my chances at Harvard EA???

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>i<code>m planning on applying to Harvard EA this fall.
i</code>m not an athlete but my dad is an alum to Harvard Business school
so i guess i<code>m a semi-legacy
i</code>m asian american (father is chinese, mother is korean)
i`m fluent in korean and spanish, can speak chinese, and am learning russian

my stats:

NEW SAT: 2200 (v 720, m 760, w 720) SAT II Writing: 770 SAT II Math IIC: 800 SAT II US History: 780 SAT II Spanish: 750

AP Scores:

US History: 5 Calculus AB: 4 English: 5 Spanish: 4

GPA: 3.96 *unweighted - my school doesnt weight / rank

Courses (very challenging ones)

9th: all honors 10th: all honors, Spanish 5 independent Study 11th: ap english, ap calc, ap us, ap spanish, physics honors 12th: ap govt, ap euro, ap lit, ap calc bc, russian I, psychology

also i am a year young for my grade, if that helps at all (?) i doubt it though.

Honors / Awards

High Honor Roll – (9th, 10th, 11th) Tennis Player’s Choice Award (10th) National Student Leadership Conference (10th) National Honor Society (11th) New York Museum of Jewish Heritage Essay Contest – Honorable Mention (11th) Fairfield University Book Award (11th) National Merit Scholarship Commended Student (11th) Excellence in Spanish Language Award (9th)

Activities

Sports

Junior Varsity Tennis team (9th – 11th) Walter Schalk School of Dance (9th – 10th)

School

Spanish Honor Society Advisor (12th) International Club – Activities Coordinator (9th – 11th) Key Club member (9th – 11th) Literary Magazine writer (9th – 11th) Model United Nations delegate (9th – 11th) National Honor Society – Vice President (11th) Spanish Tutor (11th)

Community

Queens Presbyterian Church – Korean teacher (9th – 11th) Queens Presbyterian Church – volunteer translator (9th – 11th) Youth Group Praise Band member (9th – 11th) Youth Group Officer (9th - 11th) Wilton Teen Center Governing Board – 2006 Grade Representative (9th – 11th) Chinese Lessons (10th-11th) Volunteer for Habitat for Humanities (10th) Stepping Stones Children’s Museum volunteer (11th) Committee of 100 – volunteer (9th – 11th)

Work Experience

Volunteer at Committee of 100 Gala in Washington D.C. (11th) English teacher in Seoul, Korea (9th) Korean tutor (11th)

Summer Programs:

Choate Exchange Program to China (11th) National Student Leadership Conference (10th)

hmm, so what do you think my chances are for early action? oh and if anyone would be willing, maybe students now attending harvard, to look over my essays and short answer i would really really appreciate it.

btw. i`m continuing in my senior year with all of the activities listed above. and the committee of 100 is a nationall recognized Chinese-American organization. there are a lot of prominent members in the committee including Maya Lin and Lisa Ling.</p>

<p>well thank you guys for you time!</p>

2

<p>I don't think your father being an alum to Harvard Business school counts as a legacy; Harvard only considers undergraduates.</p>

3

<p>Your Community service and work experience may make you stand out . . . I don't know the value of "National Leadership Conference" how selective is your school's National Honors Society.</p>

4

<p>hmm i`d say pretty selective.
it chose about 20 members last year.</p>

5

<p>i think you are slightly below average for the average HYPS candidate. No spectacular EC's, obvious passions, or awards.</p>

6

<p>shouldn't your weighted gpa be close to 5.0? like maybe 4.97..? That's really high...</p>

7

<p>Of course we all know that the big H only accepts people with perfect test scores. </p>

<p>760? No soup for you!</p>

8

<p>you think the Asian thing is going to be a plus, not unless you think it might help you in minority status.</p>

9

<p>OH MY GOSH! I volunteer at stepping stones too!
where are you from in CT?</p>

10

<p>The truth, you are in the lower mid range for applicants. Your residence in NY doesn't help because of all the strong applicants from that area. Your heritage doesn't help because you are an over represented minority, not under represented. And you're not a low income applicant, so they expect more. All that said, Harvard does take a lot of applicants from NY and a lot of Asian applicants. You do have a shot if you can tie everything together with a good essay. In your situation, make sure you have solid match and safety schools that you will be HAPPY attending, then go for the brass ring during the EA round.</p>

<p>One last thing, almost no one has a 25% chance at Harvard. The acceptance rate is 9.7% for all applicants, and most are qualified. Subtract the URMs, athletes, etc, and you are probably a 3-5% shot.</p>

11

<p>kelly, let's try to stay civil to each other.</p>

12

<p>kelly, i guess at the ripe old age of 17 you're so much more mature and knowledgable than a 16 year old <eye roll=""></eye></p>

<p>OP: you have a shot, go for it. ive never heard of the committee of 100, but if its a well known organization, can you get a rec from someone there?</p>

13

<p>Actually the truth is that as a senior applying to college, one tends to know (and need to know) and have experienced far more than an entering junior, who has really only even been through two years of high school. Any entering senior can tell you that as someone who has already been through SATs, SAT IIs, and APs, plus researched prospective schools, seniors undoubtedly are better qualified and certainly deserve to speak about colleges far more than an incoming junior. It's not a year of age that matters, per se, but rather the level of high school experience.</p>

14

<p>i dont know why im bothering, but i dont want you to think that you've "won." sorry to inform you, but im a graduate of a highly prestigious LAC, got my masters degree from an ivy, and in the process of applying for my doctorate for the most competitive program in the country (less than 5% acceptance rate). plus i took undergrad classes at another ivy as well as a state school. so i feel like i have a broad knowledge of the whole college thing. Why am i here? because i'm helping my younger sister and her friends (hs seniors) with the college process and i like seeing different opinions, especially because they are looking at different types of schools than i did. plus, i think i can give helpful advice and information to the less knowledgeable people such as yourself.
ok? anything else you need to know? should i fax you a resume?</p>

15

<p>this thread is entertaining!</p>

<p>PS - OP, go for it. you have great scores, good grades, and hey you have just as much of a chance as the next guy! </p>

<p>and kelly 010: "imperfect test scores"? what kind of scores did YOU recieve that qualify to make that judgement? it's pretty much an Ivy fact that there is little discrepancy between certain high-level scores, anyway, esp. since he broke 700's across the board. a 2200 is already around the 97th-98th percentile for the entire country (i know this b/c i received a 2220). (btw i'm a senior also, so don't kick my you-know-what).</p>

16

<p>ThE<em>GuRl</em>NeXt_DoOr: thank you for the comment it was quite uplifiting. even though i don<code>t think i have a 25% chance, since as said by many other people on this forum that harvard's acceptance rate is about 9-10% i</code>m giving it my best shot and your comment really gave me soem nice encouragement. i am not sure how old you are but good luck with your college apps, if ur applying soon =)</p>

<p>bandit_TX: thanks for ur advice. but actually im an asian from connecticut not new york, i dont know if that is better or worse (?) but yea im working to perfect my essay right now and just getting my whole package put together.</p>

<p>huskem55: thanks and yes i did get a recommedation from the committee's director which was really nice and well-written =) and good luck applying for you doctorate.</p>

<p>kelly_'010: well you`ve made an issue on this post but i was just wondering because i saw a post of yours about your chances and your sat scores and everything seemed a bit lower than mine. im not saying my chances are good or anything but why would you be letting me down, if you are in a similar, if not worse position? well unless that post was just made up. but i just thought i would ask.

Greenmoon33: lol, im glad you find this thread entertaining, but i`m a girl not a "he" just thought id let you know =). i know my score isnt perfect but i was happy with the fact that, like you said, i broke 700 for each one. anyways, good luck with your apps as well.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
I totally agree. People at Harvard aren't any more special than the rest of us. I'm just a regular guy from Wyoming, and I have my ambitions. Hopefully the Wyoming Star-Post will soon sing my praises after I get into Harvard, or maybe even Princeton if I'm really lucky.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Is there a major in Harvard for tending cows???</p>

18

<p>Kelly,
Get a life. OP's stats are far higher than yours, and you shouldn't even be considering Harvard with your scores.</p>

19

<p>christine 430: I realize that my information I had was quite bad and I have far less a chance of getting in than you do. Try to get your scores over 750 in all subjects. Best of luck.</p>

<p>Huskem: If you're really so old and accomplished, then it's extra sad that you waste your time on this forum instead of, oh, say, working.</p>

20

<p>Guzelim, I am from Wyoming. my family is severely disadvantaged and I have had to spend much of my time raising my siblings while both my parents worked multiple minimum wage jobs just to put barely enough food on the table. Despite that, I am still doing well in school, my activities are considered prestigious in my area, and I will soon be taking board tests again. While my standardized scores are admitedly towards the lower range of Harvard's admits, it isn't so outlandish to think I might have a chance given my decidedly disadvantaged background, academic potential, and range of experience. But guzelim, you're right. the OP does have higher scores than I.</p>