<p>Do I stand any chance at all, or is it not worth my money to apply?</p>
<p>My stats:
White male
4.0 unweighted/4.65 weighted cumulative GPA
5 AP classes junior year, 1 cm class, straight A's
SAT: 800 math 740 reading 680 writing
Rennsalaer Medal winner
Math Honor Society President
National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Math League, Math Team, Maryland Math Competetion award winner
5 on AP Gov, AP Calc AB, I have 5 more AP test results coming in august
Chinese Club
SGA Webmaster
SESASC and MASC State-Wide SGA school representative
Other things: 100 mile bike ride, I plan to take 9 college classes for my senior year, 6 years jazz/classical piano
Class rank- 2 or 3</p>
<p>what is your "passion"? what would you like to do in the future? Your application should show the person reading it who you are. EC's should show passion and a clear direction to your interests. Do you volunteer? If so, where? does this show "who you are"? </p>
<p>Best of luck! your stats so far a nice, but imo you need to show more of who you are and what your interests are.</p>
<p>Another thing to note, I really want to major in physics, studying the intricacies of the universe is my passion. I'm hoping for an 800 on the physics SAT II (crossing fingers). I get my results on Thursday.</p>
<p>Yah harvard has an awesome Theoretical physics department... them and oxford... they are on the leading edge of actually trying to prove string theory...</p>
<p>Agree with Guitars, you need show your passion in physics in addition to test scores. Have you done anything related to physics or engineering such like science fair, competition, or ECs? Or have you read any book about physics, which attracts you to this field and why? Best whishes.</p>
<p>I think you should give it a shot, why not... your academic records and tests are strong. granted, they're not the only basis, but you have other stuff going for you too and you still have time to add some more (like volunteering, more awards, leadership, etc), and also turn in great personal statements and recs. Good luck, powerhawk.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks, I've read a couple physics books and am in the process of reading Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! Pretty damn funny book so far. I haven't done very much community service/volunteer work which will probably hurt me.</p>
<p>Like chubeebo said, try to do some community service/volunteer work in the summer. If possible to get a group kids to do it together to pratice leadership skill or do something really creative. If you have some unique thinking about physics, try write a great essay about it. You have good stat. What you need now is something help you to stand out. Good luck.</p>
<p>Pointless? Absolutely not. You are one of many, many capable, eligible candidates. It's just a tough go to get into Harvard, but you certainly have the stuff to try. Go right on ahead and give it all you have. </p>
<p>However, you need to start looking for other colleges that are not so selective that you can like and can fit your needs. That is the hard part about the college search. It is so fun and exciting to roll those big names off your tongue and dream about them. Not much you can really do to get into those schools, however. You already have done it all and all you can do is give the app your best. However, you have a lot of control on what colleges to choose that are extremely likely to accept you. And a lot of choice. The mistake a lot of talented kids make is that they give these schools the short shrift when this is where the work can count. Do you need fin aid? Will you qualify for it? What about merit aid? You have a lot of work cut out for you in getting a good list together of schools you will like.</p>
<p>Public, I didn't take the AMC seriously... didn't know it counted for anything. I don't know what my scores were.</p>
<p>I have many other options already set up, in state honors program with free tuition, I could possibly receive a full ride, etc. The ivies I'm applying to are just a dream.</p>
<p>If you pass AMC (qualified for AIME), you are the top 6000 math students in the nation; if you pass AIME (qualified for USAMO), you are the top 500 in the nation. I am sure those schools know about it. Harvard/MIT usually got enough IMO gold medalists from here and China to compete for the Putnam contests. Your PSAT score is also very important. There are not many people with PSAT scores over 230. Again, those things will help you with no guarantee on anything. Check those schools you want to go about the AP requirements. A lot of them can not be used for credits. I think that Harvard takes any 4 APs, where Stanford does not take lit, stats, computer science, etc. So, taking more APs may not help you that much.</p>