Please Chance a Typical Asian!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Quick stats:</p>

<p>~~~~~~~~~~~
Academics:</p>

<p>~4.5 GPA (4.0 Unweighted)
Probably #1 in class of 600, but school doesn't rank
2400 SAT
800 Chem, 790 US History
US History (5), Chem (5), Bio (5), English Lang (5), Euro (5), Calc AB (5)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Debate Club (Founder and Captain)
Mock Trial (Captain), were district champs last year
Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief)
Asian Culture Club (President)
Student Council (Secretary 10th grade)
Science Olympiad (9th and 10th grade)
Bboy Club
Tennis (JV 9th grade)
Violist (Principal at Temple Youth Chamber Orchestra)</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>2-Time Finalist in US National Chemistry Olympiad (Top 20 students in country)
Rotary Speech Contest Winner
Other small local awards</p>

<p>Volunteer:</p>

<p>Minimal (40 hrs at most at elderly residence)</p>

<p>Work:</p>

<p>Intern at UPenn cancer research lab currently
Intern at chemistry lab in Shanghai for a summer
Waitor at sushi and hibachi place for a summer
SAT tutor currently</p>

<p>Misc:</p>

<p>I am an asian male and rising senior. My school is a 1800-student public high school. Relatively new and higher middle-income, but not established (nobody's ever gone to Harvard, one person a year generally gets into UPenn). I live in Pennsylvania.
~~~~~~~~~~~</p>

<p>What are my chances for Harvard? Am I the typical Asian applicant? How can I improve my chances from here? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>those are some pretty standard ECs for an asian no offense. The 2400 should be enough for some top schools though.</p>

3

<p>Gah you asians are like superhumans! I’m still trying to figure out how you do it. I dont mean to offend you. Sorry if I do. ANYWAYS, after what i’ve seen on here, im gonna have to agree with Sheep. There was one asian guy that had a resume from the east coast to the west coast and he got in. He was amazing. But yeah you should get in some top schools. Make sure you have a great essay and good recommendations (:</p>

4

<p>Gah, the previous two comments aren’t very helpful. You definitely are in the tier they’ll seriously consider: beyond that, who knows? Sorry not to give you anything definite, but I don’t think there’s anything definite to give. (Also, make sure that your letter-writers know enough about you to write LORs that are not just “He’s smart and hard-working and ranked number 1.” Your letters should make you look interesting! Offer to answer any questions they have that would be helpful for them to write you a letter, if they didn’t give you a list of questions when you asked, as was common practice at my high school.)</p>

5

<p>@exultationsy: on the topic of improving recommendations, what exactly should I be looking for? my biology teacher wrote me a LOR for a program and let me see it before. It was along the lines of “taught for 20 years, confident in saying this student is the top student.” Problem was, no real specifics it seemed…</p>

6

<p>Woww. I’m Asian as well and it seems like I have NO chance AT ALL from what I’m seeing here. The 2400 should help out a lot, and your extracurriculars seem to be in par with many other applicants, if not above them. I’d say you have a pretty good chance - but that’s just me. Haha.</p>

7

<p>If you don’t go to Harvard you will be the one who goes to Penn.</p>

8

<p>@OP Do they know you? Can they point out why you’re the best student? That’s pretty much the question to which the whole rest of this post is addressed. </p>

<p>How to get them to know you:
I made a point to go bother my physics (AP Physics B) teacher a couple times about questions I had about a news article about physics I had seen, and about how one of the principles we had just learned confused my understanding of the vacuum of outer space. Then, in his letter for me, he was able not just to say “Exul is a pretty good student in my class, though definitely not the top,” but “Exul is a pretty good student in my class, though definitely not the top, but is a humanities geek interested enough in the subject to read news articles about physics, and curious enough to come ask me about seeming inconsistencies beyond the scope of the class’s graded subject matter.” Something like that, where they can back up the positive qualities about you they’re pointing out with specific stories. (Even, like, so-and-so went way above and beyond the call of grades in studying, I was very impressed. Or, so-and-so was always a leader of class discussions, even when everybody else seemed pretty sleepy. Just, anything where they have to spend at least a sentence to personify you, rather than giving you a one-word adjective of “hard-working” or something.) If you didn’t do anything unusual other than ace their classes, I’d go ask them if there’s any information you could give them to help them write a better letter for you. Be prepared to talk about how you’re passionate about chemistry outside of school or whatnot.</p>

<p>If they know you and it doesn’t show (mostly about the bio letter you mentioned): Is he/she planning to use that exact one for colleges? If so, that’s awkward, dunno exactly what to advise. If they’re planning to update it, I might be like “And when you showed it to me last time, I was a little bit concerned that it seemed general. (segue into what-can-I-provide-you-to-help-with-that)”</p>

<p>That advice is pretty much how to do what I did with letters. I might have gone a bit over the top, but I was also compensating for a slightly lacking GPA/class rank (I think). You aren’t. So I think you’ll be fine even if you end up with slightly more general letters than I did.</p>

<p>PS Make sure to write your teachers thank you notes and let them know how it all shakes down in the spring. (Or fall, if you’re applying early.)</p>

9

<p>Because of making the chem olympiad finals, you stand an excellent chance. I think it’ll put you over the top. You should apply to Yale too; I think they see less science candidates than Harvard does.</p>

10

<p>I made UNSCO (also 800/5 in chemistry), do you think that will put me over the top?</p>

11

<p>Your stats are pretty stellar, man. Although they’re very Asian (for crying out loud, you’re a bboy!), your academic track record is perfect and you seem to be good at the ECs that you do. You’re definitely a top candidate for Harvard; what makes or breaks your app now is essays and teacher recommendations. Kill those, and you’ll likely be greeted with an envelope from Cambridge with the words “Congratulations” inside.</p>

12

<p>Well, it seems that you have very likely met the necessary or “minimum” requirements for a very selective college, including H. Are they sufficient, though? Here are my 2 cents for your thought and reference only - See below (in capital letters):</p>

<p>Quick stats:</p>

<p>~~~~~~~~~~~
Academics: VERY GOOD, BUT COULD BE BETTER WITH MORE APs AND/OR COLLEGE COURSES - YOU NEED TO SHOW YOU HAVE USED ALL THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND CHALLENGED YOURSELF WITH RIGOR TO THE MOST POSSIBLE MAXIMUM</p>

<p>~4.5 GPA (4.0 Unweighted) VERY GOOD, BUT THIS NEEDS TO BE LOOKED MORE CLOSELY WITHIN RELEVANT CONTEXT - HAVE YOU REALLY CHALLENGED YOURSELF? </p>

<p>Probably #1 in class of 600, but school doesn’t rank HOW DID YOU KNOW IF THERE IS NO RANKING AT ALL? IT WON’T BE CONVINCING WITHOUT OFFICIAL SUPPORTS.</p>

<p>2400 SAT VERY GOOD, BUT AGAIN THIS IS ONLY ONE OF THE MANY FACTORS. ALSO REMENBER THAT STATISTICALLY YOU’LL BE COMPARED WITH WHITES AT 2200s AND BLACKS OR LATINOS AT 2000s WITH OTHER EQUIVALENT COMPETITIVENESS.</p>

<p>800 Chem, 790 US History SAME AS ABOVE</p>

<p>US History (5), Chem (5), Bio (5), English Lang (5), Euro (5), Calc AB (5) GOOD, BUT IT SEEMS YOU SHOULD HAVE ENOUGH CAPABILITY TO TAKE MORE THAN 6 APs - IT SEEMS NOT A LOT FOR A TYPICAL ASIAN BOY AIMING TO THE TOP. HOW MANY APs DOES YOUR SCHOOL OFFER? HOW MANY APs DO THE OTHER TOP STUDENTS IN YOUR SCHOOL TAKE? SO, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SENIOR COURSES ARE WELL LOADED.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: WHAT DID YOU REALLY DO AND HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SPENT FOR EACH AND EVERY OF THESE ACTIVITIES? HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY TO YOU (AND TO YOUR SCHOOL, PEERS, AND/OR COMMUNITY)? WHAT ARE YOUR REAL PASSION(S) AND/OR FOCUS(ES)? THE MORE SPECIFIC, THE BETTER.</p>

<p>Debate Club (Founder and Captain) VERY GOOD AND HELPFUL
Mock Trial (Captain), were district champs last year VERY GOOD
Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief) VERY GOOD - PROVIDED THAT IT MAKES A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE GENERAL CAMPUS LIFE AND TO YOUR PEERS.
Asian Culture Club (President) - DEPENDS
Student Council (Secretary 10th grade)
Science Olympiad (9th and 10th grade) WHY NOT CONTINUE?
Bboy Club
Tennis (JV 9th grade) SEEMS WEAK IN SPORTS
Violist (Principal at Temple Youth Chamber Orchestra) - DEPENDS, MAY HELPFUL</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>2-Time Finalist in US National Chemistry Olympiad (Top 20 students in country) GREAT - BUT AGAIN, WHY HAVE YOU NOT DONE WITH MORE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS?</p>

<p>Rotary Speech Contest Winner GOOD, CONSISTENT WITH YOUR DEBATE CLUB</p>

<p>Other small local awards CAN SOME OF THEM REVEAL YOUR PASSION(S)/FOCUSE(S)?</p>

<p>Volunteer:</p>

<p>Minimal (40 hrs at most at elderly residence) WEAK, AND WILL NEED SOME SORT OF EXPLENATIONS, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND/OR SUPPLEMENTS</p>

<p>Work: OK - THIS MAY PROVIDE REASONABLE JUSTIFICATIONS</p>

<p>Intern at UPenn cancer research lab currently WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY DO, AND HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SPENT? IS IT RELEVANT TO YOUR ACADEMIC INTERESTS?</p>

<p>Intern at chemistry lab in Shanghai for a summer SAME AS ABOVE</p>

<p>Waitor at sushi and hibachi place for a summer VERY GOOD - IS IT A PAID JOB? DO YOU NEED TO SUPPORT YOUR FAMILY IN ANY WAY? IF SO, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT? IF NOT, WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM THIS EXPERIENCE? AGAIN, HOW MUCH TIME IS INVOLVED? IF IT’S SIGNIFICANT, NO NEEDS TO WORRY ABOUT THE OBVIOUS WEAKNESS IN VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITIES.</p>

<p>SAT tutor currently IS THIS A PAID JOB OR VOLUNTEERING WORK? HOW MUCH TIME IS SPENT? ANY GOOD RESULTS OF YOUR WORK? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS?</p>

<p>Misc:</p>

<p>I am an asian male and rising senior. My school is a 1800-student public high school. Relatively new and higher middle-income, but not established (nobody’s ever gone to Harvard, one person a year generally gets into UPenn). I live in Pennsylvania.


&lt;p&gt;What are my chances for Harvard? Am I the typical Asian applicant? How can I improve my chances from here? Thanks! &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;SORRY IT SEEMS I HAVE HAD MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS, BUT I SINCERELY HOPE THEY MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN SOME WAY.  BEING AN ASIAN BOY IS EXTREMELY TOUGH WHEN YOU TRYING TO GET INTO A TOP COLLEGE.  BUT IT IS DOABLE.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;GOOD LUCK!&lt;/p&gt;