Official Harvard University 2016 Early Action Decisions Thread

indigojeanius · December 19, 2011, 3:40pm

Deferred. :(

May just [listen</a> this song](<a href=“Black Friday (Rebecca Black Parody by Matt Mulholland) - The Harvard Lowkeys - A Cappella - YouTube”>Black Friday (Rebecca Black Parody by Matt Mulholland) - The Harvard Lowkeys - A Cappella - YouTube) hopelessly and longingly while I wait.

thezenpanda · December 19, 2011, 5:10pm

Choose One:
Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (CR 800/M 800/WR 710)
[] ACT:N/A
[] SAT II:790 Math II, 800 Spanish, 780 Chemistry, 780 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):School doesn’t rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):Chem (5), Spanish Language (5), BC Calc (5), US History (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load:Multivariable Calculus, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lit, AP Bio, Chinese IV
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Don’t know what qualifies but…National Merit and Achievement semifinalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Varsity Track (4 letter, 2 years as captain), Varsity Tennis (3 letters, State championship 2011), Spanish Honor Society (President '11-'12), Jack and Jill (Secretary '11-'12), Student Council (Rep for 3 years), Panama Service Project (Donation Coordinator, 3 years)
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service:2 service trips to Panama over the summer (100+ hrs) and extensive work in Hispanic Community through Spanish Honor Society
[] Summer Activities:Panama Service Projects, teaching tennis lessons (really informal…not sure if it counts), China Service Trip
[] Essays: CommonApp essay on aforementioned service trip, supplement on being biracial
[] Teacher Recommendation:Both great. Focused as much on me academically as on me as a person
[] Counselor Rec: Great. Love that lady!
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Great! Talked for over an hour. Interviewer has kids in the elementary part of my school so that was a good ice breaker. She said my “drive to explore” was admirable and what Harvard was looking for
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): WI
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:Independent K-12
[] Ethnicity: Biracial; African-American and Caucasian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: >100,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:Still don’t quite know how I got in…
[] Weaknesses:
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:see above
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li][/ul]General Comments:
I was so excited when I got my email I pressed some button that moved it to the spam folder. Definitely thought I had imagined an acceptance email for a good 10 minutes as I tried to find it again…awkward. Congratulations to the rest of the Class of 2016!

ankits · December 20, 2011, 2:46am

Choose One:

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 780CR 780M 790W, 2350 overall
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 780 Chem, 740 Math II, 710 US Hist
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.94
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):12
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on APUSH, Chemistry, English Lang, Statistics, 3 on Spanish Lang
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Music History Honors, Spanish V AP, English IV AP, Calculus BC AP, Government/Economics AP, Physics II AP, Orchestra (highest)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP scholar with distinction, National Spanish Exam Gold Award (95th percentile), 3 time All-State String Bassist, Won National Honor Orchestra in 2011 (Article published in local magazine)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Orchestra (President), Jain Society of Houston Youth Group (President), Spanish National Honor Society (Vice-President), National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service:various activities spread out through the clubs I’m in
[] Summer Activities: Shadowed Memorial Hermann Stroke Team in the Med Center, Oakbend Med Volunteer
[] Essays:Had voice, but risky topics. may have rubbed admissions officers the wrong way
[] Teacher Recommendation:I knew them both well, but didn’t get to read the recs
[] Counselor Rec:Big class, probably not too intimate
[] Additional Rec:none
[] Interview:I thought it went smoothly, nothing exceptional though
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):TX
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:Public
[] Ethnicity:Indian
[] Gender:Male
[] Income Bracket:>150k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:SAT Score, Leadership positions, Teacher Recs
[] Weaknesses:Volunteer Activities, Counselor Rec, Essays?, rank
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I’m not too exceptional by the numbers and statistics. The essays probably weren’t good enough to win over officers. Being asian probably didn’t help too much either.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:none[/li][/ul]General Comments:
I’m going to see if I can get any extra achievements or activities to submit that would help my regular decision application by January 20th. Just have to hope for the best I suppose

alisyn · December 20, 2011, 7:51am

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): CR 680 M 610 W 720
[] SAT II: Bio E: 650 Lit: 640
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/350
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): not offered
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered
[] Senior Year Course Load: Romanian, Math, English, French, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography, Philosophy, Physical education, Religion
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National English Olympic I guess?
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): European Youth Parliament (county coordinator), Volunteer brigade (concert organizing/ ticketing, cleanup, translating for bands and crew), tutoring, artist with exhibitions and won contests, bass player in local band, theater and I think that’s about it?
[] Job/Work Experience: Bar singer for 2 years, every Saturday night and sports website editor for 1 year
[] Volunteer/Community service: tutoring kids at a shelter in arts and english, red cross volunteer, lgbt advocate and volunteer, Let’s do it Romania clean-up action
[] Summer Activities: Concert organizing (wrote a sup about how I stood backstage at Rammstein and nearly shat a brick when Tile acknowledged my existence lol)
[] Essays: Common app was about struggles as a Romanian and about losing one’s personal identity. I’m preeeetty sure that’s what got me deferred and not rejected bahaha. Lots of good that did me.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I believe both were very good, my teachers are fond of me
[] Counselor Rec: same
[] Interview: didn’t get one. Maybe for RD?
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Romania
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: <15000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): financial need? Even though, how is that a hook? Beats the hell outta me.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I don’t know, I guess my essay?
[] Weaknesses: everything other than that lol
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Deferred and not rejected cause of essay. Otherwise, I think it would’ve been a straight rejection. I guess I’m well rounded, but yu know.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No where as of now. Applied RD everywhere else, didn’t want to do ED2 cause I’m scared I won’t get enough FA[/li][/ul]**General Comments: ** An acceptance letter would have been nice? hahahaha Congrats to everyone who got in!

swaggems · December 20, 2011, 8:18am

Decision: Accepted
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1550/2280 (1550/2300 superscore)
[ *] SAT II: 770 Chem, 800 USH
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.69 (4.23 W) [ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):Havent gotten APUSH or AP Psych scores back yet, but expecting 4 or 5s on both

[ *] Senior Year Course Load:AP English, AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Italian, AP Gov., Acting/ceramics (both are half year classes), Gym
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Most likely a NMF (231 on the PSAT)

[ /list]**Subjective:[ /b][list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Television and Film Society (Treasurer, Won a Telly with society, and with the society came in first place in NJ for the “U Got Brains” PSA contest), Italian Honors Society (Treasurer), Politics Club (Co-vice President, it was defunct and he helped to bring it back), National Honors Society, Co-Founder/Editor-in Chief of Threadflo.com (a website that he and his friends started and worked on)
[ *]community service: Tutored an economically disadvantaged every Monday during his soph, jr., and senior years, volunteered at a hospital two to three days a week during the summers after soph and junior years
[ *] jobs: gave guitar lessons
/list]**Other[ /b][list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):NJ

[ *] School Type: Competitive Public Schools (about 10 or so kids go on to Ivy’s each year)
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender:Male
[ *]Income Bracket: around $85,000 per year

tropicalsunxx4 · December 20, 2011, 6:31pm

<ul>
<li>SAT I (breakdown): 2260; 750CR/740M/770W/8E

<ul>
<li>ACT (breakdown): 32; 32M/36E/27SC/8E</li>
<li>SAT II: 790 Bio, 760 Spanish, 740 MathII, 670 Chem</li>
<li>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9</li>
<li>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/222</li>
<li>AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Bio; 4 US Hist & Chem; 3 Calc AB, Java</li>
<li>IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a</li>
<li>Senior Year Course Load: 5 AP courses, 1 honors</li>
<li>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): …</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

Subjective:

<pre><code>* Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): xc, track, piano, band, WLHS (president), NHS

Job/Work Experience: worked one summer @ blueberry farm (lol)
Volunteer/Community service: Teen Dating Violence presentation (20 hrs), Senior Center volunteer (50 hrs), babysitting (20 hrs)
Essays: CA- influence my immigrant parents have had on me
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec: Didnt see
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: discussed my interests, NYC, piano
</code></pre>

Other

<pre><code>* State (if domestic applicant): CT

Country (if international applicant):
School Type: medium public
Ethnicity: White, Eastern European
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Upper middle
Hooks: first generation college in America
</code></pre>

Reflection

<pre><code>* Strengths: academics, well-rounded, foreign-born

Weaknesses: scores, no connections
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: not a genius?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: n/a
</code></pre>

General Comments: Hope I get in! Anybody have any advice or comments about my stats? Thanks!

LatinistXIII · January 1, 2012, 11:51am

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 690 CR, 730 M, 770 W
[] ACT: Did not submit
[] SAT II: 650 Lit, 660 US History (Ouch!)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.8 (Well over 4.0 weighted)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #6/365
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (3), Chem (3), Calc (3), US History (4), Lit and Comp (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: 3 APs, 3 College level classes, 1 Research class, Band
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tennis 9-12 (Captain 12), Latin Competitions (7-12 and won every time), Jazz Band (section leader), NHS (Secretary), Science Club (VP), Select local music groups.
[] Job/Work Experience: My father’s deli, A research job at a greenhouse.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Pit Orchestra for a Community Theatre
[] Summer Activities: Tennis, Golf, Working, Driver’s Ed (I hated it)
[] Essays: One about personal growth and confidence building, another about my love of the saxophone.
[] Teacher Recommendation: One very strong one from a teacher I’ve had for four years, A meh one from my English teacher.
[] Counselor Rec: Stressed the activities I was in and was generally well-written.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: At my dad’s store; it seemed to go well. I went on about my love for music and the Classics, and saw the guy write “Passionate” on his paper.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public (not one the best either)
[] Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Stellar Essays, Good GPA, Dedicated ECs, some leadership roles.
[] Weaknesses: #6, AP Scores, SAT II Scores
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think being #6 may have killed my shot, but you never know.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet[/li] [/ul]General Comments: I’m applying to Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Boston C., Wesleyan, Williams, Amherst, and some SUNY schools.
Should I submit an additional letter from my Research teacher b/c of Harvard’s stress on research?

f0ssil · January 1, 2012, 7:02pm

I’ve been really busy putting together the rest of my apps the past two weeks, so I apologize for being the 14th one on the pledge thread and one of the last on the decisions thread!

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2380 (780 Math, 11 Essay)
[] SAT II: 790 Biology, 790 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, but probably around 15 out of about 450
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): three 5s (Bio, US, Human Geo), three 4s (Physics B, World, Lang)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: One of the most rigorous in my school, with 5 APs and 1 college-level course
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing I’d call “major”, but a bunch of state-level awards (some 1st place, 2nd place, “Top Ten”, etc…) in a variety of competitions; one national-level 3rd place award in a relatively small competition
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Eagle Scout (also SPL, like a President), Political Awareness Club (President), LifeSmarts team (Captain), DECA (Officer), Mock Trial, Quiz Bowl, National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship with local politician, private tutor for middle school students
[] Volunteer/Community service: about 500 hours? most through Boy Scouts, DECA, and the honor societies
[] Summer Activities: Volunteered for school district’s summer youth program, working about 20 hours a week for 6 weeks, constructed Eagle project
[] Essays: Common App: 9 or 10 out of 10, my god-like English teacher “loved” it (relating my life to LEGOs but not in the usual engineering sense, pretty creative and deep). Supplement about the importance of libraries and Wikipedia, probably like an 8 out of 10. Good, but not as amazing as my Common App one.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Two excellent ones by teachers that loved me, at least one of them told the story of my development and debating abilities (I had him for Debate), and a third by my physics teacher to show that side of me
[] Counselor Rec: Probably very good, we have a great relationship and she knows me pretty well
[] Interview: I’d say an 8/10; it went very well and we spent about an hour and 15 minutes talking, much of it about national and local politics and our communities (interviewer lived in the next town over and was very influential locally)
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] School Type: Good public, though not ranked or anything
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: ~$100k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Depth of ECs, Common App essay, teacher recs
[] Weaknesses: Grades/rank (I had a B and two B+s in sophomore year because of a personal tragedy)
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: 67% were deferred. My theory is that they took all the hooked/recruited/legacy/etc. applicants plus a few extremely qualified applicants EA and then deferred all the reasonably qualified people that they would consider and rejected those that they didn’t feel had a chance.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Had I been accepted, Harvard would’ve saved me from doing another 17 apps. It’s been a busy few weeks.

thefish1 · January 3, 2012, 5:39pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Not sent
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800(MathII), 760(Physics)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): CompSci IV AB(5), US Gov(5), Physics C:Mechanics(5), Physics C:E+M(5), Calc AB(5), English Lang(4), World History(4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc C, AP Chem, AP English Lit, Intern/Mentor GT, Spanish 3H, Theatre Arts I
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing too major - State FBLA awards, State comp sci contest awards
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team (Captain), Web Dev Business (Leader), Mentor to students creating a school site, Model UN, FBLA (Board Member)
[] Job/Work Experience: Freelance Tech
[] Volunteer/Community service: This and that. Definitely not a focus of mine
[] Summer Activities: Center for Talented Youth
[] Essays: CommonApp on vacation to Grand Canyon emphasizing perseverance, other on my personal drive
[] Teacher Recommendation: 2 SPECTACULAR recommendations, I can’t thank my teachers enough
[] Counselor Rec: Probably pretty boring…
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Went really well, but my interviewer kept it to a half hour
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Upper Middle
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Real business experience, mentoring others, APs (I guess?)
[] Weaknesses: Community service
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know, but I’m ecstatic
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: None yet
[/ul]General Comments:
I am extremely excited for this opportunity to learn more than ever at the number one university in the world. I’m honored and humbled by the acceptance. This opens up so many doors for me in addition to really giving me to focus on my true passion: learning. I am most eagerly waiting a decision from MIT and will make my choice from there.

nocensure · January 4, 2012, 8:11am

Decision: Deferred

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2350 superstore (770M, 790CR, 790W), 2300 highest single-sitting
[] ACT:
[] SAT II:Math II-800, US History-790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/105
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):45/45 Predicted
[] Senior Year Course Load:
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cambridge Top in India in IGCSE in IT, felicitation with ex-President in India for achievements in Indian development (microcredit), Times of India Student of the Year, Selected to be part of the official Indian delegation to the 2nd Preparatory Conference for Sustainable Development, chosen to go to Wockhardt though leadership Conference where I had personalized time with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Muhammed Yunus, South Asian Leadership Conference, Many MUN awards
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):President and Founder of Eutopia, a microcredit organisation that has lent hundreds of thousands of dollars
President and Founder of Project Synergy, a network of schools and organisations that work towards sustainable development, over 30 schools and 1300 volunteers.
Editor-in-Chief of School Newspaper
Economics Club President
Head Boy
Varsity Tennis for 4 years
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship at ASA Bangladesh, for microcredit
[] Volunteer/Community service: See Eutopia and Project Synergy
[] Summer Activities: ASA Internship
[] Essays: Excellent
[] Teacher Recommendation:Excellent
[] Counselor Rec:Excellent
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview:None
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):GA
[] Country (if international applicant):India (US citizen living overseas)
[] School Type: Private and International
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Indian origin)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket:$30,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:Leadership, Founder of organisations that actually make a large impact, unique story
[] Weaknesses: No hooks. Maybe wanted to compare with other future RD candidates similar to me.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See weaknesses
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li][/ul]General Comments:

Good luck everybody. Stay strong and don’t lose hope.

WithAD · January 8, 2012, 11:52am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (740 CR)
[] ACT: -
[] SAT II: 800, 800, 740
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.33): 4.1
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): <10%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Eleven 5s One 4
[] Senior Year Course Load: 4 AP, 2 College
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math (capt), Science (capt), Student Govt, XC (V), Indoor Soccer
[] Job/Work Experience: Teaching, Research
[] Volunteer/Community service: ~800 hrs
[] Summer Activities: Teaching, Research, Fun
[] Essays: Good
[] Teacher Recommendation: Good
[] Counselor Rec: Good
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Long
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] School Type: Competitive pseudo-feeder public
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Well-rounded
[] Weaknesses: Typical applicant
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: -[/li][/ul]

xrayxd · January 19, 2012, 6:28pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):740 Reading 800 Writing 800 Math
[] ACT:N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Physics, 780 Math Level II, 780 World History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School only does weighted out of 100 (101.251)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):Top 1% (possible valedictorian)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): ALL 5s: Music Theory, World History, U.S. History, Physics B, Psychology, English Language and Composition
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Spanish Level 5 Honors, Health, Gym, AP Physics C (both Mechanics and E/M), AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Gov’t, AP Macroecon, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, AP Stat
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):AIME Qualifier, AP scholar with distinction, National Merit Semifinalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Tri-M Music Honor Society (VP), National Honor Society (VP), Mathletes (VP), Band Officers (Treasurer), Spanish Honor Society, Science Honor Society, music composition, liturgy at church (Liturgy Director)
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutored for 6 months in 9th grade; started a few weeks ago again.
[] Volunteer/Community service:Volunteered about 55 hours at a local nursing home over the summer
[] Summer Activities: CTY (2007, 2008, 2009), SAT Prep (2010), Harvard SSP (2011)
[] Essays: Great! Had a fantastic essay advisor My commonapp essay was on my experience as a Liturgy Director and how it helped me grow as a person. Supplement was about my experience taking AP Music Theory in a small class size environment and the professor’s impact on my future musical endeavors (e.g. musical composition).
[] Teacher Recommendation: I know at least one was phenomenal! Stayed after school with her discussing various topics and just bouncing off ideas off each other. It’s all about making the recs specific and unique to just you
[] Counselor Rec: I would say it was pretty average considering we didn’t spend much time together and she has hundreds of other students to be concerned about (#publicschoolproblems)
[] Additional Rec: Band teacher since I have had him for 7 classes over the course of 4 years in high school. I’ve also stayed after school with him multiple times discussing my extracurriculars such as original music composition, etc.
[] Interview:Pretty normal, nothing terrible nothing outstanding. Didn’t have much in common What I would say was good was that I asked very Harvard-specific questions (e.g. How was your Housing Day experience?)
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:Public
[] Ethnicity:Asian (Korean)
[] Gender:Male
[] Income Bracket: roughly 100,000?
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college, not much really
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: unique extra curricular of composition, sent in solid supplement CD, quasi-legacy (brother goes to Hahvahd), deftly conveyed my genuine desire to attend Harvard College (via interview, summer experience, etc.)
[] Weaknesses: not many prestigious academic awards, presumably mediocre guidance rec
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: An amalgam of luck, legacy, and an obvious passion to go to Harvard
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: SCEA, so nowhere else[/li][/ul]General Comments:
Still in shock, but a little bit less so than when I first read the letter. Getting in Early was my ideal life situation, and to think that it has come true is mind-boggling; I have never been so grateful in my entire life. I look forward to seeing all those who have gotten in early , those who will get in regular, and those who will hopefully get in in the years to come! For prospective students, I simply say this: pursue your passions to the greatest depth that you can. If you do that, you will be happy at any college you go to. Live the life you want to live!

ProspectiveAppli · February 12, 2012, 1:30pm

Forgot to post this…

Choose One:
Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (Only take)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 650 Lit, 750 Math I (Only take)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 36/589
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Three 3s and a 4.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 2 APs
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Average.
[] Job/Work Experience: Some.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Yes.
[] Summer Activities: Typical.
[] Essays: Decent.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Good.
[] Counselor Rec: Good.
[] Additional Rec: Nope.
[] Interview: Meh.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Arkansas
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Low
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Well rounded.
[] Weaknesses: Everything else.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Well rounded.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li][/ul]General Comments:
I’m excited!!

nlhaustralia · March 4, 2012, 10:02am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2300 - R740/M760/W800
[] SAT II: Math II/Physics - 800, Chem - 720
[li] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st (of 98)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School choir, school symphonic band on french horn or percussion, (prefect), (school social justice captain), (house music captain), flying planes, school musicals/plays - both performing and being a stage hand
[] Job/Work Experience: Weekly harp and vocal performances at a local cafe, 3 years work in retail, 1 week at Mt Stromlo Observatory [Canberra, Australia] doing basic astronomy calculations and talking to professors and PhD students.
[] Volunteer/Community service: As Social Justice Captain I did many hours of community service and extensive fundraising
[] Essays: Two very personal essays, one about living in 19 different houses and another about a school I used to attend and why I moved
[] Teacher Recommendation: Two great recommendations, one from the head of science (my chem teacher) and the other from the head of LOTE (my Italian teacher)
[] Counselor Rec: A very nice letter which was also cosigned by all the heads of the school
[] Additional Rec: An INCREDIBLE reference from one of the 2011 Physics Nobel Laureates who also got his PhD in Astrophysics (my intended major) at Harvard!
[] Interview: I personally felt it went worse than any other I’ve had, I came away from it feeling like I had no chance

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Country (if international applicant): Australia
[] School Type: Catholic Girls’ School
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: Female
[li] Income Bracket: Low[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Recommendations, musical, ECs/work exp./volunteering, scores/rank
[] Weaknesses: No sports, interview
[] Why you think you were accepted: I think the Nobel Prize Laureate reference had a lot to do with it, but also probably just because they could see through everything that I really value education and I want to work hard and achieve big things
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Still awaiting responses from Yale, Brown, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton and NYUAD

[/ul]General Comments:
I actually received an early acceptance letter even though I applied RD. Still pretty surprised… Totally unexpected when I was waiting for March 29th! Good luck to everyone else :)

nocensure · March 31, 2012, 9:59am

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2350 Superscore, 2300 one sitting (770 M, 790 CR, 790 W, 12 Essay)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/105
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):45/45 Predicted
[] Senior Year Course Load:IB Maths HL, IB Economics, HL, IB History HL, IB English SL, IB Physics SL, IB French Ab Initio SL
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Cambridge Top in India in IGCSE in IT, felicitation with ex-President in India for achievements in Indian development (microcredit), Times of India Student of the Year, Selected to be part of the official Indian delegation to the 2nd Preparatory Conference for Sustainable Development, chosen to go to Wockhardt though leadership Conference where I had personalized time with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Muhammed Yunus, South Asian Leadership Conference, Many MUN awards[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):President and Founder of Eutopia, a microcredit organisation that has lent hundreds of thousands of dollars
President and Founder of Project Synergy, a network of schools and organisations that work towards sustainable development, over 30 schools and 1300 volunteers.
Editor-in-Chief of School Newspaper
Economics Club President
Head Boy
Varsity Tennis for 4 years
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship at ASA Bangladesh, for microcredit
[] Volunteer/Community service: See Eutopia and Project Synergy
[] Summer Activities: ASA Internship
[] Essays: Excellent
[] Teacher Recommendation: Excellent
[] Counselor Rec: Excellent
[] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: None[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[] Country (if international applicant): India (US Citizen attending High School overseas)
[] School Type: Independent
[] Ethnicity: Indian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: <30,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Unique Extracurriculars, Essays, a great Journey
[] Weaknesses: No Hooks
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Perhaps I should the Stanford “entrepreneur” spirit. Either way, I’m immensely thankful.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Stanford (w/Likely), Brown, Dartmouth, LSE (UK), UCL (UK), Northwestern, Berkeley, UCLA, Warwick (UK), University of Edinburgh (UK)
Waitlisted: Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, UChicago
Rejected: Harvard, UPenn

[/ul]General Comments: To all accepted, a great journey awaits you. To those rejected/waitlisted: The most important thing is hope. I know its hard but don’t lose it. Ever.

nocensure · April 8, 2012, 11:30pm

^mistake. This should be in the regular decision thread. I was deferred early action.

green900 · April 19, 2012, 4:06pm

Hey. First of all congratulations, on ur entrance to harvard. I just became a member of college confidential right now and I’m really just finding my way around the site.
What really struck me was that u mentioned u had very little extra curricular activities, which is something i can relate to heavily. Reply to me if ur willing to help with some questions as I’m thinking of applying to the United States (id like to go for ivy leagues) as i am currently in my first year of a levels in a british curriculum school and am very interested in the united states. Please send me a message to let me know if ur interested in helping me out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

Sombre · April 20, 2012, 1:21am

Here’s some help:

1) Do your own research. When you have questions or you stumble upon something you can’t understand, then make a thread in the relevant section and ask there. You kinda have to do it yourself. It will take long hours, you’ll find yourself frustrated and wondering why you’re even doing it but that’s the way it is. The American educational system is very different to the British one. It’ll take a while to get used to it.

2) [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://educationusa.state.gov/]EducationUSA”>http://educationusa.state.gov/)
Read it. After that, learn what “need-blind”, “need-aware” and “meeting full need” are. You should be able to distinguish between “financial aid”, which is based on “need” and “scholarships”, which are based on “merit”.

3) Maybe you’re a nice person but the tone you use is unnerving and perhaps you might have picked up on that judging by the tone I used when replying to you. If you’d like to be helped, saying something like “Congratulations da di da…yeah, cool…tell me how to do x, y and z and I’ll give you a cookie” won’t get you anyway. Watch films in English or read comic books. I’m not a native English speaker but I speak like a native. Why? Because I not only practiced speaking English, I immersed myself in British and American culture as much as I could, without even setting foot in either country. Do it. If you can find something better, do that instead.

This should set you up nicely. Good luck.

Yeah, you’re welcome.

kinsley · June 28, 2012, 5:01am

hi! everybody, I am a new member and a Vietnamese.I want to apply to Harvard when I graducated highschool,so I hope I make news friends although We live very far! I am Kinsley!

Bonisboy · August 1, 2012, 6:30pm

Dude how the hell did you take that many aps before senior year? Is it important to have that many?

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