Prep School Student from Boston for Georgetown and Harvard

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hello!! I’m currently a rising Senior at a competitive preparatory school in New England with dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. I’m multiracial (Asian, White, and Latina) but have no hook coming from a school with 20+ Ivy legacies and 12+ Ivy athletic commits. My intended major is International Relations with a minor in Physics and I have a UW GPA of 3.77, SAT 1590, ACT 35, and my school does not offer weighting or ranking. I’m a year ahead in math and have taken almost all AP classes I am eligible for! I have 10+ Model UN awards, debate awards, AP Scholar, Academic Recognition, and a National Gold Medal with Scholastic.
ECs: President of Model UN (Nationally Ranked Team), President of Debate, President of Mock Trial, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Political Publication (International), Founder and CEO of Non-Profit (International), Founder and Executive Director of Community Service Public Speaking Program, Two Political/IR Internships, Varsity Field Hockey, Community Service Leader, Student Council
I’m a strong writer so pretty confident in my essay outcomes and will not be applying for financial aid.

I really badly want to attend Harvard or Georgetown, is there anything I could do at this point to improve my positioning?

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About the only additional thing you could do would be related to your intended Physics minor.

If you’ve done any research, there is still time to write it up for entry into ISEF or other competition.

If you haven’t done any research yet, plumb family or school connections to see if you can come up with a summer research internship to produce a project that you could enter in ISEF or other.

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Just a few random thoughts.

Don’t bother reporting the 35 ACT. With a 1590 SAT, why run the risk that you look like a “test drone” by submitting a different test result that is actually lower?

Are you at least 25% Hispanic? Did you take the PSAT and will you qualify for National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP)? No need to hit the schools over the head with your ethnicity, but do not discount it if you are at least 25% Hispanic. It is a hook at Harvard (and likely Georgetown), albeit a relatively minor one.

Last, I would emphasize your interest in physics and any accomplishments in math/science. This is helpful for a female candidate. Physics and IR is an interesting an unexpected combination, I am sure there is a great essay lurking somewhere within the intersection of those two ostensibly different fields.

Best of luck, and congrats on a terrific high school record so far.

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Even though your school doesn’t rank, will the college have ANY idea of where that 3.77 puts you in your class? Many schools that don’t rank will send an accompanying letter explaining what percentile of the class a certain range of GPAs would be. If your GPA puts you in the top quarter of the class, with your SAT score and your ECs, and if you classify yourself as Latina, I think you do have a chance at getting into Harvard and Georgetown.

I wouldn’t worry so much about all the legacies at your school, unless their ECs and GPA are better than yours. Seems as if slightly less than top-rated legacy students are often getting a soft rejection (meaning wait-listed). Your URM status (if you classify yourself as Latina) will help at least as much as their legacy status. Also, legacy status only counts at one or two schools. Athletes can only accept one school. Latina will help you everywhere.

I agree with all that has been said. Don’t submit the ACT. Do try to emphasize your math and science, especially that you’re interested in Physics. In fact, tell schools that you are waivering between IR and Physics, as to which will be your major, and which your minor. I think that at Harvard, you’re more attractive as a woman interested in Physics, than in IR. From your record, I think that IR at Georgetown is your best match.

Apply early action to the one of these that you most want to attend, and in the application, let them know exactly why you intend to go there, what you intend to study, why you want them so badly. Unfortunately, I think that your highest chance of admission to one of these two is if you apply early action to Georgetown, which will mean putting yourself in the regular decision pool for Harvard, which cuts your chances there in half. Show a lot of interest. Contact the teachers whom you want recommendations from now, early on. Cultivate a relationship with your school advisor who will be writing your cover letter.

Can you do a research project this summer with a Harvard or Georgetown faculty member, who might then write an additional letter of recommendation? It can really help if you have a supplemental letter (for a real reason, not just an “I know the family” reason) from faculty at the school. If a faculty member wants you, it can move you from the “Why should we take this person” pile, into the “Faculty member wants her. Can we take her?” pile.

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Before you apply EA to Georgetown, do some research. Applying to Georgetown does not increase your chances of admissions. They defer 90% of their EA applicants. Furthermore, it is restricted EA so you cannot apply EA or ED elsewhere.

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Your CC will be able to chance you for those schools far better than anyone here. At many NE BS, a 3.77 UW GPA is excellent, especially if you have rigor , but your CC will know how that compares to your peers. (I’m guessing yours is a day school.)

I think you have a very decent shot at Georgetown. You won’t be wasting an application at Harvard but it’s virtually impossible to predict an outcome there.

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Does the NHRP still exist ?

My understanding is that the NHRP was replaced by the National Recognition Program for AA/Black, Hispanic/Latina, or rural, small school.

P.S. I do not understand why an applicant would not submit both an ACT score of 35 and an impressive SAT score (1590).

Also, some schools may not accept additional letters of recommendation.

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That’s right, but they still send out letters naming the scholars (I think they are called National Hispanic Scholars and they are eligible to apply for the HSF scholarship - not sure if you need to be NHS to apply, though). I am actually not sure of the exact criteria for Hispanics right now with regard to PSAT scores, we did not focus on that as ours was also NMSF so comfortably qualified.

1 Like
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Not quite at Harvard, the regression coefficients showed about half the boost for Hispanic as for just legacy. But still a sizable bump, with the caveats that each applicant is an individual and that there is no generalized bump that is uniformly applied to any particular hooked candidate, etc.

To put it a bit in context, my informed guess is that OP would fall somewhere in the 8th or 9th decile of the Harvard applicant pool with regard to academics. Hispanics in these deciles are admitted at a rate of about 25%, while Asians would be looking more at approximately 6% (whites around 9%). Legacies (all races combined) in these deciles are around 50% acceptance. These data are getting a little old now, but the pool of talent really hasn’t changed very much at the upper levels, I’d guess those acceptance rates are still ballpark today.

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Claremont McKenna College may be a great school for you to consider for IR & physics. (Harvey Mudd College is a member of this elite 5 school consortium.)

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your competitive prep school probably has a college counselor much more knowledgeable on the admissions process than commentators here, what have they told you?

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Just a clarification, Georgetown’s EA prohibits ED elsewhere, but does not prohibit EA elsewhere.

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