<p>But this one has a purpose. I just improved 360 points on my SAT, and I'm wondering if I should even bother applying to Harvard. What would you say my chance percentage is?</p>
<p>GPA: 97
Took the hardest classes available without taking extra classes over the summer.</p>
<p>SAT:
800 cr
770 ma
750 wr
730 u.s. history</p>
<p>Eagle Scout
Student Council Treasurer (12)
Founder/President of chess club (11-12)
Varsity Tennis (10-12)
J.V. Basketball (9-10)
NHS
High School Leadership Academy (12)
CVS/Pharmacy Technician (11)
Good looking (whole life)</p>
<p>Seriously- one question to consider is how your school has done in past years. Has it sent students to Harvard before? If so, how many in an average year?</p>
<p>No matter what, don't get the attitude that you shouldn't "bother" to apply to Harvard- if you want to go (and this is important- some people think they want to go even when it's not a good match), you should apply, particularly with statistics as good as yours.</p>
<p>It's not that it will hurt you, it's that it's often indicative of lower chances. Harvard considers applicants from different schools differently- after all, different high schools have different levels of difficulty, and a valedictorian at one school might not be as qualified as a student ranked 20th at another school. (I mean no offense to your HS or to you, I'm just speaking statistically. Also, remember that almost all schools in the country rarely send students to Harvard).</p>
<p>Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean your chances of getting in are particularly weaker- plenty of people at Harvard come from schools that send very few students there. My roomate, for example, went to a high school that hadn't sent anyone to Harvard in 30 years. Sometimes, geographical diversity can help you. It depends on a number of factors, some of which include:</p>
<p>Has no one applied to Harvard in years, or have many people applied and not been accepted?
How are acceptance rates for other highly selective schools?
Are you at the top of your class, or close to it?</p>
<p>Also, please keep a sense of perspective about any chance predictions- no one can ever predict your chances very accurately. The best use of these boards is to help you with a specific aspect of your application, not to predict what the admissions office will think of you.</p>
<p>You should also keep a sense of perspective about colleges- are you actually interested in Harvard, or do you just want to apply because of its reputation? Is it really the right place for you? When a few Harvard undergrads complain about some aspect of life at Harvard (something Yale students always love to point out :-) ) I can't help but think that they should have taken a closer look at the school before they applied and enrolled.</p>