NEW: Harvard Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

I’ve always promised myself to avoid the annoying “chance me” threads, let alone to create one myself. However, seeing as though I will not be able to sleep without SOME self assurance, I have made the decision to try it out, perhaps receive some constructive criticism. Please be honest and real with your responses.

APPLICATION STATUS: AWAITING DECISION (Regular Decision Applicant)

Objective:

SAT I: N/A
ACT: 29 Composite, 36 English, 30 Reading, 25 Science, 25 Math, 11 Writing
SAT II: 740 Literature, 660 Mathematics 1, 720 Spanish Reading
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank: Top 10% of roughly 400 students in my class

AP (place scores in parenthesis): AP Microeconomics (2), AP US Government (3), AP US History (5), AP Language and Composition (5), AP Biology (N/A), AP Literature (N/A), AP Physics 1 (N/A)

Senior year course load: Honors Spanish 4, AP Biology, AP Physics 1, AP Literature, College Algebra (Pre-Calculus), Trigonometry, SPECIAL OUT-OF-SCHOOL: EMT Training Program (Early Dismissal)

Major Awards: PSAE Scholor, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracirriculars: Club Medicine (Member, 2 years), Spanish Honors Society (1 year, Member), Student Ambassador (2 years), Club MECA (1 year, Board Member), International Club (2 years, President of Advertisement), Phi Alpha Theta (Member, 1 year), National Honors Society (1 year), Athletic Training (1 year), EMT Training Program (3 hours a day, 3 days a week, rigorous medical program)

Job/Work Experience: Father’s restaurant in economically challenged region

Volunteer/Community Service: 100+ Hours volunteering at my local religious service, student athletic training room, Student Ambassador school events, local hospital volunteer

Summer Activities: N/A

Essays: Excellent on the Common App, very professional and outstanding. (I’m an excellent writer. I’m writing a book.)
Harvard Supplemental Essays: Submitted a sample of spontaneous creative writing piece (amazing quality of writing), submitted another one-page essay that speaks of my overwhelming desire to pursue medicine at Harvard, my struggles in realizing the ACT was just a number, and that I refuse to allow it to define who I am and what I can be.

Teacher recommendation: First letter was from AP English teacher, very excellent writing, strong, unique descriptions of my character, and speaks of a specific time when I lost a dear friend of mine, a former English teacher and a close friend of the teacher that wrote this letter.

Second letter of recommendation: My freshman biology teacher speaks very eloquently of my character and work ethics, and her views of me as a student. Very good.

Additional letters: One from my mother, very beautiful and heartwarming. Another one from my EMT/Paramedic instructor, very professional and precise. I’m waiting on one more excellent letter from my Club Medicine and Sports Medicine teacher.

Interview: Very perfect interview, I hit all the right spots and displayed sincere interest in Harvard College.

Other:

State: Illinois, USA
School type: Public, 400 students in my class alone, about 2,500 total.
Ethnicity: Middle-East Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income bracket: <$25,000, very low
Hooks: Low income, only me and my brother will be attending college

Any ideas? I’m very passionate regarding my desire to become a general surgeon and I’m very out-going, and aware of my future plans. Thank you.

2

Harvard admissions are very competitive. To be honest, your GPA is near rock bottom for what is considered. What are some of the other universities you applied to?

3

I will reply with the overused but little believed comment: “Hope for the best. Harvard is a reach for everyone.” I sincerely wish you good luck because I am, too, an applicant; I understand the fear and stress.
Since you ask me to be honest and real with my response, here is my answer: “You do not have the best stats I have seen”. But you applied, so what weight do my words carry, really? Especially when they come from a stranger on the Internet. The decision will come; that is all we need to know.
If you want to sleep, just tell yourself you are rejected already. And no, it is not a pessimistic way of considering life. I tell myself my Harvard application is just a pending rejection and I live a happier life. Life is more than just 5% chance of getting into a college (or whatever the statistic is). Maybe you know this already, but since you need a narcotic to sleep, I recommend, or remind, you of mine.
Best of luck, “losing all hope is freedom.”

4

Tbh, you seem to think really highly of yourself and Harvard doesn’t really appreciate that quality in its students.
Who refers to THEMSELVES as “an excellent writer” and says their interview was “perfect”?
I’m sure you don’t really feel this way about yourself, but you have to be careful not to sound like you do.
If this quality shows in any part of your application, you are screwed.
Your academic stats are mediocre by Harvard’s standards, but the good news is, you won’t be out of the running for that alone.
Your extra curricular activities are very inconsistent, like you weren’t committed to any one thing.
You have to have done a tremendous job presenting your personality in your application via essays and recs. Passion for something is key. So is kindness and consideration for others. And maturity. And leadership. That is a big one. And not building up a resume just to say you did something.
If you want my honest opinion, I would say that the odds are slim, however, there is always a chance, so don’t give up.
Besides, if you want it badly enough, you can be successful at any school.
Good luck.

5

I appreciate the helpful reviews guys. Trust me, I know more than anyone how challenging the Ivy League admissions process is, especially Harvard College. I wish best of luck to anyone applying and to anyone that did not apply as well. I know that with the necessary will-power and motivation, anything is possible.

And besides, just as my friend here commented, do not give up all hope, for you never know what the admissions committee might see in you! There are many 26 and 27 ACTs walking around Harvard campus, still wondering why they WERE ACCEPTED.

Feel free to review my stats and place a comment if you want to! Thanks! Best of luck.

6

@DrDean794‌ - I’m sure there are very, very, few Harvard students who got 26 or 27 on the ACT. Even 29 is very low for Harvard. Based on The Crimson survey of the Class of 2018, a 29 ACT and 3.6 GPA would put you in the bottom 1% of the class. I would imagine most of those 1% had significant hooks.

I agree that willpower and determination are the key to success, but they alone guarantee nothing - Harvard wants to see results, too! If your willpower and determination were reflected in a 34+ ACT and a 3.9+ GPA, then I would think you would have a chance, but with your academic qualifications, I honestly don’t think you have much chance of being accepted.

Ultimately, it shouldn’t really matter whether you get into Harvard or not - if you work hard, you can be successful wherever you end up!

7

But, he’s got a letter from his mother…

8

I’ll be honest. I don’t like you. Why? You are way too haughty. People here have mentioned that before, but if you were just as arrogant in your applications, chances are the adcoms are not going to like you either.
You may think highly of yourself but there will always be someone better than you with better writing skills.
I am not trying to be mean here, but that is the reality.
As for “chances”, no one can predict anything, just relax until decision day and tell yourself you’ve done everything you could.
Good luck!

9

Don’t send 5 letters of recommendation. You’re gonna frustrate the adcoms because they read everything sent to them

10

If the poster is an excellent writer, well then, he’s an excellent writer. If it’s true, acknowledging it hardly makes him arrogant. His posts, written here informally on an Internet site, likely without great effort at heavy-duty editing, show clear writing and thinking, with a lucid, explanatory style. I don’t know how good his essays may have been, but his writing herein is pretty decent.

@DrDean794‌, I hope you didn’t actually send five letters of recommendation. If you did, hope that the committee ignored letters three through five. Two is great, three is iffy, and only if it provides some additional insight from a completely different perspective into your character. Five is the kiss o’ death.

As well, your ACT almost rules you out. And your GPA doesn’t help. Your application is not one that has even the ordinary chance (roughly 5%) of acceptance. It’s considerably more than a long shot for you to be admitted. Still, stranger things have happened…

Working in your favor is the low-income status. But I doubt that will make up for the relatively-low ACT and GPA.

11

If there are any 26 or 27 ACT Harvard students walking around campus, they are headed to the varsity football or hockey weight room. Without major recruitment for a varsity sport, or a development slot (daddy can/will donate a building), your chances are almost zero. Take a look at all the 36 ACT/2400 applicants who have been denied in recent cycles–it isn’t pretty.

That said, you can find happiness and success sans Harvard.

12

Never again ask a relative to write a recommendation letter for a professional purpose. Introduce to a future spouse? Sure. To college? That’s extremely unprofessional here in the US. Please take note of this advice. Good luck to you wherever you end up at school. I would predict you’ll have a solid and successful college career.

13

Much appreciation for the reviews, guys! And for the record: the only reason I emphasized upon the fact that my writing ability is “excellent” is because you guys don’t know me, nor have you “seen” my essays, haha. Obviously, I was far more humble and less arrogant within my actual application. But the only way I could have enlightened you guys to the quality of my essays was to say that they were “excellent and perfect,” because in my opinion they were. But I did not say the same to the admissions committee, haha, don’t worry!

As for the the 4/5 letters of recommendations, they all gave pretty different points of views! My letters and essays are really my points of strengths and if there is any chance of acceptance, it will be because of my emphasized “passion” and attitude displayed in my application. And to be accurate, Harvard does in fact deny 36 ACTs and 4.0 GPAs, but the reason they do that is because these students are “bookworms” and they have nothing special or distinct; they have no specific passion or endeavors on which they could emphasize upon. And that is the same reason why if you look through the Harvard College acceptances, you will find 29 ACTs and 30s.

14

Please do not pile on another letter to them. You already overdid it. As said above,you should not have sent one from your mother, I actually doubt if it will be read, perhaps just in case. Or a freshman teacher, that was a misstep jr teacher or soph at least. The EMT letter yes that should have been the third and final. And it looks like you piled on a lot of extra essay too. Have you not heard ‘the thicker the file the thicker the student?’

These threads are so painful, but I won’t say you are delusional. just a bit if you think many ppl are walking around with such low test scores. But your EMT Study is excellent, the other EC just ok but the one thing is a big commitment. I wouldn’t have recommended you apply. Energy would be better directed elsewhere. I am not sure about the low income tip in a family owned business. There are assets there perhaps and certainly write offs that get added back to income. Maybe so, though.

If you have med school aspirations then you should not be happy to study where you are the bottom 1 pct student. That is not a happy combo. I hope you have your more likely schools in The pipeline. If not get cracking and put some into Meets needs schools asap January 15 is the next big deadline. Seriously assume a rejection and make sure you have options, cheap affordable options are all you need.

15

@BrownParent‌ Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I am very much not delusional; farthest from it. In fact, I am very grateful, for I have many acceptances already, with numerous scholarships! I am sure I will be content wherever I decide to attend. And yes, perhaps there aren’t many low test scores and GPAs, but they are not nonexistent.

And the letter from my mother was actually a suggestion right off of the Harvard College website.

And yes, I am aware of the pre-medical rigor and that necessary environment that I must be surrounded by in order to succeed to the best of my ability; but I always think to myself, why can’t I be one of the people THAT ARE able to graduate with flying colors from an institution such as Harvard? Guys, I know Harvard is beyond a “long-shot,” but it is a shot nonetheless.

16

@BrownParent‌ Why is the freshman letter wrong? I mean, can you emphasize? Thank you. @T26E4‌ The suggestion to receive a letter of recommendation from a parent is suggested on the Harvard College website! Haha. In fact, if you think about it, what kind of perspective can teachers give about students that a mother cannot do a hundred times more in detail? And yes, obviously objectivity will be compromised; however, the way my mother wrote it, she did not talk about my accomplishments or awards, simply my
character and everyday personality.

17

Haha Is right I have never seen that and will have to look. Of course every student would have mom write an extra letter if they could. The problem is that mom has no perspective. I can only see value, say! if she could talk about how you care for your brother who is disabled and feed him and bath him or such unusual circumstances. Or like one quest bridge kid who elsewhere reported whose paycheck supported the whole sizable family. They better hope others don’t have your strong eyes or they will be buried in ‘precious snowflake’ letters, I would have hardly trusted myself to write one.

Freshmen are so unformed and the teacher is not addressing what kind of student you are now, 3 years later.

18

I would be very surprised if that is the case. Maybe you could show us where that is.

Maybe there is some kind of a provision in certain home-schooling cases where no other teacher exists, or for financial aid questions… I hope you can understand the general proscription against letters of recommend from family members, especially mothers.

19

Yes please show us. I’m not trying to be argumentative – let’s say I would be GREATLY astonished. I looked and only 2 teacher rec letters. Harvard already has enough on its hands processing over 30K apps. The idea of wanting a relative’s rec letter is astounding, if true.

Because H wants students who interact with other students and teachers. Not how warm you make mom’s heart feel.

20

@BrownParent‌ That’s why I said my mother did not write of my achievements and awards; I said that objectivity would be compromised. She instead explained the financial circumstances that hindered me from being able to hold a reliable transportation method for sports and clubs. That is why there are no ECS for my freshman year and sophomore year. I set up a carpool system with my neighbor and my mother speaks of that.

Harvard admissions portal speaks of which materials to upload. Look under non-academic material, it says Parents letters of recommendations in parenthesis. I can’t give you a link because you need to be logged onto the Harvard account. I took a screenshot, but I don’t see any options to upload images here.