Risk it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Im facing a bit of a predicament.

Harvard came out with decisions a couple of days ago and, like most, I received a deferment. Now that Im in the regular pool, I face a tough question. “Am I good enough to get accepted in the first place?”. The reason I ask is because I’ve also been thinking about going to Tufts University, and they have an Early Decision program. Applying ED would certainly make my chances rather good for going to Tufts, but I would be forced to forgo Harvard if they were to accept me. Not applying for ED means throwing Tufts into jeopardy but still having that chance to go to Harvard if they send me an acceptance letter.

So, should I risk it? Do y’all think I have a good chance of being accepted, or should I play it (relatively) safe? Im really just looking for any sort of guidance in this.

(Here are my stats)

Demographics:
Gender- Male
Ethnicity- White(European, Middle Eastern, North African)

Grades:
GPA- 3.89(Unweighted) 4.89(Weighted)
ACT- 34 Composite, 34 English, 32 Math, 35 Science, 36 Reading, 10 Writing
SAT Subject Tests- 720 Biology, 740 US History
Class Rank- Top 10%
Classes: I’ve taken Honor and AP classes my entire academic career. Ive completed 4 APs so far: Biology(4), Language and Composition(5), Microeconomics(4) and US History(5).
Im currently taking AP Physics 2, AP Literature, AP BC Calculus, AP Government and Politics, and AP Macroeconomics. Ive taken band every single year.

Honors:
-National Honors Society
-High Honors every year

Activities/Extracurricular:
-Model UN President, also the receiver of 2 Golden Gavels for best delegate, and an award for best representation of a nation
-Trombone player. I’ve also been selected for my district(Massachusetts Eastern District)'s band every year. I also play in numerous bands both inside and outside of school.
-I’ve worked a job as a cashier ever since I was able to (14 years old), both during school and during the summer.

  • President of the Campaign Club, where we discuss politics and help students get engaged in the process.
  • Representative to the student government for 2 years.
  • Internship at a bio hub company for the summer of 2019. I was a bioinformatics technician.
  • A member of math club for 2 years. It was officially disbanded and hasn’t been able to be resuscitated.

Recommendations:

  • One from my Biology teacher and one from my AP Language/Composition teacher(who also helps me run the Model UN). Both rate me very highly.
2

Things to consider:

  1. Harder to get into Harvard from deferred pool than from REA pool. RD is going to get some strong applicants who got rejected/deferred from other top schools.
  2. Tufts is a very fine University and provides you with all the resources that you need to reach your goals.
  3. Since your concern is what happens if you get admitted to both, I will withdraw from Harvard before or immediately after you apply to Tufts ED.
3

Your credentials and achievements are excellent, and you’ll do well at any school. You should be proud of your hard work, and I’m sure you’re looking forward to the challenges, opportunities, and excitement of college.

The issue is that deferred applicants at Harvard have a low chance of admission, about 2-3%, similar to that of other RD applicants. The Harvard applicant pool is so deep and wide that you’re likely considered to be “usual strong” or “standard strong” – meaning great, but not especially competitive for them. For Harvard, some of your stats are above average, and others (Subject tests) are below. Your ECs are average among applicants.

No one else can answer whether the risk is worth it. You need to ask yourself whether you’d give up a great shot (ED2) at Tufts for a tiny chance at Harvard and a reduced (RD) chance at Tufts. If Harvard is your dream school and you’d be settling for Tufts and you’d always regret not trying for Harvard, then go for it. If you think you’d be thrilled with Tufts (even if you might occasionally wonder about Harvard for a second or two before putting it out of your mind), then apply ED2.

In any case, make sure that you have a few likely schools that you’d love. In Boston, these might include Brandeis, BU, and possibly BC, but you’d have to investigate further to see which ones are good fits. And if you decide to apply to Tufts RD and get in, but you don’t get into Harvard, then dive in and don’t look back.

4

Only you, of course, can truly know how you want to proceed. Talking with your high school counselor and your folks or those that help guide you in your decision making are the best people to help you decide. But you asked… My general thoughts -
The main thing you know is that Harvard’s RD pool will also be exceptional. As @highschooldad1 mentioned It will be filled with folks deferred or possibly rejected by Princeton, Yale, Stanford et.al. It will not be a weaker pool filled with recruited athletes (though these athletes are still strong students) or overfilled with legacies. That Harvard RD pool is also an exceptional pool of applicants. Your stats are very good though not off the charts and because of that, imo, you would be a very strong candidate for Tufts RD pool. The risk you mention is foregoing a possible Harvard admission for more of a sure thing at Tufts EDII. I’m not sure you have to EDII.

5

" I received a deferment."

I realize you don’t want to hear this, but given the odds of acceptance after being deferred at Harvard, what you have is a polite denial.

So, you really need to move on. Apply to Tufts, apply anyway else knowing that you’re chances at Harvard are pretty much done.

6

Um, the EA pool at Harvard is not “weaker,” at least in Harvard’s eyes. They take 80% of the athletic recruits because it fulfills an institutional priority, and 13-14% overall. The RD pool is weaker, hence they take only 2-3%. And those who are deferred or denied by other top schools are not the strongest candidates; they’re middling or relatively weak; otherwise, those schools would have taken them.

OP’s profile is not exceptional for Tufts, and ED2 might be advantageous. Midrange stats are don’t lead to a high likelihood of admission in RD, as only 15% overall are admitted. https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/enrolled-student-profile/

7

Um? Not a very polite way to start off a post. And I stand by my statement. Folks deferred from other top schools in the EA rounds are not middling or relatively weak applicants. Not every qualified person gains admission to the one school they apply to. I’m sure you are aware that applicants deferred, and even some who are rejected from T10 schools early are accepted in the RD round of the other T10 schools. The point of the post is that the RD round at HPYSM is not the easy road into any of those schools. There is no easy road. Obviously there are many more students applying during RD so the admission numbers will be down because nearly 900 applicants have already been offered admission and with more applying in that batch of applicants there will be those that are not well qualified. However, being deferred from any of those other top schools is not equal to being middling just as a deferment from Harvard during the SCEA round does not make one middling. It’s the OP’s choice whether or not to take the risk. If Tufts is a clear 2nd choice and the OP wants the process over and feels like the deferral was a soft rejection and believes there is an advantage to applying EDII then they can apply EDII to Tufts. If they want to hang on to hope then they can apply RD to Tufts and as far as I’m concerned the OP would be a strong candidate for Tufts in the RD round. If the OP thinks they will be admitted into Harvard during the RD after their deferral because it’s the weaker group or the easiest way in I disagree.

8

I didn’t see deferral percentages for this year yet, but in a recent previous class (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/13/early-admissions-2022 ), Harvard deferred 74%, accepted 15%, and rejected only 9%. Being deferred does not mean you are a borderline applicant who has a decent chance of admission in RD. Instead it only suggests you are not in the bottom ~9% of SCEA applicants. The overall RD acceptance rate was only ~3% that year, and deferred applicants typically have a much lower acceptance rate than the overall RD rate. In short, unless something changes between the SCEA and RD round that makes the application far stronger, a deferred applicant should expect to be rejected in RD.

9

A deferment or rejection from Harvard should come as a shock to anyone. Tufts isn’t much better either. These are both hyper-selective schools, and you simply can’t expect to get an admission at either one. Take some time to get a good list of affordable target and safety schools

10

OP, I think you have a slim to 5% chance. The stats and EC’s are really good but not Harvard like and being from MA isn’t going to help you. Students who attend Harvard tend to be exceptional in several areas.

Go for Tufts ED, if that is what you really want. Here again, you will be competing again many local kids. Have you thought about expanding your pool of schools?

11

The smart play is ED 2 to Tufts. DS 19 was in a similar situation last year (deferred by a different Ivy - not Harvard). He decided to apply RD to Tufts instead of ED 2. He ultimately was rejected RD by the Ivy but luckily got into Tufts, but looking back, he probably should have applied ED 2. One thing about Tufts, it’s need aware, but that only comes into play in the RD round, after the aid budget has been exhausted. If you do apply RD to Tufts, being full pay can give you an edge.

12

You are describing what many call the “Tufts syndrome.” Tufts seems to be a choice for some who really want to go to Harvard, like you. Tufts should not be seen as second best. It is also very selective and competitive and a great school. If Tufts thinks you prefer Harvard, they may not admit you either (and they may not anyway). I would withdraw your application from Harvard and apply early to Tufts. But try to actually love it. (I do not have any connection to Tufts myself but live in the area.)

13

These are decisions that make the college process tough. Now that schools have ED2, you can defer that decision of whether to apply to Tufts ED or to Harvard SCEA. You can have your cake and eat it because you can apply to Harvard SCEA and then apply to Tufts ED2 if deferred or rejected to Harvard. You are considering another try at Harvard over ED2 at Tufts That’d one of the hard decisions you have to make in this process. We can tell you what we’d do in the same circumstances, but ultimately it’s your decision.

14

You gave H a shot. It didn’t work out (and it doesn’t for like 95% of the applicants, so no worries there). If you really like Tufts, ED makes a lot of sense to boost your chances. Also quite selective. What would you prefer, a higher shot at Tufts or a very remote shot at Harvard?

15

Tufts ED would be my advice. You won’t regret going there if you get in, which is by no means a sure thing.

16

First off, Id just like to thank everyone for their comments. Reading through them gave me a better perspective on how I should move forward after my defferment, and Id just like to thank y’all for taking the time to respond.

As for what I’ve decided to do, after careful consideration, Ive decided to go for ED2 at Tufts University. Its an excellent school, and I should take the oppertunity thats being offered to me instead of squandering it with a tiny chance to go to Harvard. It will still be a difficult process, but at least I will have a much better shot.

Again, thanks for the advice!

17

Good luck, OP!