<p>wk725, as others have said, you seem to overestimate yourself quite a lot. You sound like a perfectly average Harvard applicant, if not a little below-par. Your ACT score is good, but not particularly impressive. Your extracurriculars are very generic.</p>
<p>Child or not, your chances of getting into Harvard are slim. Big deal. Accept it, adjust your expectations, come up with a realistic game plan, and move on.</p>
<p>I don’t know your situation, so I won’t comment. What I will say is this: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Go for it, but keep in mind that your Harvard dream may not come true. Besides, everything happens for a reason, and I’m sure there is a pretty good reason surrounding all of this that will reveal itself later on in your life.</p>
<p>I am sorry, but the arguments you put forth here and the manner in which you express yourself… You should have a talk with baby daddy and your parents and see what your better options are. And, close to home.</p>
<p>Harvard had over 30,000 apps this year and accepted 6+%. Most of the great schools had admit percentages somewhere under 12%. I read for admissions at an Ivy and can tell you that, to get in, kids have to be darned sharp, motivated, productive- and there has to be a strong prediction of success at that school. We can suppose you won’t have the level or depth of ECs that fellow applicants will have. (A little of this or that, perhaps, if mom, dad and baby daddy cooperate.) Nor external experience in a science field. Nor trips for math-science competitions. Nor time-intensive leadership roles.</p>
<p>*do you people not realize that chances INCREASE as strength of application increases? * Says who? Remember I read for an Ivy. #1, your application will not be so all-fired strong without the full round of experiences, academic and other, expected by the tippy top schools. #2, your chances actually decrease, as you move through the rounds. 30,000 might include 15,000 bogus aplications- so you have 1 of 2 chances to pass to round two. In the middle rounds, they cull harder. The remaining 15000 needs to be whittled down to a couple of thousand for the freshman class. So, the effective rate is 1 of 7. More or less.</p>
<p>About your “elite school” and standing there: elite means different things to adcoms. If your school is rigorous, with a high level of suport and opportunities, more will be expected of you by adcoms. If elite simply means lots of rich kids, then a high gpa is less meaningful.</p>
<p>Btw, how will your elite react when you are pregnant this fall? Will they give you full support, great letters of rec, great attention on the high school’s parts of your apps? Or?</p>
<p>Sorry, this is harsh. We are waiting for you to offer some evidence of recognition of your situation.</p>
<p>“Elite” = intensively rigorous</p>
<p>Idreamofparis: I saw your chance thread; nothing at all screams great about your ECs. Sorry.</p>
<p>And to everyone saying not to put all my eggs in one basket: I HAVE BACKUPS. I am going to shoot for the moon, and even if I miss, land among the stars. The point is, I’m not going to give up my dream of going to at least a top-ten school.</p>
<p>How do you expect to “fit in” with the traditional students of Harvard or any other top 20 or top tier school as a young mother? Unless you are an absolute social butterfly as well as doing well, you will probably become isolated because of your situation. Even if you aren’t, can you imagine enjoying yourself there? Will you have the time to take care of your child? Will the father have time? Will the father be willing to move to Boston for your Harvard dream (or any other school)? If you don’t stay together, how will you handle custody? Does he want to go to school in Boston? Would your parents and his parents finance this child for the next X amount of years and your education, living costs, etc? </p>
<p>You are a great student. A great student can excel and make opportunities at ANY school, not just a top 20. Broaden the range of your perspective schools. Look for schools close to home (maybe the university you will be attending this summer). Realize that this child WILL CHANGE everything, including your ability to go after your dream school and employment goals.</p>
<p>Good luck, though. I hope informing the father and both your and his parents about this pregnancy goes well.</p>
<p>P.S. My ACT/SAT scores were taken SOPHOMORE YEAR. I plan, like everybody else, to study to get these up to 35+/2300+!</p>
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<p>It’s really discouraging that you read my entire post and were compelled to post MORE information to assure yourself that you’re Harvard material rather than give someone who JUST went through admissions any credit. You can list your ECs all day and I’ll still be a stronger applicant who got rejected or waitlisted at schools less prestigous than Harvard. You’re just not understanding how difficult it is to get in.</p>
<p>Admissions will be humbling for you, I’ll say that. You should accept at least some of the words people are sharing rather than accepting only what supports your own beliefs. That’s called a confirmation bias and is very unhealthy.</p>
<p>But that’s not even the issue here. Sigh.</p>
<p>Paris: He and his family have even stricter, traditional Christian beliefs than mine. You don’t have to refute every single thing I say.</p>
<p>You came on CC to ask for advice, but all you seem to be doing is insulting everyone who says something you don’t want to hear. I’ve read a lot of good advice in this thread that you’ve completely (and rudely) disregarded. You seem to think you know more about motherhood, school, morals, and Harvard than everyone else on here. Great! So why are you still here?</p>
<p>You think this’ll make them happy if they have strict Christian morals…?</p>
<p>Pancake: Perhaps YOU have been overestimating yourself. You obviously didn’t fit their criteria. Don’t take out your dissatisfaction on me. I’ll have you know, generally the top ten students from my school are shoo-ins at the Ivies (I believe I’m 4/350). I have over a year to improve. I have leadership as well as depth in my field of interest already. I’m not a Harvard adcom, but I’m confident I’ll get into at least a few top tier schools.</p>
<p>@worried I, like you don’t put all of my ECs out there, and I don’t specify. It’s fun to rebut every word you say because you are so uninformed… Learn something about the world why don’t you? </p>
<p>And if his parents are morally driven… Who’s to say they aren’t going to hate you? Not support you? Maybe even shun you? </p>
<p>You’re ridiculous…</p>
<p>I see no reason for you to eliminate yourself from the possibility of getting into a selective school. Do go for it. Just cover your bases. As you can tell from the remarks here, you are not going to get 100% acceptance much less leeway for your situation. You did make a very big mistake that is going to affect many lives, particularly yours and your child’s. This is not something that is going to be well received by many people. </p>
<p>As for all of your insistence on being Catholic, you certainly are not a very good one, getting into the situation you are. </p>
<p>I am very sorry for both your parents and your partner’s parents. This is the sort of thing all of us parents fear.</p>
<p>They are certainly not like that. I will say again, you don’t know me. You don’t know my life. To his parents, I’m like another daughter.</p>
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<p>Sigh… You’re setting yourself up for a fall if you genuinely believe that your school’s name is what got those people in.</p>
<p>And you people do realize you gain weight during pregnancy right…?</p>
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<p>This has nothing to do with me. I knew I didn’t fit their criteria. I wasn’t expecting good news from any of them. I was realistic. I was ranked 2 in a school of 650 where the #4 is going to Stanford and the #7 is going to Yale. I’m trying to make you realistic. </p>
<p>But regardless, as I said, it’s not easy to do well in a school like Harvard or any other top tier school. I mean, a Harvard poll showed that 10% of undergrads had seriously considered suicide as a result of the academics.</p>
<p>It is totally beyond me why you would sacrifice the opportunity to go to just a decent school (probably for free, with your credientials) and give your child the attention he deserves, just to follow this childhood fantasy of going to Harvard where your child would fall on the backburner to a rigorous workload and life would be a serious struggle. Are you that selfish?</p>
<p>Ghostt, you don’t know what my school is. If I’m in the top half academically of a particular sect of people who consistently are accepted, I’d beg to differ that I have a good shot.</p>
<p>Do you want us to tell you that you are a great student, great Catholic, great prospect, sensitive future mom, etc? Most of us are trying to help you understand reality. You think you are going to land in the stars. So did plenty of 2300-2400 kids with last fall’s ED and April’s notices. The measure of your maturity is how you face REALITY. Not how high you set your sights, as a 16year old. You are pregnant and arguing with us that you can achieve everything or at least plenty. </p>
<p>Take your moral and religious lessons and convictions to heart.</p>
<p>WK725, I think you are really underestimating how much work a baby is and how little time you will have for other activities. I do somewhat agree with earlier posters who say that there is also a moral issue expecting someone else to take care of your baby for 10-12 hours a day while you pursue an academic dream and the ECs you would need for a school like Harvard. And if you have the baby yourself in the evening and at night, don’t think that you are going to get a lot of studying or sleep. Babies are a crazy/insane amount of work, 24x7. Then once you go to Harvard (or a college away from home), you would have to rely on someone else who isn’t family to take care of the baby while you are at classes/studying/activities. You should check on the cost of childcare, it is very expensive. And you will likely have a hard time leaving this little person who is your responsibility for that many hours a day.</p>
<p>If you are going to have this baby and keep it (no judgement, just saying that you have a range of options), you need to be thinking more about how you are going to get a solid education and job to support the baby long term than about your “dream” school. There are thousands of colleges (doesn’t have to be a CC) where you can get a degree with a marketable major. Staying near your family will provide a support system. Also… the baby’s dad probably gets a legal say in this as well. You can’t assume that you can just move away with the baby.</p>
<p>One option you might consider is a women’s college. They tend to be very supportive of non-traditional students, which you will be.</p>
<p>One of the inevitable consequences of having kids is trading in some dreams for yourself for the sake of your kids. That is one reason adults tell you to hold off on sex and marriage and having kids until you are older, to give you a chance to realize your own dreams before you have to worry about more than one person/life in the equation of fulfilling them. If you are mature enough to have a baby and keep it, then you have to start putting the baby first and your needs second. If you refuse to do that, think hard about adoption; there are a lot of families out there who are willing to put the baby’s needs first in their lives.</p>