@MYOS1634 I don’t think Harvard considers age at all. At least that is what they claim, and I personally think that my own case is evidence of their indifference towards age, and there is no policy regarding dorms either. Uchicago is also famous for admitting younger students, and they also claim to ignore age.
I think his biggest problem will be his seemingly mediocre grasp of English. On the other hand, he may be typing on a phone or something.
^I know…but he should check with Admissions in any case. He also listed Stanford, Princeton, and Yale .
I assumed he was typing on a phone too 
@MYOS1634 I recall something about Princeton not caring too. I know that Vandy and Duke will consider age as a factor.( and frankly, that doesn’t surprise me). Also, IIRC, Northwestern’s officer tried to evade answering, so make what you will of that. But he is not applying to those. In fact, he has not provided any information about the other schools he is applying to.
@Oddenigma where else are you applying?
All OP said is “applying rd for Harvard,Stanford,princeton and yale”…
it’s always better to check with admissions first, especially with such a nontraditional profile.
@Oddenigma , many decades ago when I attended college, there were several Nigerians who were my classmates. They were lovely people whom I enjoyed very much. I attended an Ivy League college, but is was not Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. And my experience was that the administration and facility and students at my school really appreciated having Africans in the student population. It was thought to be good for us Americans, and good for our African classmates as well.
What concerns me gravely about your chances is that you have very few objective reference points to have an Admissions Officer or Committee go out on a limb for you, so to speak. They need relative assurances that you will at least succeed–if not thrive in their school, and later in life. While I appreciate the breadth of your ambitions and interests, I am not seeing the quantifiable evidence that you have what it takes to succeed at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. Back when I attended high school, the classmates I knew that attended those schools met one or more of the following criteria: 1) they were BRILLIANT, as in savant-like math or physics comprehension, 2) they wrote beautifully and could articulate exceptionally well in writing, 3) they had unusually top grades and test scores, 4) they were an exceptional athlete, 5) one or both of their parents attended the school, or 5) someone from their family donated at least a million dollars to the school.
@Oddenigma, I now have a child approaching college, and have spent the last couple of years trying to acquire the knowledge to help her negotiate the college process. Based on my experience, I would recommend that you follow @MYOS1634 's advice. Since you are apparently ONLY 15 years old, apply to a distinguished American boarding school next year. You can polish your writing and English, see how American education works, and learn the ins-and-outs of college recruiting. If you are an African national from an elite boarding school, who has performed very well at that school, your chances of admission to a top tier Ivy League school would be increased immeasurably, in my opinion.
I applaud your courage and your convictions and your initiative. Keep it up, its all wonderful stuff. You just need to acquire the credentials to have an Admissions Officer at a school fight to get you a spot.
Best of luck!!!
Oh and @Soheils telling someone they have a “seemingly mediocre grasp of English” is just rude and tactless. Getting into Harvard doesn’t change how you should treat people. If however such a statement was not out of line and I’m just overreacting, then forgive me.
@ZAPrez I believe you are over-reacting.
Criticizing someone’s language proficiency is by no means rude or tactless, at least not in my culture. I would be surprised , and reluctantly apologetic, if American culture was different in this regard.
For example, would you be offended if somebody criticized your skill in something like Mathematics or Geography? I do not see how English is any different.
It is also noteworthy that I proposed another possible explanation, and that the adjective mediocre is by no means rude.(at least I did not use it with any malice)
I should also mention that my allegedly tactless manner is not a result of a personality change brought about by a mere letter. Such a suggestion is very insulting. I have always been direct and honest in criticism.
I consider what I said constructive. This is my opinion, and I may be wrong. This does not make me callous or harsh.
^in the US “it’s good” can be seen as a criticism. Although you’d not be considered rude if you said “Your English is good”.Typically, things are “great”, “incredible”, “awesome”, “terrific”.
Grades are private. No one knows whether your skills at geography or math are good or not, but you. In fact unless you authorize them, when you’re in college your parents aren’t even allowed to know whether you’re doing well or not. You’re supposed to tell them as a courtesy but have no obligation to.
This being said, it’s considered a bit tactless to criticize international students’ English, although it’s frequently done, and in this case, the issue isn’t English, but organization - it does look like OP’s typing on a phone so hopefully his/her essays don’t look like that.
@MYOS1634 I understand, thank you for the informative post.
How do you criticize each other then? If this is indeed rude in your culture, I apologize. Let me make it clear that I did not intend to be malicious. I see what I did as an attempt to help him notice that his essays should not be like this.
I did not say that college grades are not private. Let me elaborate on my point: If somebody with a 3.0 GPA asks to be chanced for Harvard on this forum, would that person have a right to feel offended if he is told that his GPA is not stellar? It is also noteworthy that HS grades are not actually private in my country, since teachers generally either post them on the wall or read them out loud.
FWIW, I am an international student as well, though I do not think that this makes a difference.( You may not remember me, but you helped me back in October, and I also told you that your username means Meiosis in Persian.) I should also mention that non-organizational issues existed as well.
@Oddenigma If you were indeed offended by my criticism, I sincerely apologize.
hahaha omg oh yea i applied to lafayette, i.w.u,nyu,lake forest,grinnell and err i forgot the other one. oh i’m sorry i use text language yea… i don’t believe in unnecessary prolix. i can be a sesquipedalianist when i want to but i don’t get anything for typing well so…
oh oh and my final year courses were: Maths( every topic possible my mum is a maths whiz who studied maths,breathes maths and stuff),English(plus literature- i’ve read books?),Financial accounting,management Accounting,Politics,communication,Insurance,economics with Calculus from MIT…I take a lot of university courses online.I started cost accounting but i decided to put it on hold(political career)…
my final year additional text books
- Management by Stephen P. Robbins and Mary coulter
- World order by Henry Kissinger
- Plunder and deceit by Mark R. Kissinger
- Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An international perspective
- The speechwriter: A brief education in politics
- Secret of Mental Maths: The mathemagician’s guide to lightning calculation and Amazing Maths tricks by Arthur and Michael Shermer
- Practical English usage by Michael swan
- Why nations fail: The origins of Power, Prosperity, and poverty by Daron Acemoglu
- ACCA F1 complete text Accountant in Business
- ACCA F2 complete text Management Accounting
- ACCA F3 complete text Financial Accounting
- 12.CIMA complete guide
i like reading a lot… i am currently taking French classes and stuff. oh and btw idk why most of you assumed i was a 'he" lol i am a girl.
I guess that’s kinda rigorous since choir is a course in America…
@soheils nah it’s all good. if i didn’t want your opinion i wont have started a thread. Thanks a lot.
@Soheils You said Vandy and Duke take age into consideration. Can you tell me the source of your information? Thanks
@Oddenigma i think it will basically come down to your SAT scores and essay. Can you predict what your scores will be?
@soheils: of course I remember you But I figured you could learn a little about how your future classmates will act. Pretty much, there are two types of criticisms: the “snap” or “burn”, which can be a mean-spirited joke or a defense mechanism; and the “constructive criticism” which is usually reserved to a specific environment such as peer evaluations in an English composition class.
But there shouldn’t be any offense taken there - it’s a bit “bad manners” but not to the point of offense.
@Oddenigma: how many practice tests have you taken and what have your results been? Also, remember that you’re in the Harvard forum. It’s not just read by kids. Typing as if you were on a phone may sound “cool” to you but to adults it reads very immature. Please stop if you can.
@bkmaester: soheils likely speaks from personal experience.
@bkmaester I called both offices and asked. The Duke Officer said that they consider age and the perceived maturity of the applicant. The Vanderbilt Officer said the same thing, but was not really sure.
@MYOS1634 I understand. Is my comment considered mean-spirited? and once again, thank you for your informative comments on both here and my earlier thread.
@Oddenigma Are you taking Subject tests as well? Based on the admittedly small sample I have witnessed, they seem to be a factor for int’l students.
@MYOS1634 You’re very correct. This can be attributed to my age maybe? Well my scores have been in the 2060>x>2400 ranges. It keeps fluctuating, I have to work on that in a week. I have this great animosity towards Maths problems with diagrams; it’s a great contributor to the instability. Thank you so much everyone, wish me goodluck!
Oh and about the whole boarding school, I mightn’t have mentioned this but I’m not exactly like the average fifteen year old and thus cannot be confined in a school lest the worst happens. Nonetheless, I appreciate your benevolence.
@soheils I hope we get to meet in Harvard Once again thanks. I have to study hard, kome. Erudite mode activated lol.
All my reading must have affected my brains. My previous posts sounded so not me. I apologise to those who were willing to reply and advise me on my use of English but got an “I don’t get anything for typing well”.
@CallieMom thank you so much! I’m really sorry for the late reply.
@ZAPrez 
Your story is inspirational! #ProudlyAfrican.
@Oddenigma Thank you!!