Official Harvard University 2017 RD Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
61

<p>Accepted
Posting on behalf of D</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown):2170 - 800M, 700R, 670 W
ACT: 34 - 35M, 35R, 31S, 9W
SAT II: 750 APUSH, 800 Math2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/800
AP (place score in parenthesis):4 APUSH, 4 Chem, 4 English - taking 8 more next month
Senior Year Course Load: All AP - Psych, Calc, Physics, Spanish, Lit, Government/Econ, Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):NMF
Subjective: Lots of school awards, ASMA tests, AMC math test
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 year V swimmer (captain Sr year), Speech team - Internation Extemp 2 years state winning team, 2 years symphony orch, student government, NHS, MUNUC
Job/Work Experience: full time lifeguard every summer, paid asst. middle school swim coach, 5-6 hours a week lifeguard at school
Volunteer/Community service: not too much outside of required hours for clubs, swim coach
Summer Activities: worked
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 - wrote about t-shirt collection and how it portrayed my life experiences; 8- wrote about women opression with quotes from HalfThe Sky by Nick Kristoff and gave personal story
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details)
Teacher Rec #1: 10 - global issues teacher - very personal and candid and he explained how she matured over years with speaking skills<br>
Teacher Rec #2:8- freshman math teacher who she remains in close contact with explaining her rigorous schedule and classes
Counselor Rec: 10- stellar, personal, has known her for 4 years
Additional Rec: 9 - swimming coach explained her leadership and determination - she never made a state cut but helped team as a whole
Interview: Awkward but friendly
State (if domestic applicant): IN
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: mixed - caucasion/Asian Indian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: less than 55,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc: none
Reflection: This was not really first choice school and very pleased. Super financial package. I think the rec letters helped a lot
Strengths: GPA, some test scores, T-shirt essay showing her diversity
Weaknesses: volunteer hours
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ??
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted IU, Purdue, Wash-U St. Louis, ASU; Waitlisted to rejected SCEA Princeton, Stanford, Yale
General Comments: I think my D would have done just fine at IU or Purdue but Harvard and Wash-U have offered her enough financial aid to make it almost less inexpensive than our state schools. Will visit next week WUSTL and H and decide after that. Worried about stress level as a mom. The waiting and application process was hard but encourage all to apply to a variety of schools as it can be a crapshoot.</p>

62

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 1870 CR 650 M 610 W 610
[</em>] ACT: 29
[<em>] SAT II: Chem 670 USH 650
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/125
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (4) English Lang (4) USH (4)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP US Gov, AP Calc AB, Physics, Anatomy
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] AP Scholar, school and community awards
Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tutoring, Babysitting, National Honor Society, Science Honor Society
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Babysitting
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, and other service over 500 hrs
[<em>] Summer Activities: Babysitting, Harvard SSP 2012, Art classes
[</em>] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App essay was cute, funny, and personal. Everyone loved it.
[<em>] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: Good[/li][</em>] Teacher Rec #2: Good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Good
[</em>] Additional Rec:[/ul]
[<em>] Interview:[/list]
Yes
Other[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[<em>] Country (if international applicant):
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Black
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: Low
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]URM, low income, first generation American, first generation college, female in science, art </p>

<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Grades, Essays, hooks
[</em>] Weaknesses: SATs and lack of leadership
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Low SATs, no leadership, low acceptance rate
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Accepted St. John’s, SUNY Albany, CUNY Macaulay Honors, UMiami, Cornell (Likely letter), Boston U, Johns Hopkins, NYU
Waitlisted Princeton, Brown
Rejected Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Stanford</p>

<p>General Comments:</p>

63

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (CR: 800, M: 690 W: 750)
[</em>] ACT: Did not take
[<em>] SAT II: US History: 760, English Lit: 740, French: 800
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6 unweighted (VERY high upward trend)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No rank (I’d say top 10%)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lit (5), US History (5), Microeconomics (5), English Lang (5) (self-studied all exams–school didn’t offer AP courses)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, AP Euro History, AP Comp. Sci, AP French, Physics, English 12
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor and a couple of high school awards</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Club (no positions but my partner and I are the club’s main debaters in local/international competitions), Dramatic Society (lead roles in big school performances), Literary Magazine (Editor-In-Chief), Varsity Soccer (Captain), Varsity Volleyball (Captain), Environmental Club (advisor to president), Student Leader (2 years only)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Internship at local industrial design company
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Peer-Tutoring for elementary kids (2 years)
[</em>] Summer Activities: UCLA Summer Session (college courses), Ivy Scholars Program at Yale University
[<em>] Essays: Common App: Felt very good about the essay! Supplement: didn’t feel as good about it at first but then realized it was pretty good (maybe too self-critical sometimes)
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read. One said it was the best he ever wrote and the other one was probably very good, too! Both teachers taught me for 4 years so I’m sure they had a lot to say about me.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read–> probably very good because he knows the students pretty well
[</em>] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: Went really well!</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[</em>] Intended Major: Political Science and Economics
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Morocco
[<em>] School Type: Private school
[</em>] Ethnicity: Berber/Arab (white)
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Too high for financial aid
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, diverse ethnicity and upbringing? (Berber/Arab growing up in an international environment and speaking Arabic, French, and English)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Deep commitment to my extracurricular activities (4+ years for all activities), my essays (felt like they captured my personality, writing skills, and approach to life), taught myself AP courses and got 5s on the tests in a school with no honors or AP courses (I guess it shows some initiative)
[</em>] Weaknesses: low overall GPA (low grades in freshman year), relatively low SAT Math score
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I seriously have no idea! Shocking after seeing so many accomplished and qualified students rejected/waitlisted! I wish you all the best, guys!
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UPenn, UChicago, Duke, Williams, Wesleyan, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Boston College, BU, NYU, Brandeis, Emory, UMass Amherst
Rejected: Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Georgetown.
[/ul]General Comments: I honestly was not expecting acceptance! I feel like US colleges really showed their commitment to the “you’re more than just your grades” mantra. And I hope that my acceptance will serve as a reminder to all high school students that a relatively low GPA does NOT mean you should lose all hope. This process can be very random, so you can never know how it’s going to end up. But pursue what you love with passion and you’ll always be rewarded for it! Good luck to everyone and thank you CC!</p>