s funny!! I guess hope can be an emotion, that is difficult to bear, but using it in the above sentence “I hope your parents” honestly did not involve any emotion for me!!!
