<p>Four of my family members have attended Harvard (mother, uncle, grandmother, and grandfather) and I 'd like to get an idea of how much that will help me in the admissions process. My GPA is considerably lower than most harvard students, but i'm wondering if being quad legacy really boosts my chances so that i have equal chance against 4.0 students. i've posted my full data on this board a few times but just to kinda sum everything up:</p>
<p>UW GPA: 3.79/4</p>
<p>9th Grade
History A
Honors English A
Honors Biology A
Honors Algebra A-
French B</p>
<p>10th Grade
Honors History A
Honors Precalc A-
Honors English A-
Honors Chemistry B+
French A-</p>
<p>11th Grade
Physics A+
AP Calc AB A+
AP US Hist A+
AP Eng Lang A+
French A-</p>
<p>12th Grade Sched
Forensics
AP Eng Lit
AP Calc BC
AP Gov
Justice & Society</p>
<p>TEST SCORES
PSAT: 224 (national merit semifinalist in NJ)
SATI: 770 math, 730 reading, 700 writing
SATIIs: 800 math II (retook after 690 soph year), 790 US History, 700 Biology (took freshman year)
APs: 5 Calculus AB, 5 US History, 5 English Language</p>
<p>so what do you think? does legacy give me a good shot even though my gpa isn't stellar? would applying SCEA help my chances?</p>
<p>if this helps at all: i am interested in studying history and government</p>
<p>also, my school's policy on class rank is not clear but i could be as far down as just making the top 20 or 25 percent. </p>
<p>ECs:
Track/XC: varsity team captain, individually competitive in division, i am injured right now due to a unavoidable condition but i plan to recover as best as possible and continue during senior year
Religious School: attended weekly for as long as ive been in public school, appointed to board of trustees' religious school committee to develop curriculum for all grades, assist in annual food drive that services about 60 local families
Band: played trumpet since 4th garde, participate in band, wind ensemble, and pep band
Basketball: played since freshman year, JV captain during junior year but also played varisty, recieved varsity letter
Model UN: active participant in conferences since sophomore year
Drama: acted in student-led comedic performances during freshman and junior years
Community Service: one of the top fundraisers for a National Multiple Sclerosis Society biking event help down at the shore, participate in one of teh top fundraising teams, my family was asked by the NMSS to appear on Today in New York on NBC to promote the event, i also frequently volunteer through my school's honor society, will be leading a townwide survey of businesses to record lack of handicapped accesability and suggest solutions
Summer: attended camp through summer after 9th grade, went on organized youth travel program in teh summer after 10th</p>
<p>Work:
- worked a full time job for two months during the summer after junior year in the accounts payable department of a multimillion dollar corporation
- also breifly worked as a administrative and teaching assistant during my freshman year</p>
<p>Awards:
honor roll freshman and sophomore years, high honor roll junior year
national honor society
national merit semifinialist
whatever the lowest AP scholar award is
highest tier fundraiser for the nmss event i mentioned before
2005 Spring Track Coaches' Award (only award besides mvp, one given out of a team of over 30, almost always given to a senior but i recieved it as a sophomore)
various religious school honors</p>
<p>Class rank is not too great, infact, it's pretty bad- Confirm your class rank, but if it were at 20% i'd say it would be a reach, just because everyone else has those stats who apply to harvard, even without a legacy, and have a better class rank. These schools are competitive, and that class rank isn't.</p>
<p>im not sure about that class rank but im definitely out of the top 10% and probably the top 15%. i know that my school does not do specific rankings but i cant seem to get a straight answer from my guidance counselor about what imformation they do send out. i know that in recent years they have done tiers with gpa cutoffs, not percents, which would put me in the top tier but when i asked about it this year i was told it might be done in deciles but no one was sure.</p>
<p>my school is moderately competetive, but my grade is extremely competitive as proven by the fact that the top 25 or so students (which i may very well be #25) have comparable test scores. there are about 120 students in the class, possibly a few less than that.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>...well thanks for the encouragement but how can you be so sure?<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>You can't, which is why chances threads are such a waste of time. You've got a shot but the only one who can say "You're in" is the admissions comittee. Just do your best on the app and hope for the best.</p>
<p>i think you're in better shape than you think for GPA, though still below harvard averages...however EC's might get you in...it's hard to predict how they'll read the EC's, but if its good, as it probably will be, you'll be in.</p>
<p>is there any benefit to applying SCEA? do i probably have a better chance at harvard than i do at a school where i dont have legacy, like georgetown? i asked an admissions officer when i was there and she said legacy does not count for more with EA like it does with some schools, but would i benefit from being in a smaller pool of applicants?</p>
<p>I said you're in, 436qJ, because you have the legacy, the SAT 1 and 2 scores, and lots of extracurriculars. Your gpa is a 3.79--well above an A-. Nothing to scoff at there, regardless of where that may rank you. Your odds of getting in are substantially higher than your odds of being rejected, for all of the reasons I listed above.</p>
<p>Yes, you should consider it. But you should also consider whether your first semester grades from senior year might give your application--your GPA in particular--a nice boost. In this case, applying RD might be a better choice.</p>
<p>good advice. thanks ivyleaf and all the rest. one more question: how do my chances at harvard compare to schools where i don't have legacy, namely</p>
<p>Georgetown
UPenn
University of Virginia
Tufts
Hopkins</p>
<p>Here's a wild guess: your problems go beyond low reading and writing scores and class rank, its your New Jersey locale that could be the ultimate deal killer - its not like you are applying from Kansas or Alaska, and unless you are a Lowell or a Cabot and contributing a million dollars, not sure if the legacy will help these days.</p>
<p>You might get into Amherst and end up at Harvard Law or Harvard Business someday, if that's what you choose</p>
<p>Ok I normally don't do chances threads, but I just have some comments to make.</p>
<p>I go to school in NJ as well. Unless if your school is really weird you probably have the option of taking an elective as a sixth class (actually, I think you have to because of the state's course requirements). Did you really not take any electives in all of high school? Also, at my school, most people who want to challenge themselves take AP Bio, Chem, or Physics senior year, and Forensics is a huge slacker class. Plus, you dropped down to regular physics after getting only a B in honors. And yet you opted to take regular Forensics over Honors/AP French for a fourth year, despite earning A's for two years before that. So when did you challenge yourself? The rigor of your courseload is one of THE most important factors on your app. IMO if Harvard take you it'll be ONLY because you're a legacy, even though the legacies I know still take the hardest courses possible, including Honors and AP electives, and they don't drop down to non-weighted levels after getting a B+.</p>
<p>I also don't see how your GPA could be 3.79 if you only got two B's in three years. Unless if you're hiding your electives? Or you got B's in gym/health? I don't know. Care to explain?</p>
<p>"I said you're in, 436qJ, because you have the legacy, the SAT 1 and 2 scores, and lots of extracurriculars...."</p>
<p>Legacy is a significant boost, but no one can say "you're in" at Harvard. I don't have figures for Harvard, but at Stanford (which is even more generous about legacies than Harvard is), being a legacy basically doubles your odds of acceptance from 13% to 26%. But a 26% acceptance rate also means that THREE QUARTERS OF ALL LEGACIES GET REJECTED.</p>
<p>At very selective schools such as HYPSM, no one here on CC can truthfully say you're in. Harvard is a long shot for everyone.</p>
<p>Obviously, we'll have to wait until he applies to find out if he eventually gets in. Harvard has taken less-qualified legacies than him. I'd be very surprised if they turned him down.</p>
<p>sorry to confuse you. my grades and schedules were ONLY MY FIVE ACADEMIC CLASSES. i did take electives and my interest in those classes, specifically band, created scheduling conflicts that did not allow me to take an AP science even if i wanted to. i did not drop down to regular physics because i had gotten a B+ in chem, i dropped because with my other choices of classes i was not able to take it. scheduling conflicts are the curse of going to a small school. and yes, i did opt not to take AP French because i had more interest in a course more relevant to my intended study path, justics and society, and i have struiggled with french for some time.</p>
<p>im sorry if i confused you by not including my gym grades but i didnt think they were that imoprtant. the GPA i said, 3.79, was simply one i calculated myself best I could. I made A and A+ 4.0, A- 3.7, B+ 3.3, and B 3.0, added them up, and divided by fifteen because there were five classes over a year over three years. If this is not a correct calculation please let me know. And if you would like to know my gym and band grades i would be happy to share them. My school only provides a stangely weighted GPA so i was trying to convey information on a more universal scale.</p>