<p>Just<em>forget</em>me: Thanks for the link! Interesting information...</p>
<p>wow...thanks for starting this thread friedrice! lol</p>
<p>It is possible, but very difficult.</p>
<p>"But how do you show this? I sent in a CD to hopefully "hook" me... but if a person is so talented that he/she can get into Juilliard, then how does Harvard know (if a person doesn't send in a CD)? I suppose national competitions/orchestras might help, but in some cases, those aren't the most talented kids. So is a CD the way to go?"</p>
<p>Yes, a CD would seem to be the way to go, but it has to be really good. If you wouldn't send it to a conservatory as a pre-audition CD, don't send it to Harvard - it won't help, and it may hurt. From the jazz side, it would be best to call up Tom Everett or Mark Olson and ask them what would be best.</p>
<p>Harvard University Jazz Band
74 Mt. Auburn St.
Cambridge, MA 02138</p>
<p>Phone: (617) 496-BAND
Fax: (617) 496-DRUM</p>
<p>In general, calling the guys who run the jazz programs at the schools you are interested in (Columbia is the one other I know you asked about) is the best way to find out what they are looking for and where you may potentially fit in their program.</p>
1 Like
<p>JazzGuitar</p>
<p>I see you've gotten an audition invite at NEC. Yes, your CD ought help you. :)</p>
<p>Another famous musician who was a Harvard grad was Leonard Bernstein. Others include Rivers Cuomo (of the group Weezer), Leroy Anderson, Joseph Linn ( a world-renowned violinist who graduated in 2000, majoring in the comparative study of religion).
Pete Seeger and Bonnie Rait were Harvard drop-outs.</p>
<p>Thanks OdysseyTigger... Yes I was invited for two different auditions at NEC, and the CD I sent in to schools was basically the same thing I sent in for prescreening. I sent them in directly to admissions, because that's what all the schools said to do (and not the individual departments) - thanks for the info. though!</p>
<p>And since we started this, let's add John C. Adams and John Harbison, two Pulitzer Prize winning composers and Alan Gilbert, the music director-elect of the New York Philharmonic.</p>
<p>The list could easily go on.</p>
<p>Don Braden</p>
<p>Joshua Redman</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>puhahaha I'm sorry, I had to make an account just to respond to this thread. Hi everyone, my name is Helen and I'm the person in the Green River article mentioned above... in fact, the article in which this thread is wholly based on. I didn't realize my article spread so far... I found it posted on few other college admission websites with similar threads... >.<;;</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I went to Green River Community College as a student in the Running Start Program, which means I was just a high school junior/senior who took classes at a community college to get ahead. A sort of "honors" track, if you will. I graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 2006, and was accepted to Harvard and Juilliard as an entering freshmen, not as a transfer student from GRCC. I'm currently a junior, class of 2010. Green River kind of messed up on that part of the article, and I told them of the mistake, but I guess they never updated it. </p>
<p>That said, Harvard does take a very limited number of transfer students from CCs. Unfortunately, Harvard is not taking any transfers for the next 2-3 years I believe, because of space issue, but perhaps in a few years, huh?</p>
<p>My art teacher's son was accepted a few years ago to Harvard as a CC transfer.</p>
<p>But as Hycho says, the current answer to the original question in this thread, barring some policy change in the future, is "No, it's not possible to transfer from anywhere to Harvard."</p>
<p>No, I mean, Harvard does accept transfers from CCs usually, but they have recently announced that they will not be taking ANY transfer students (not just CC students) because the dorms are overflowing. This is only suppose to last three years though, so I believe in couple years Harvard will again be open to transfer students, CC students included.</p>
<p>I have a friend who transferred from community college to the Harvard extension school, if that counts.</p>
<p>^^Is there such a thing as transfer to the Extension School? The HES web site says that "the undergraduate program is not open to [students] already enrolled at another institution".</p>
<p>For transfer to Harvard (College) itself, think about it from the point of view of an admissions officer. </p>
<p>It's one thing if a strong applicant has reasons for attending community college that don't discredit (and might enhance) their academic credentials. They might be very young and living at home, or caring for a sick relative, or have some temporary need to work full time, or want to complete some special training available only near the community college.</p>
<p>But if a student goes to community college because of a mediocre high school record, then does amazingly well there ("best I've seen in my career" on all professor recommendations, high test scores), how can the admissions office distinguish that from a smart underachiever who flourishes in an easy environment but is untested when it comes to a more demanding workload? The obvious solution would be to have very positive recommendations from people (i.e. high school teachers) whose students routinely go on to top universities, who can make convincingly favorable comparisons to a multitude of previously admitted students. In other words, having gone to a fancy high school really helps here if you were a good student but fell off the wagon while experiencing some personal "issues". Otherwise, one would expect that some really amazing non-academic capabilities or other such story is needed.</p>
<p>I knew a working-class, older by five years, student who got in on academics and recommendations alone from a no-name community college, years ago. That student's performance was mediocre once at Harvard and I think the admission might have been a fluke even then. It would be a hard feat to repeat in today's admissions environment.</p>
<p>An interesting subsidiary question of limited interest just occurred to me: What's happening with the kids at Deep Springs? </p>
<p>Deep Springs is a two-year program run by the Telluride Association in which about 13 men per year go, live on a cattle ranch in Eastern California, and work the ranch and hire their own teachers as a collective. After the two years they transfer to four-year colleges to complete their bachelor's degrees. It's very cool, a little weird, and very selective (in part because it's free). Applying requires a four-day stay at the ranch.</p>
<p>Traditionally, Harvard took at least a couple kids a year out of Deep Springs, many of whom may have turned down a Harvard acceptance to go there. (The only people I know to be offered a place at Deep Springs were also accepted at Harvard.) Harvard, Yale, Chicago, and Brown account for almost half of the Deep Springs alumni. I suppose they are out of luck, Harvard-wise, now.</p>
<p>Two schoolmates of S went to Deep Springs (in different years). One of them had been accepted at Harvard and, after two years at Deep Springs, attended Harvard. I think he has since graduated. This was before the dorm overflow prompted Harvard to stop accepting transfers, however.</p>
<p>i have to agree with hycho here--I was also under the impression that Harvard will not be accepting any transfer students for the next few years?</p>
<p>therefore to answer the question--0% chance that a community college student can transfer to Harvard anytime soon</p>
<p>“Is an SAT I score of 2150 supposed to be impressive? o.O Maybe she’s just a bad test-taker.”</p>
<p>What the hell? That is the most messed up thing I’ve ever heard. That is an amazing score.</p>