post here & I will chance you...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>I've been lurking on CC for months, and I'm tired of reading "chance" threads that I disagree with.</p>

<p>I have been an alum interviewer for Harvard for over 15 years and before that I spent several years as an assistant to a private guidance counselor who worked mostly with high school students. I'm NOT an expert but I do have some experience!!!</p>

<p>Over the years, I've interviewed a bunch of students who should have been admitted to Harvard but weren't. </p>

<p>The handful that have been admitted (that I interviewed) were great candidates</p>

<p>As you all know, getting admitted is a crapshoot and NO ONE should fall in love with Harvard before admitted.</p>

<p>BUT if you would like my opinion on your application, you can post here and I will bluntly tell you my opinion. I will tell you if I think you are wasting your time or are a serious candidate.</p>

<p>I really don't want/need all the details... just the following:</p>

<p>GPA weighted/unweighted,</p>

<h1>of APs/honors/IBs,</h1>

<p>SATs/APs/ACTs,
top 1-3 ECs (please don't list everything you've done, only the top 1-3 that you care about/spent time on)
state,
hooks (URM, first generation, legacy)
race
Significant awards (above school-level)</p>

<p>If you prefer to PM me instead of posting, I will respond.</p>

2

<p>Hello, I don’t have a chance thread but I still have a question:</p>

<p>If I were to apply for Advanced Standing @ Harvard with the intention of obtaining a 4-year Masters, could I apply for scholarships as if I were on the regular 4-year track for a B.S.?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

3

<p>Sorry but I don’t know much about that! I don’t think Harvard financial aid would care as long as you are an undergraduate. Keep in mind that Harvard financial aid is not merit based. (By the way, I don’t believe Harvard awards a BS, only ABs and I’m not aware of any 4 year Masters program, but I could be wrong.)</p>

4

<p>@1987Crimson: You can complete a masters in select fields at Harvard within the 4-year time frame–statistics is often a popular option among students who opt for advanced standing. </p>

<p>Also, SEAS does grant B.S. degrees in engineering; I’m not sure when the practice began. You can still get a B.A. in engineering as well–there are some differences in course requirements, but I don’t have a handbook on hand to consult at the moment.</p>

5

<p>thanks for that info Windcloud!</p>

6

<p>Like the chance seekers will bother to read, haha.</p>

7

<p><i>Like the chance seekers will bother to read, haha. </i></p>

<p>Maybe you are right! But maybe somebody could use (& would listen to) a wake up call. Every year I interview between 4 and 8 applicants. Every year I would say 1/3 to 1/2 are not serious candidates (at least not in the eyes of the adcoms). I wish I could have told all those applicants to save their time & money before I had to waste my time on the interview.</p>

<p>Unfortunately… probably the vast majority of those “no chance” applicants don’t spend their time on CC.</p>

8

<p>I have another question: Do all applicants get an interview, or is it only for the ones that Harvard is interested in?</p>

<p>(from the earlier post)- the major that I had in mind was Chemistry :)</p>

9

<p>I have a couple of questions. First one, do you think being an orthodox Jew is an advantage, disadvantage or neither? Also, I’m transferring from a huge public school to a ridiculously small (50 students) school. It doesn’t offer many APs. Will it look bad? I’m taking all the APs that they offer, but they don’t offer AP Calc or anything like that… My old school had like 20 APs. Does changing look bad?</p>

10

<p>Crimson, could you also give a brief description of what the minimum requirements are to be considered a competitive applicant are? I’d like to save my money too, if I knew I was a “no chance.”</p>

11

<p>Two questions here:</p>

<p>1) Please check out this thread and can you kindly answer my question? XD
(<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1195990-interview-does-actually-increases-your-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1195990-interview-does-actually-increases-your-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>2) Just briefly, what do you mean by “no chance” students?</p>

<p>Thank you for the big help!! :)</p>

12

<p>Tecnomusic-- I’m in a large urban area & every applicant from my area is offered an interview. Everyone.</p>

<p>If you are not offered an interview it won’t hurt you, but if offered & not taken (sans good reason) I think it could hurt. That’s my personal opinion.</p>

13

<p>Judy… I think being an orthodox Jew could be an advantage under one of two scenarios… If you REALLY loved it or really hated it. I think if you had a passion about it, it would stand out in a good way. If you don’t have any such strong feelings I don’t think it would help or hurt. About your school, I don’t think it’s a big deal as long as you are taking the most challenging courses.</p>

14

<p>You said that 1/3 to 1/2 the applicants are not serious candidates. How do you come to this conclusion? </p>

<p>Also, I believe the way you phrase things is downright negative. If you really are an alumni interviewer, I hope you focus on digging out the good qualities of your interviewees, rather than trying to zero in on any red-flag that would disqualify them from the running.</p>

15

<p>Jimmy, as far as interviews go… I’m pretty sure you will be offered one in Riverside.</p>

<p>I know for a fact (my own experience) that interviews CAN help an applicant in some instances. In others instances, it probably wouldn’t matter-- if the applicant were a clear admit or clear reject. I think in most (90%+) cases, the interview has no or negligible impact on the application.</p>

<p>I used to think that Harvard had the alums do the interviews so we would feel connected & “important” and that admissions paid NO attention to our summaries. But as I mentioned, I have had at least one case where I know they paid attention & made a decision partly based upon my report (emphasis PARTLY).</p>

<p>I’ve read on these boards of some nightmare interviews, but I do think (hope) those are rare.</p>

16

<p>I guess I’ll go for the heck of it, no reason not to, I’ve always been curious :)</p>

<p>Perfect GPA, school doesn’t give out weighted/unweighted differences. It’s a 100/100, I guess you could call it weighted.
Every class I have taken has been AP, if not available then honors. I should have 14 AP Scores (including AB subscore) by end of senior year, then the rest of my classes are honors.
SAT IIs: 800 Math II, 800 US History, 780 Chemistry
ACT: 34 (36 Reading, 36 Sci, 34 Math, 29 English, 31 Eng/Writing, 12 Essay)
Chess/Debate most important, spent many hours with each club, going to tournaments at harvard/yale/princeton/state competitions, I have (many) others but on a lesser scale.
New York
No Hooks.
White male.
Merit and AP Scholar are all I can think of. (Commended/Distinction, I have so far 4 '5’s on AP exams and 1 ‘4’). If Debate or chess awards count I’ve won plenty at the regional/local level 1st-4th place, and I’ve won public speaking awards at my school and for outside of school clubs.</p>

17

<p>As far as “no chance”, these usually have to do with students who do not have the grades or test scores. I am the last one to say you that you need perfect grades and perfect SATs… I think a GPA in the top 10% and SATS over 2000 can make most students competitive. But people with mediocre grades (3.3 or lower) and SATs below 2100 are generally not going to be competitive.</p>

<p>I will give you some other examples that come to mind.</p>

<p>A girl who had perfect grades (#1 in the class), but not a pinch of passion about anything. When I got home to write the report, I couldn’t remember a thing about her.</p>

<p>A guy with perfect SATs but not so great grades (probably 3.0ish) who wanted to study accounting at Harvard, who’s main extracurricular was playing some kind of video game.</p>

<p>A girl who came to the interview with her mother, who insisted on sitting in during the interview.</p>

<p>I think a lot of people out there, especially these days with the Common App, just throw that application out there because its so easy.</p>

18

<p>LolCowz, you have good looking stats. You should apply and you should spend some time writing some amazing essays as your ECs are strong but not head-turning.</p>

19

<p>Yeah I thought that was my problem. And I should point out that my school has a thing with grade inflation, so there are quite a bit of us with GPAs like mine. I am mainly worried about my ECs, but I have some other ones like mathletes, political science club that I still attend / have positions in, but nothing crazy.
If it matters, I’m thinking either math, economics, or poli sci, but probably math/econ.
Is double majoring allowed? If so, is it popular or not due to a higher workload or something of that nature?</p>

20

<p>So how would this look like? (I divided my EC competitions into three sections and my awards from those) I really appreciate your time
Math Olympiad: Won a Bronze Medal at the Mexican National Math Olympiad (2010), 4th Place at State competition (2010), and 2nd Place at State Competition (2009).
-Won 2nd place regional (Juarez), selected for state competition(Chihuahua), and preselected for national competition in 2008(Mexico)</p>

<p>Intel ISEF: 1st Place in the regional Science Fair Sun Country in El Paso in the area of High School Level Physics and Astronomy in February 2010.
3rd Place Sweeptakes at the REGIONAL Science Fair Sun Country in El Paso in the area of High School Physical Sciences Project
1st Place in the REGIONAL Science Fair Sun Country in El Paso in the area of High School Level Physics and Astronomy in February 2008.
-4th place (STATE) on the Texas State Science at San Antonio in the area of High School Level Physics and Astronomy in April 2008.</p>

<p>Academic Decathlon (A total of 25 medals)-In the 2010-2011 El Paso, Tx. (Regional) Academic Decathlon Honor Division, I received:
1st Place-Overall Score
1st Place- Super Quiz (Geology)
1st Place-Arts
1st Place- Best Team Member
2nd Place- Mathematics
3rd Place- Social Science
3rd Place- Music

  • 3 Team Medals (All silver)
    -In the 2009-2010 El Paso Academic Decathlon Honor Division, I received:
    1st Place-Super Quiz (French Revolution)
    1st Place-Music
    1st Place- Science (Chemistry)
    1st Place- Best Team Member
    2nd Place- Overall Score
    2nd Place- Language and Literature
    3rd Place- Arts
  • 3 Team Medals
    -In the 2008-2009 El Paso Academic Decathlon Honor Division I received:
    1st Place-Language and Literature
    1st Place- Best Team Member
    3rd Place- Social Science
    5th Place- Overall Competitors Score</p>

<p>AP Exams:
AP Spanish Language-5
AP United States History-3
AP English Language and Composition-3
AP Art History-3
AP English Literature and Composition-3
AP United States Government and Politics-3
AP Calculus AB-5
AP Spanish Literature-5
AP Awards: AP Scholar with Honor (2010), AP Scholar with Distinction (2011)</p>

<p>SAT Scores: Math 800, Critical Reading 600, Writing 650 Composite 2050
Math 790, Critical Reading 590, Writing 600 Composite 1970</p>

<p>SAT II Scores: Math Level II 740, Chemistry (October 2011), Literature (October 2011), Physics (October 2011)</p>

<p>GPA: 97.9 (Unweighted), 101.1 (Weighted), I would say my GPA is about 3.89-4.0, I looked at the GPA Conversion Scale and it turns out to be something like that or very close to it.</p>

<p>Salutatorian and International Student (Mexican)</p>

<p>+1350 hours of Community Service by Helping Kids at a Summer Camp, Math Tutoring, being involved with the Church, and instructing Health Issues for kids at a hospital</p>

<p>President of the Science Club, Vice-President of the Class, member of the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, and National Hispanic Honor Society, Chess Club, Soccer Team</p>

<p>I speak both English and Spanish with fluency</p>

<p>I have worked on three research projects on my own, which were reviewed by several regional college professors of the area and offered me scholarships to do my Master’s as they thought I was a graduate student while in reality I was in High School)</p>

<p>Plus I read about 20-30 books per year (all of these different to the subjects mentioned above)</p>