Rising Junior: Help with a few questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hi everyone. </p>

<p>I am a rising junior. First let me give you a little bit of my background, and then I'll get to my question!</p>

<p>Okay, so I go to a magnet high school. I am involved in a rigorous-AP track. </p>

<p>I have taken AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Stat (SelfStudy), AP Bio, AP Comp Sci (selfstudy), AP Human Geo, AP Enviro Sci, AP Microecon, AP Macroecon, APWH. I have gotten 5s on all of these :).</p>

<p>I have also taken Multivariable Calc and Lin Alg. </p>

<p>I have a 4.0 GPA.</p>

<p>Testing:
SAT - 720 W, 770 CR, 800 M
SAT II - 800 Math 2, 800 Bio
PSAT - 213 freshman year. Likely 220+ this year, did some extra practice</p>

<p>ECs:
Music - multiple awards from competitions, regional levels. Will be Involved in jazz band all 4 yrs. Play piano 10 yrs,
Music - involved in local youth symphony, principal tenor sax.
Music - composition program
Science - involved in 3 labs. Freshman year -computational bio project, Sophmore year- computational bio project, Soph/Jun Summer- wet lab project. All 1st in state fairs
USABO - qualified for semifinals round this year. Hopefully will qualify for camp next year.
Science Olympiad- state medals (1sts, 3rds - 2 yrs), 13th at nationals in bio event.</p>

<p>Teacher recs, etc should be fine. </p>

<p>QUESTION: given my current academic outlook, what all do you think I could do to enhance my admittance likelihood to the bio undergrad program at Harvard?</p>

<p>Thanks!!!!!!!</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Whether you want to study biology or history or Slavic languages is essentially immaterial. When you apply, you’ll apply to Harvard College. If you’re admitted, you’ll decide later what you’re going to study.</p></li>
<li><p>Read this: [Applying</a> Sideways | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]Applying”>Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions). Where it says “MIT,” substitute “Harvard.”</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>You are right. What would you say for just undergrad admission in general. I didn’t mean to specify the bio program in specific necessarily.</p>

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<p>I would say, “Read this: Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions. Where it says ‘MIT,’ substitute ‘Harvard.’”</p>

<p>If you’re applying to Harvard, all you can control is whether you’ll be a competitive applicant. It looks as if you will be. </p>

<p>I understand that you want more. But, like at the end of Madeline, that’s all there is. There isn’t any more.</p>

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<p>Thank you. I appreciate your kind words. I have read that article, and it was very reassuring and informative.</p>

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<p>Publish some research, get a few internships; this will help you to rise from typical 5% status to a whopping 6%.</p>

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<p>1.Make sure you get really good teacher recs. Make sure you can get 2 teachers who will talk about your strong personal traits (leadership in class discussion, passion for learning, curiosity, etc.). ps. It doesn’t have to be those specific traits, just YOUR personal traits in general.
2.Get your writing score up a bit if you can.
3. It’s awesome that your passionate about Music as well as Biology. You should think about why/what made you passionate about each or both of them. I’m curious if there are ways you could connect them. I’m sure there are much better examples but like the impact on childhood development of music. Also if your focus is more straight bio but you have a specific niche interest area related to it, develop that.
4. Your academics look great. Overall you want to make sure that your personal traits show through as well.
5. Visit Harvard, stay with a student, and meet with professors in your department. Not sure if this helped me or not, but it was really informative (and fun to get out of high school for a bit).</p>

<p>As a side note. Harvard has a dual program with the Boston Conservatory that you may be interested in. [Harvard</a> Department of Music](<a href=“http://www.music.fas.harvard.edu/mmperformance.html]Harvard”>http://www.music.fas.harvard.edu/mmperformance.html)</p>

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<p>Harvard does not give a rodent’s behind about applicants’ demonstrated interest. It is, after all Harvard, and it can safely assume that the overwhelming majority of its 35,000 applicants are pretty darn interested.</p>

<p>But I am sure it was both informative an fun, and worth doing for those reasons, even if it has no bearing on the committee’s admissions decision.</p>

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<p>@Sikorsky</p>

<p>Unless you are a Harvard admissions officer in disguise, I would be careful to make a sweeping generalization about how Harvard feels about an applicant’s demonstrated interest. There are certain “superstar” students (such as Intel STS/Siemens first place winners and multiple Olympiad gold medalists) that Harvard would gladly welcome into its freshman class if they “demonstrated interest,” which from my experience, resulted in their acceptance into Harvard Early Action. In fact, that’s probably one reason Harvard decided to reinstate the EA process in 2011; since Stanford and rival Ivies had EA/ED admissions, Harvard didn’t want certain students to be commit to other institutions early in the admissions cycle. </p>

<p>It’s important in the application/interview to demonstrate interest and avoid being “sycophantic” (for lack of a better adjective at the moment) or overly confident. I’m pretty sure it’s also not a good idea to say “I’d go to ____ over Harvard.”</p>

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<p>I was not aware that such extraordinary applicants spent their time on College Confidential, asking to be “chanced.”</p>

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<p>With an 82 percent yield – one of the highest yields of any university – Harvard assumes EVERYONE wants to attend their school. So, unlike other colleges that have a lower yield, expressing your interest to your interviewer or to an Admissions Officer will not have any effect on Harvard’s decision. They make decisions based upon every criteria except “showing interest.” The next time you are in 86 Brattle Street, ask them and they will tell you the same thing!</p>

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<p>@sikorsky
I respect the fact that you’re a senior member here, and perhaps you’ve been longer here than I have. You may remember a thread started last summer by a CS genius from Eastern Europe who posted a link to his own CV (yes, a high schooler with his own CV with publications, awards, and such). These fringe cases do exist, and I think although the manner in which he presented himself was questionable, on paper he would have dazzled admissions committees anywhere. And I’m sure he ended up applying to Harvard despite the criticism he received on Collegeconfidential. And yes, I think he did post a “chance me for Harvard” thread.</p>

<p>@gibby
The Harvard admissions committee may very well assume that. The case that I brought up was for a very select minority of students. I failed to convince several outstanding friends to apply to Harvard precisely because they had heard some bad things about the Harvard admissions committee. Maybe one of these rumors was your claim that “Harvard assumes that EVERYONE wants to attend Harvard” (which unnecessarily draws a certain air of elitism that doesn’t resonate too well). </p>

<p>Someone on this forum once likened the admissions process as looking for a relationship. As much as we like to think that high school seniors put Harvard at the top of their list, it is just as likely that Harvard has its own “list;” however nebulous we imagine it to be. Examples of people on this “list”: legacies, athletes, “kids-who-cure-cancer”</p>

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<p>I don’t think that’s really the way to think of it, though. Harvard may have a very small number of applicants per year whom it really wants (and then literally 10,000 or more whom it would be perfectly happy to have), but if it’s the case that Harvard spends much time mourning the loss of any particular College applicant, I’ve never heard of it. A potential president or University Professor? Maybe. An undergraduate? I’m not convinced. </p>

<p>I think Harvard is quite secure in the knowledge that it will go on being Harvard for the foreseeable future, regardless of whether that Intel winner chooses Harvard or CalTech. And I do not mean it kindly when I say that one of my most vivid memories of my time in the College was a very clear sense that I needed Harvard much more than Harvard needed me.</p>

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<p>FWIW, almost every college I visited had a list at the info session where you could put your name down as having attended. So at Harvard’s, I asked where it was. They didn’t have one. (Princeton may also not have.) With 82% yield, “wants to come to Harvard” is not among the factors that can help distinguish among the 30,000+ applicants. Is it a prerequisite? Sure, probably. But it’s a prerequisite the admissions officers assume is present unless and until they detect noticeable unenthusiasm or you tell your interviewer that if you got in, you’d definitely rather pick Yale.</p>

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<p>I would direct everyone to this: <a href=“http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS_2011-2012_Final.pdf[/url]”>http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS_2011-2012_Final.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The common data set shows the data used by harvard for admissions decisions. Page 2 shows this exactly, with applicants level of interest not being considered at all for admissions purposes.</p>

<p>I was wondering (As a sidenote), if there are any ECs that I could do besides what I have listed here that would make me stand out more. Yah, I know that you should only do ECs b/c you are interested in them, but could you just give me some ideas?</p>

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<p>bump??? .</p>

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<p>Why bump this thread? You’ve received some great responses . . . and you still don’t understand. No one on College Confidential, or anywhere else for that matter, can tell you what you must do to enhance your chances because THERE ISN’T A FORMULA FOR ACCEPTANCE. If there was one, everyone would be following it.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>What I suggest you do is read, or re-read, this thread paying special attention to William Fitzsimmons’s words. There are secrets in those words . . . you just need to understand them. Here are some of my favorites:</p>

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