More than 5 replies?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>General Info:
Hispanic Male from very low-income area (family is middle income)</p>

<p>School Info:
GPA: 98.2 or 3.96
Rank: 1/385
Coursework: Most rigorous available
AP Scores:English lang (3); APUSH (4); World History (4)....I have only taken these.
SAT: 1870
ACT: 31
SAT IIs: Spanish w/ Listening (790); Math I (720); Bio M (730)</p>

<p>ECs:
Varsity Mariachi
Varsity Soccer
Varsity Baseball
Academic Teams (team captain for science)
Math Club(pres.)
Science Club(pres.)
NHS(ViceP)</p>

<p>Awards:
National Hispanic Recognition Scholar (PSAT)
AP Scholar
All-State Alternate for the Science Academic Team
Several awards from mariachi competitions
National Honor Roll
Chosen as member of Texas Student Legislature
Commended on the state exam
Qualified for Outstanding Students of America
Math Student of the Year (school award)
Academic Athlete of the Year (school award)</p>

<p>Work Exp:
Worked in summer school program for two consecutive summers
Helped during athletic events</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Highway and cemetery cleanup
Played with mariachi in town celebrations
Prom committee
Coached soccer team </p>

<p>Additional Stuff:
Sent artistic material (a CD)
Essays: Very good - one highlights my blending of two cultures and the other about my passion for science (detailed stuff on a science lab and how i actually held a human brain and studied it)
I am a URM
Contacted by Harvard's URMP through mail and email
Recs: I would assume they are pretty outstanding as i chose teachers who know me well</p>

2

<p>SAT is low, but ACT and subject tests are good. everything else definitely makes you as competitive an applicant as anyone else applying to harvard. your URM status might help you some, especially if you've been contacted. i think the mariachi things are kind of unique, but its harvard. so, its impossible to say whether you'll get in. i think you have to assume you wont, but thats not personal.</p>

3

<p>i generally agree with the poster above me. even for an URM, those test scores are sort of low. I would be interested to see a break down of the SAT scores; if they were pretty similar, then you'd have a better shot than if you had two decent and one awful. I wish you luck in your application, but remain somewhat skeptical about your chances.</p>

<p>also, my friend (second in the class, of course) has this theory that schools are more inclined to reject valedictorians, simply so that they can brag about how many valedictorians they reject. I don't know how valid that is, but...</p>