All kids applying to Harvard are busy with school work and competitions…PLUS the other things that make up high school life - sports teams, school activities, drama, music, etc. Some kids work. Some kids start charities. Some kids are into the arts. If you REALLY want Harvard, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Do something new, start something new. Take an interest and develop it to a much deeper extent. And all the while, keep your grades up at the top, get top SAT or ACT scores. What is it about Harvard that attracts you? Perhaps people on this board could recommend an amazing school that might have a better than 5% admissions chance.
Have you corresponded with any of the Nigerian students currently going to Harvard (or Princeton, Yale and Stanford)?
my high school starts from grade 7 to grade 12
so do in need to send my 7th and 8th grade scores
And have any of them gone on to Harvard?
yes…there is a girl i know who just graduated from harvard
but we have not been in touch
It seems like the few successful Nigerians that do get to Ivy would be willing to counsel and mentor the students coming up behind them.
@sophieudochi there are other amazing schools in the US that you could apply to in addition to Harvard. reading this post i get the feeling that you want to attend a prestigious school in the US if you are gonna make the huge leap of coming to the US (which is totally understandable). so a good idea would be to look into the so called ivy+ schools (the eight ivy league schools + Stanford, MIT, Chicago,Duke) which are arguably the most prestigious schools in the US and will give you an amazing education. you can have harvard as your first choice and some/all of the other ones from this list as your second choice. applying just to one elite school, and especially harvard, which is the overall second hardest school in the US(and prob the world) to get into (after stanford) is a very risky move. in fact applying only to ivy+ schools is quite risky since they are so competitive.
So where are all the Nigerian students who successfully get admitted to Ivy? Don’t they look back and provide some guidance to help facilitate the applicants wanting to follow them?
my secondary school is divided into junior(7th to 9th grade) and senior secondary school(10th to 12th grade)…
so should I send both my junior and senior secondary school scores or only my senior secondary scores…N.B: we start offering calculus,biology,and other science subjects in senior secondary school
and also I couldnt offer a foreign language in 10th and 11th grade because we had a choice of either calculus or french…but I offered french in elementary school,7th,8th and 9th grade…so does that hinder my chances of admission
Please guys reply
You should probably contact Harvard directly about the transcripts. I have a similar school system and I only sent the transcript from the last two years of high school.
Hello, I am also a Nigerian kind of new to this country. I share goals with you (I am hoping of getting accepted this year to Harvard). Make sure your college essays stand, and have a decent academic record.
thanks…you just moved to the us right?
Will you need financial aid in order to attend a college or university in the United States? Not all institutions are equally generous to international applicants.
While your academic credentials are excellent, there are no guarantees of acceptance at Ivies and equivalent. More qualified applicants are rejected than accepted. If you want to study in the US, you will need to broaden yours. Applying only to Harvard would be a mistake.
Do you have a preferred major? That will also help to generate a list of viable institutions. Would you prefer a large university or are you open to smaller liberal arts colleges as well?
Are you considering the UK at all?
@mamaedefamilia …I will be applying for financial aid…I am not considering uk because my family cannot afford it…also I want to major in molecular biology…I think I prefer larger universities ti LAC’s
I don’t remember what Harvard’s financial need policy is for international students. I would find out to determine if it’s possible financially for your family. I know that you aren’t that interested in LACs, but I am pretty sure that Amherst College meets need for international admitted students. It is part of the five college consortium, including U Mass Amherst, and that provides lots of options.
BTW, I studied abroad at Ibadan back in the dark ages when I was young. The professors were really good.