<p>My brother wants to go to Harvard and he doesn't know what to should do that would stand out on his app. He is a freshman in High School. I keep telling him not to freak out and that he has a lot of time, but he is being annoying. He is planning on volunteering at a hospital and tutoring during the summer. He wants to go to Harvard Summer School the summers after. Do you think that would stand out on his App? What else do you think he should do?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Freshman summer doesnt really matter what he does. He should enjoy it. Sophomore / Junior summer would be better served doing an internship in the appropriate field (doesn’t really have to match, though) rather than going to Harvard summer school…</p>
<p>and in terms of schooling, other than strong grades and strong SAT scores, national competitions (USAMO/USACO/that whole USA series, Siemens + other science fairs) allow your application to stand out.</p>
<p>And leadership on the side. And a sport, and volunteering is good.</p>
<p>His High School Schedule is the following:</p>
<p>He took AP Calc AB in 8th Grade. </p>
<p>Freshman:
AP Bio
AP English
Latin I
US Hist
AP Chem
Orchestra</p>
<p>Multi-Variable Calc and Linear Algebra at MSU.</p>
<p>APs:
Calc AB
Chem
Bio
English Lit and Lang
Enviro Science
Euro Hist</p>
<p>Sophomore:
AP Stats
Latin III
AP World Hist
Philharmonic Orchestra
Honors Research Seminar
Comp Physics</p>
<p>General Chem and Organic Chem I at MSU.</p>
<p>APs:
Stats
World Hist
Physics B
Physics C: Electricity
Physics C: Magnestism
Calc BC</p>
<p>Junior:
AP Comp Science
Honors Research Seminar
AP Latin
APUSH
Philharmonic Orchestra
AP Govt/AP Psycology</p>
<p>Diffrential Equations and Organic Chem II at MSU.</p>
<p>APs:
Comp Science
Latin
US Hist
Govt
Psycology
Micro Eco and Macro Eco</p>
<p>He can’t do anything Senior Year because there won’t be any classes he could take.</p>
<p>He is part of the following Teams and Clubs:</p>
<p>ACTION
Key Club
Quiz Bowl
Debate Team
Science Olympiad</p>
<p>Sports:
JV Tennis in the Fall
JV Swimming in the Winter
JV Track and Field in the Spring</p>
<p>He has played the violin since the 5th grade.
He volunteers at a Hospital.
He tutors kids in his grade and lower.</p>
<p>He took the ACT in the 6th Grade.</p>
<p>ACT- 32 M, 30 S, 28 R, 27 W. Composite Score of 29.</p>
<p>He wants to go to Harvard Summer School.</p>
<p>He is going to start researching with an MSU professor in the summer. He is deciding on his focus topic. He wants to research a specific area that has something to do with the brain. </p>
<p>Please help him.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Here is some really good advice for your brother, and for you too! Stop asking what it takes to get into Harvard. Don’t do anything for the reason that it will look good on your resume for Harvard. Pursue what you want to pursue because you’re genuinely interested in it. Do the best you can do. Get the best grades and test scores you’re able to get. When the time comes to apply to colleges - and that time is fall of senior year - apply to Harvard. And to several of the many hundreds of other great colleges that we are blessed to have in this country, including some that have admit rates above 6.2%. Then see where you get in and make your decision. Relentlessly asking what you should do to get into Harvard is generally a very good way not to get into Harvard.</p>
<p>If your “brother” is smart enough to take multivariable calc before he can get a driver’s license, he should be able to figure out how to plan out his own life and goals.</p>
<p>The question should not be “How can I get into Harvard?” but “How can I pursue my interests to the highest levels of accomplishment?” College admissions are a strange, unpredictable beast–make sure your brother knows this and doesn’t center his entire high school career around getting into Harvard and he’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Although I agree with all the people who say your “brother” should just settle down, I will also say that that transcript would highly qualify a student. I usually advise strong math people to skip AP Stats. Probability and Statistics is best approached after multivariable calculus.</p>
<p>Have your “brother” look through the advice given to this EC manic sophomore</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1110021-what-does-take-get-into-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1110021-what-does-take-get-into-harvard.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1100754-am-i-track-please-help-sophomore-hyps.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1100754-am-i-track-please-help-sophomore-hyps.html</a></p>
<p>Tell him to look at this girl and go the opposite direction</p>
<p>I only did this because he forced me to. He read your comments and now he is ok. I kept telling him the same things.</p>
<p>I personally think that there is no “One Direction” or “answer key” to getting into Harvard.</p>
<p>Harvard is very holistic in approach, and I believe the best way to stand out is to follow your heart, and to write a very well-written, coming from the heart, informative information about yourself. That’s how your little bro will have a chance to get in. There is no “guarantee” in college acceptances.</p>
<p>I honestly believe that beyond the great transcript and standardized tests, they are really looking for a fantastic essay. You can have the best grades in your school, the highest scores possible, but if your essay is not well-written and a strong indicator of the type of person you are, you will not get in.</p>