<p>Sorry for this-- I'm in a real weird situation and have spent hours and hours trying to find a forum with even a remotely similar topic to help me out, but I haven't found one, so here goes my question....</p>
<p>I'm a student who had exemplary academics, International-calibre extracurriculars, stellar SAT scores, finished up at a feeder school and comes from an interesting personal story + URM background. I was very interested in going to Harvard up until the last year of my high school when I got really sick, totally disengaged from everything, and am basically in a situation where I'm on a gap year and will be retaking my IB exams this November. </p>
<p>Harvard will look at everything-- not just my retake IB exams, but my original ones as well. Would you say that having messed up my final year of high school and having to redo it-- even for a legitimate reason-- is enough to get completely ruled out for Harvard admission? </p>
<p>Essays and other things I haven't started, but I will, and I'm confident that I'll be able to work hard and churn out some good ones. </p>
<p>I'm just terrified that I've really just completely thrown away any chance at a good school (even beyond Harvard or another Ivy) because of this.</p>
<p>You didn’t go into much detail here, which is understandable, but that makes it hard to gauge your situation. As Gibby said, you should look to have this issue addressed by those who write your recs as to put you in the best light possible.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice-- it’s easing my worries a little, but I’m still a little anxious. I’ll do my best to talk to my guidance counsellor about it. </p>
<p>To give you a slightly clearer picture of my situation… My IB score is independent from my GPA, so in some ways my GPA will remain intact, but for many universities my IB score will replace my GPA; my first three years of high school will just look like ‘academic history’ versus my more recent, cripplingly low IB score.</p>
<p>Maybe this isn’t the right place to ask this, but would stellar SAT scores, drastically improved IB score, and a counsellor’s letter be enough to convince admissions officer’s I do possess the intellectual capacity to succeed in a rigorous academic environment? The rest of my application really is very sound, and the program I was enrolled in prior to my IB was very selective and catered to ‘gifted youth’ within my school district. </p>
<p>I just thought I’d add this for anyone who is a little sceptical about my motivations: To start, I know there are other universities. It’s just that, all by my own volition, I’ve worked immensely hard to get myself to where I am today. I’ve had my heart set on it all by myself for so long. I promise, Harvard attracts me for reasons besides a name. I’m interested in being surrounded by the sorts of students top tier universities attract-- I’m not naive enough to think the only thing I’d get out of a college education is a diploma with a nice name on it. It just wounds me a bit to think all the preparation I did is going to be squandered by something that was outside of my control like an illness.</p>
<p>What you have to get over is the notion that based on your hard work and intelligence you deserve Harvard. People apply to Harvard with backgrounds like yours, without blowing off their senior years, and get rejected anyway. Your illness didn’t “squander” your preparation; converting your preparation into admission was – and remains – somewhat a matter of luck and somewhat a matter of how you present yourself now.</p>
<p>Also, Harvard undoubtedly is a great university, but it and its obvious peers are nowhere near as unique as you seem to believe. There are dozens, maybe scores of colleges that offer as much or more than Harvard to any particular individual student who goes about looking for his opportunities intelligently. And that includes rubbing elbows with other fascinating students. It may take a little more work than it would have at Harvard, that’s all. Rather than wringing your hands about your chances at Harvard, start figuring out how you are going to turn someplace you KNOW will accept you into Harvard for you and your friends.</p>
<p>I know there’s a lot of luck involved, and I’m by no means trying to write out I ‘deserve Harvard’ purely for what I’ve endured. I know how selective the process is. I know I’m only one applicant of hundreds upon thousands. I’m not entertaining the idea that I’m an original. </p>
<p>I just want some reassurance that my chances haven’t diminished ENTIRELY from where they were before. They were slim before, as they are for everyone. They might be a little slimmer, but I just want reassurance they still exist. </p>
<p>This is especially pertinent for me since my school doesn’t allow us to apply to an unlimited number of colleges. I need to approach where I decide with more caution than many other college-bound seniors would. If I could apply to 20 or even 10 schools, I’d be a little more easy-going about this… but I can’t.</p>
<p>If you are really limited to 7-8 applications, and you are in the situation you describe, I would really hesitate to use any of those slots for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, or Stanford, and I would absolutely not want to use more than one or two slots on that group.</p>
<p>You need a safety. In your situation, you may need two safeties, unless you know for a certainty that (a) there is a formula for admission, and you meet it, and (b) you can afford to go there with aid that you can safely predict. Rather than obsessing about your chances at Harvard, you should be figuring out what that (those) safety(es) will be, because there’s a MUCH higher chance you will be going to college there than at Harvard.</p>
<p>Then you can pick a portfolio of less-certain colleges to which to apply. But I would sure recommend that most/all of them have admission rates that are significantly higher than any of the colleges I mentioned. Look for places where you can apply EA to multiple schools (like Chicago, MIT, Georgetown), because if you are accepted EA at one of them, you can relax a lot and take more risks with your remaining applications, and if they all reject you you will know you have to be really careful with your December RD applications. (And maybe in that case you could convince your school to give you an extra application or two.)</p>
<p>Okay, I understand. I’ll take your advice, but can I ask you this… </p>
<p>Say, hypothetically, I am an Olympic/World-class athlete in a particular sport with a fairly insane CV. Given that sort of information, would you still say that Harvard is completely out of the question? If someone has REALLY ENTICING aspects of their application that aren’t just the standard 2300+ SAT scores or a perfect GPA, and they happened to be in my circumstance… is Ivy really not an option at all? </p>
<p>I’m sorry if I’m getting nitpicky, I really do understand what you’re saying (it’s what I’ve run through my head over and over and over) but there are other aspects of my application I haven’t brought to light and I just wanted to make sure your approach would be the same given these bits of information.</p>
<p>^^^ I’ve been following this discussion on the Yale thread, and I am in 100% agreement with JHS. Given the limited number of colleges you can apply to, you need to stop being Harvard and Yale obsessed. You need to concentrate on a broader range of non-binding early schools – colleges such as MIT, Georgetown and UChicago. Then you should apply to Harvard and Yale in the regular round.</p>
<p>As to your Olympic scenario – it’s a complete fantasy. </p>
<p>As I wrote in reply to you on the last thread: </p>
<p>To start, I didn’t say I WAS an olympic athelete. I said hypothetically. I can assure you what I managed to accomplish before I was sick was no fantasy-- I’m just trying to maintain a degree of anonymity here. My CV is not even remotely related to athletics, but it is significant. I didn’t just run for class president or something. </p>
<p>I don’t disagree with JHS, as you’ve no doubt read. It’s just that my circumstances are really, REALLY peculiar. Trying to get advice catered to what I’m dealing with without completely giving myself away makes things difficult. Yes, I posted on multiple forums, but that was an attempt to get as many eyes on it as possible. </p>
<p>I’m at a loss here. The best thing I figured I could do was try to find help anonymously because the nature of what I endured makes it a little uncomfortable to talk about people-to-person.</p>
<p>JHS – with many years of experience and over 9,200 posts – has given you the absolute best advice anyone can give you on College Confidential.</p>
<p>If you still have doubts, you should call the Harvard Admissions Office and ask them directly. They are very nice and will patiently listen to your situation and offer advice. The number is 617-495-1551. You can speak with someone from 9am-5pm EST Monday-Friday.</p>
<p>I agree with JHS, but I don’t think your chances are completely diminished. In my opinion with a good explanation you may still have a decent shot, but you are by no means garunteed</p>
<p>I have no idea what you are talking about. “Olympic athlete” isn’t a precise enough metaphor. There are lots more of them than you think. We had three of them in my residential college, none of whom came close to winning a medal, and all of whom were in odd sports the university didn’t care much about, institutionally. I’m sure it would have been a nice plus on their applications (none was an Olympic athlete pre-college), but it wouldn’t have been a golden ticket unless they were in some sport in which our university competed in D-I. On the other hand, Missy Franklin (or Michael Phelps 8 years ago) could write her own ticket anywhere she wanted.</p>
<p>So, sure, if you are Emma Watson or Natalie Portman, and anything in your background suggests you are capable of doing the work at Harvard, you will get admitted to Harvard. Stefan Jackiw (look him up if you don’t know who he is). A Man-Booker shortlistee. If that’s the level of your accomplishment, stop worrying, and stop looking for reassurance on some website chat-board. If, however, you are more like my classmate who came in 70-somethingth in the world in luge – which is still not bad – then my prior advice stands. I don’t think your chances are “completely diminished,” either, but I think you have to be very careful about which risks you take on.</p>
<p>Okay, I have a somewhat better understanding of where I stand. Thank you all for your time and advice. I’m still on the rocks regarding whether I’ll apply or not, but you can be sure I’ll be able to make a more informed decision when the time comes.</p>