SAT's and other questions from a country boy

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>I have serious SAT concerns.</p>

<p>CR: 710 M: 690 W: 730</p>

<p>Until I logged on here in search of application models, I actually thought I was flying pretty high and mighty. I live in the mountains of northeast Georgia, so as you might imagine, it's really hard to get a good grasp of the college scramble.</p>

<p>I will not be able to help these scores before my early application date rolls around--I only found out SAT II's existed a few months ago, and will have to take all three of those this Oct 14. However, I'm already looking forward to rigorous retesting, and was wondering if the Harvard community had any advice for me that you won't find in an SAT prep book.</p>

<p>How do these scores match up to the "Harvard norm," and what's a happy medium I should aim for the next time I'm taking the Reasoning test?</p>

<p>On the topic of the essay, I'm a pretty liberal guy (well, for the Deep South at least). I'm writing about a newspaper article I composed critisizing the War in Iraq, and how it led to an army recruiter storming into my classroom to scream at me about patriotism and threaten me until he was removed. How potentially offensive would an essay like this be to readers, and what do you think of the topic in general? I thought it had merit because it highlighted my political activism and spotlighted an unusual occurence.</p>

<p>Lastly, I've been trying like everything to set up a Harvard interview, but I have no idea how. Is there a link on the Harvard.edu page I'm missing, or is there a local school official I need to contact? My skills lie more in leadership and interpersonal skills, and I feel an interview would really boost my chances of acceptance, albeit not too considerably.</p>

<p>Thank you very much. I'm new to every bit of this, trying to learn very quickly.</p>

<p>I will post my actual application once I've mentally steeled myself enough.</p>

2

<p>I believe that November SAT scores will be accepted for SCEA, so you have two chances to take the SAT-II or take 3 SAT-IIs in one sitting (rather tiring) and re-take the SAT. The parents tend to promote the Xiggi method. Xiggi is a student who has studied SAT testing pretty extensively and has good tips. There may be a sticky on the SAT forum that contains these tips. Otherwise, do a search.</p>

<p>Interviews are set up after the application has been submitted. You will be contacted, and the interview will be by an alum, not on campus.</p>

<p>About the essay, the important thing is that it be about you, not about the campus recruiter or the event per se. As you write the essay, keep in mind that you want to highlight your personality and what you might bring to the campus community. If you go on the Parents' Forum, some parents have got good advice for writing essays.</p>