<p>Harvard is by far my top choice. However, my freshman and sophomore year grades were not great (half As and Bs). I was planning on applying RD so that they can see my 1st semester senior year grades, but I saw that their EA acceptance rate is about 5x higher than their RD rate. Wouldn't I still be better off applying EA?</p>
<p>(I have some very strong ECs and solid test scores that help make up for my below average grades)</p>
<p>I think you have a chance, anybody. Applying EA you can improve your chance a little bit, but you will lose your EA to other universities. I think you should post your full profile.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I have posted my full profile below:</p>
<p>GRADES
Freshman Year
All on level classes… About 50/50 As and Bs, all “borderline”
Sophomore Year
2 honors, 2 APs… Again, about 50/50 As and Bs & “borderline”
3 on AP World, 4 on APCS
Junior Year
2 honors, 4 APs, 2 AP Self Studies
All As, in the 92-98 range (except 1 class… 90 1st semester, 89 second semester with a year average of 90)
5s on all 6 AP exams (Micro/macro econ, us history, stat, human geo, environmental science)
Senior Year
Will be applying EA, so I don’t think they will see any of my senior grades… my schedule for next year is: AP BC Calc, AP Lang, AP Comp. Gov., AP US Gov., AP Physics B (highest physics that school offers), Advanced Topics (Post-AP Math/Reasoning Class), and AP Psychology</p>
<p>TESTS
34 ACT
800 SAT Math II
760 SAT Physics
800 SAT US History</p>
<p>ECs
Varsity track, XC freshman and sophomore years
President of Investment Club Junior Year (member all 4 years)
Elected SGA Treasurer senior year
Elected to Student Leadership Council senior year
Active member in INTERACT Club (community service)
Eagle Scout
Went to Wharton’s LBW summer program this past summer
Started a business (more on this below)
In the beginning process of creating a charity with dozens of other high school students from around the world
Will be inducted into 3 honor societies senior year (mu alpha theta, NHS, national history honors society)</p>
<p>ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Started tech company in 8th grade (iPhone apps)
Self-taught programming from Stanford classes that are on iTunes U
Daily revenue has exceeded $4,000
Apps used by over 40k people daily
One app peaked at #2 in the entire Apple App Store (above Facebook, Groupon, etc.)
Over 4,500,000 downloads
Backed out of a 6-figure venture round for another company I was working on to focus more time on school
Company has been featured in New York Times and on the front page of my local newspaper
I had 2 full time employees at company’s peak (have since scaled down to focus on school)
Recruited ex-CFO of major internet gaming company to sit on my board of directors
Recruited ex-SVP of business dev. at XBox Live to manage day-to-day operations of company while I was at school
1 in 16 US teens have at least one of my apps</p>
<p>CHARITY
Co-founded a non-profit with 2 other high school students from different parts of the country
It’s a micro finance charity where we raise money and lend it to people in third world countries so that they can start their own businesses or get life essentials
Just raised $150,000
About to have a Huffington Post article about us published</p>
<p>OTHER
Teacher recs will be awesome
Essays should be great too
Will probably get the ex-CFO that I recruited for my board to write a rec letter as well
School does not report rank/percentile (they do report mean standardized test scores though and number of APs, both of which I am in the top percentile in)
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Received University of Rochester Xerox Award
Received $2000 Discus Scholarship for Outstanding achievement outside of the classroom
Went to Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference this summer for a week</p>
<p>I know my grades the 1st 2 years were below average. However, and this is by no means an excuse, my company <em>was</em> taking up an incredible portion of my time then and interfered with school sometimes when I had to fly across the country to talk to CEOs of game studios about partnerships.</p>
<p>EA does not help you. It only seems like it has 5x the acceptance because of the strong applicant pool during the early period. Schools also accept recruited athletes and legacies during the early period so that’s a factor as well. You have a great profile, but EA doesn’t help at all. Your transcript is the most important thing on your application, and because of your freshman and sophomore years, and since your senior year seems rigorous, it may be advisable to wait and show them your first semester grades. That also gives you more time to perfect your application.</p>
<p>@wcclirl444: Your question has been asked and answered on another thread that you posted. How many times can you ask the same question? See:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1369067-chance-me-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1369067-chance-me-harvard.html</a></p>
<p>Given your 50/50 grades for freshman and sophomore years, if you apply early to Harvard, they will most likely defer you to the RD round, as they will only have one year of “good grades” to go on. Even though you have spectacular EC’s, in all probability, Harvard will want to see how you perform in the first half of your senior year before making a decision on your file.</p>
<p>Poster 2 is wrong, poster 4 is correct. Your scenario is EXACTLY the one where people should not apply EA – to get that 7th semester hopeful GPA boost. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Sorry gibby if you feel that this thread is unneeded. However, I think that it is appropriate to start a new thread since I am trying to get information about EA vs RD as opposed to my chances—two totally separate things.</p>
<p>I know that many of the EA applicants are stronger than the regular applicant pool and also include developmental cases, but I also think that a 5x greater acceptance rate is very significant. Compare this to other ivies whose EA/ED acceptance rates are “only” 2-3x higher. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t they defer me if they wanted to see my senior year grades in order to make their decision? They deferred a significant number of their EA applicants last year (much more than they rejected). I feel like if this was the case, then my deferred application would seem much stronger than the other ones since it would be significantly stronger due to solid senior year grades (which was the lacking part of my application) which would then increase my chances in the regular application round. Am I wrong in this thinking?</p>
<p>EA does not help at Harvard. Or Yale or Stanford or Princeton. The numbers aren’t a good indication of what’s really happening. The other schools whose ED admissions are “only” 2 to 3x better than their regular, actually admit that applying early helps. Harvard’s EA does not help. They say that if you get in early, you would have gotten in regular anyway. It’s not a good idea to apply early when they have a single-choice program and you’re waiting for first semester grades. You can’t apply anywhere else. If I were you, I would apply to other schools during the early period. Ones with Early Action that isn’t restricted. And maybe even an early decision school if you wish.</p>
<p>" I also think that a 5x greater acceptance rate is very significant."</p>
<p>If that’s what you think, man-up, and submit an application EA! </p>
<p>Virtually ever poster has told you they disagree with you, but you need to do what you feel is best, so do it – and stop asking for advice you will not follow.</p>
<p>This is a head shaker. What about the phrase “Your scenario is EXACTLY the one where people should not apply EA” is unclear?</p>
<p>And NO, deferees don’t have a better shot statistically whatsoever than the RD applicants.</p>
<p>w / e</p>