<p>You are a National Achievement finalist? semifinalist? </p>
<p>At the very least, you should have no problems of getting into places like Howard, Florida A&M, University of Florida, which all attract high numbers of National Achievement scholars and semi-finalists. All of these schools also give major merit aid to such students.</p>
<p>Stop beating yourself up and stressing out over Harvard. No one here can guarantee you or anyone else will get in. The best way to handle Harvard is to assume that you won't get in, pin your heart and hopes on a school that you know that you'll be accepted to, and then sit back and relax. If you get into Harvard, you can always change your mind and decide that it's your first choice.</p>
<p>I give this advice to everyone, so don't think that what I'm saying is because I have some word from on high that you won't get in. Truth is that most applicants, no matter how outstanding, do not get in. </p>
<p>Thus, you have a choice: You can choose to spend the next few months wringing your hands and obsessing over Harvard while convincing yourself that you are a failure or you can take another role -- make sure you've applied to a school that is bound to accept you and that you'll love going to. Even if you were not black, there literally are hundreds of colleges where your stats would guarantee you admission.</p>
<p>Chill. Please. You're just applying to Harvard, not facing a terminal illness, the guillotine or your parents' deaths. And if for some freak accident reason, you don't get accepted to college on this go round, I am sure that your counselor and/or the parents here can help you find a place to go to for the fall. Every May, there is a list of colleges that announces they have openings for fall semester. These include some solid tier 2 colleges. You'd be quite the catch for most of them.</p>
<p>When I was in h.s., one of my friends, National Merit commended and a really nice person, got rejected from all of her colleges despite our having one of the best guidance departments in NY State public schools. Our GC found a nice tier 2 college for her. It was a good match for her interests, too. She went there, did very well, and last I heard had gotten her masters degree from a higher ranked college.</p>
<p>People with stats, motivation and ambitions like yours do not end up on the junk heap of life.</p>