Should I apply SCEA or regular?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hello everyone
So I'm new here - if I do something wrong please don't yell at me :) </p>

<p>I'm a grade 11 student at a Toronto high school.
SAT: W 800, M 740, CR 800
Doing my SAT IIs tomorrow so hopefully that will work out</p>

<p>I have a 93 average so far (exams still haven't happened for me yet)
I'm a very accomplished musician, which I can support with certifications and awards, and I have been in many orchestras, on a volunteer and paid basis.
I'm the editor of my school's newspaper and the president of the Music Council, plus I have done a lot of volunteering as a musician at charity events and retirement homes. I'm also a member of social justice clubs and the school's radio.
I'm also a national spelling bee champion.</p>

<p>Should I apply SCEA or regular to Harvard? Will it be better to wait for (presumably/hopefully) improved grade 12 marks?</p>

2

<p>Does your high school use Naviance, or do they have a similar electronic system of tracking college acceptances? If so, has anyone been accepted to Harvard from your high school (SCEA or RD) with a 93? If you don’t know the answer, ask your guidance counselor. </p>

<p>At some high schools a 93 is at Harvard’s absolute low end, no matter what a student scores on their SAT/ACT, or what EC’s they may have. That may or may not be true at your high school. Ask your GC!</p>

<p>Good luck tomorrow on your SAT II’s!</p>

3

<p>My school doesn’t track acceptances but I will ask my counselor nonetheless. Thanks for the advice!</p>

4

<p>I think waiting for a strong first semester senior year grades would help, but only apply regular it if you are confident your gpa will go up!</p>

5

<p>Updates…my SAT II scores were
Lit - 800
French - 790
Bio E - 780</p>

<p>My average will be a 92.25%. Does that change anything? Thanks so much you guys</p>

6

<p>91.49% of Harvard admitted students have a GPA of 3.75 (a 94.5 average) and higher.</p>

<p>I see you are a Canadian student. If you did not apply SCEA to Harvard, where else would you apply?</p>

7

<p>It appears that SCEA acceptance rate is higher than RD one, yet SCEA seems so devastating, since (I think), best and well-prepared applicants apply under SCEA :(</p>

8

<p>American schools, however, have varying standards for 'A’s. For instance, 90 is an A some places, where 93 is an A in others. Also, in Ontario - I have heard that 85+ are As sometimes? The Canadian grading system is quite different and varies from province to province. Alberta has a lot of grade deflation - grade 12 provincial exams are curved to a 65% average and are half of an individual’s mark. The mere suggestion of such a program would not fly in the 'States.</p>

<p>Good luck, annie! I am applying from Calgary. GTA always sends more people, so you have a shot.</p>

9

<p>Ooh I forgot to mention I’m a legacy! Hopefully that will help…</p>

<p>gibby - unless I get in to Harvard or another Ivy, I’ll probably stay in Canada. I’m gong to apply to Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford and then a bunch of Canadian universities! I haven’t decided whether or not I would want to apply early to any other school though.</p>

<p>JessicaSutcliffe - yeah that’s my current internal debate…</p>

<p>ecouter11: In Ontario, 85 is an A. 90 is an A+. Thanks so much! Good luck :)</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>Talk with your guidance counselor to see if anyone from your high school has been admitted to those schools with a 92.25. At some high schools, that generally is below what HYPS accepts . . . unless you have a really big ‘wow’ factor (that’s true for legacies, as well.)</p>

11

<p>Thank you thank you! Hopefully I can wrangle some information out of my guidance counsellor…if she can remember my name, anyways.</p>

12

<p>Out of curiosity I checked Naviance for my daughter’s school. The low score was an 88 weighted avg. and there was also another accepted student with about a 90 to 91 weighted avg. (just eyeballing the graph). </p>

<p>There are two kids I know of that play(ed) on H’s Football team - so I’m assuming those two guys, but no way to know for sure.</p>

13

<p>That is endlessly reasurring, arwarw, thanks! However it’s probably a little looser for athletes…and I am definitely not an athlete!</p>