**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (Superscore: 680 CR 800 M 720 W) took it three times lol (didn’t send)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 M, 35 R, 35 E, 36 S, 9 on essay)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II: 780, US History: 670 (didn’t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% I think I am 3/285
AP (place score in parentheses): 5’s: US History, AP Calculus AB subscore (that’s it)
4’s: French, English Lang, World History, AP Calculus BC
3: Chemistry, Physics 1
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, AP Econ, AP English, AP Bio, AP Physics II, Senior Independent Project
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing very competitive, Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar Distinction,$1000 Mid-Atlantic Lasallian Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Leadership, several school awards, got a CTY scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins one summer
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Listed on app:
Heart for Vietnam Children’s Initiative [10-12]: Founded and directed an unofficial non-profit organization with my dad that focuses on providing educational and nutritional resources, funding WASH construction, etc. for underprivileged schools in Vietnam. Over 2,000+ impacted in four Vietnamese cities
Baltimore Youth Project [11-12): Founded and directed an initiative/club that collaborates with Baltimore City schools and organizations to develop and provide workshops, curriculum, etc, specifically on nutrition and art.
Service [9-12]:
Research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Urban Health Institute [11-12]: Researched the effects of low-income and food-insecure household environments on the brain and behavior (submitted to Intel). For UHI, I helped the director find local researchers at nearby universities in order to collaborate with them. My experience at Hopkins has been great, especially since the public health school is right across the street. The conferences there really sparked my interest in public health.
Work (paid) [9-12]: See job/work experience
Boy Scout since 6th grade: Eagle Scout, was an Assistant senior patrol leader, troop guide
Varsity Soccer [11-12]: Two year letterman, helped manage team. We were ranked #33 nationally for a while and #2 in state (#1 in state was also #1 nationally)
Job/Work Experience: I have been paid to tutor kids for test prep and also babysat my cousins since freshman year. I started a small lawn service business to raise money for HVCI.
Volunteer/Community Service: mentioned above there was a lot (1000+). Service really opened doors for me. That was what my essay was about. I have learned so much from service and it has shaped my life tremendously. I have assisted in filling cavities, taught classes in front of freshmen, served food, etc. All of these experiences helped me so much in finding my passion
Summer Activities: Habitat build in New Orleans after 9th grade, in eastern shore of Virginia (after 10th), visited Stanford, Boy Scout jamboree, volunteered at camp for city kids (after 9th grade)
Volunteered in a hospital pharmacy after 10th, took a public health class at Hopkins, raised money for HVCI, volunteered a lot, worked, took care of my mom, etc.
After 11th: research at hopkins, volunteered at a camp, finding partnerships for BYP, fundraised, etc.
Essays:
To be completely honest with you, I thought my essays were my weakest part especially since I had to edit them a few weeks later. These past few weeks I have been scrutinizing every single phrase, etc.
Common App: solid 8.5/10 I wrote about how I performed CPR on my mom in the middle of the night and took care of when she had a stroke and cancer. These experiences led me to help out at a food drive and then the rest is history. Service became very important to me and I wrote about how much it helped me understand my community and the world while pushing me to always be positive and grateful and a role model for others. The neighborhood I grew up in Baltimore is notorious for murders. My grandfather was shot when I was a child. My uncles were mugged several times and I faced a lot of bullying in school while caring for cousins who lived with me and my ill mother. Service helped me get through that. It was my solace to say the least.
Harvard extra-curricular: 8/10 I thought it was alright. Talked about HVCI but felt it was too detailed.
Harvard supplement: 7/10 Talked about my childhood battle with obesity, homer simpson, anthony bourdain, leftover quesadillas, but I felt it didn’t express my personality that well.
Teacher Recommendations: I didn’t read any of them, so i can’t say. My history teacher is the director of this honors program at my school and knows me very well and the work I have been doing. He has helped me a lot and I can always say or do anything with them (9.5/10).
My english teacher is very uncoventional and english has always been my weakest class, but I worked my butt off (8.5/10)
Third from retired math teacher: 7.5/10)
Counselor Rec: 10/10 she loved me even though I switched over at the end of last year.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: Idk tbh, i thought it was one of the weaker parts of my application even though we talked for nearly an hour and a half. We had very different personalities to say the least, but I learned a lot about Harvard.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration:Biology with a concentration in urban studies and global/public health
State (if domestic applicant): the old line state (MD)
Country (if international applicant): USA USA USA
School Type: private, catholic
Ethnicity: Viet swag (Asian)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen, low-income, personal hardships (see above)
Reflection
Strengths: EC’s (even though I didn’t have a four-year commitment for a lot of them but they showed my passion), Common app essay, some recs, test scores
Weaknesses: Supplement essays, didn’t send two SAT subject scores, lack of major awards, lack of 5’s on APs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my passion for Baltimore, children, and food showed through. I had personal struggles and talked about how they changed me and made me who I am today. My recs, even though I say they weren’t good, probably got me through as well.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: RD: USC, Duke, JHU, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford.
Applied: UMD, UCLA, Berkeley and UVA
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Just wanted to first say congrats to all who were accepted! I can’t wait to meet you one day. For those deferred, there is still a glimmer of hope. You have so much to offer and will be so happy in three months I can guarantee it. Never think of this as a dead end. I applied for Questbridge and was heartbroken to not be selected as a finalist. I had Stanford as my dream school for so long, but after Questbridge decisions, I rethought everything and saw that Harvard was the best option for me especially since I want to pursue public health studies. This is a hurdle to your road to success. Never give up, be yourself, love life, pray to God, and always be grateful and passionate. Being unique can overcome weaknesses in academics.
I always had hope, but there are so many people out there who deserve more this me. I just give thanks to God and my family. I hope this post can help someone along the way. Never feel discouraged. Be proud of yourself that’s all that matters!.
