Should I even bother applying?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>I'm just wondering, will it be a waste of my time applying to Harvard, or would you consider it somewhat of a reach and that there's a slight possibility I could get in? Any other advice/opinions would be great, especially insight on Harvard's admission process and what they like in applicants.</p>

<p>Basically.....do you think I could be competitive in the applicant pool?</p>

<p>School: Pretty good public HS in CA (about 6-7 people got into Ivies this year, many more into top privates and UCs)
Ranking: 6/750 or so
GPA: 4.0 UW .....no idea weighted, but I'll have taken 7 APs by end of Junior year and 12 by end of senior year.
AP Classes: 10-AP World Hist (5) AP Biology (5)
11-AP US Hist, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP English Lang, AP Spanish Lang (Hopefully 5's on all, I'm a little weary on spanish though)
12 (what I will be taking)-AP Gov/Econ, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Eng Lit, AP Spanish Lit, Reg Physics
SAT: 2330 (790 CR 780 Math 760 W DAMN ESSAY!!!!) one sitting
PSAT: 239
Still need to take SAT 2's (took Bio and got a 760, taking Chem, Math 2, and Spanish this year)
Planning on taking ACT (trying for a 35-36)</p>

<p>ECS: DECA-member since frosh year, multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards in individual and team events on regional and state level, qualified for internationals every year, elected state officer (Vice President of Northern California) for 2011-2012, honored as a CA DECA Lifetime Ambassador</p>

<p>Band-member since frosh year, 1st chair flute soph year, made it into highest band junior year, most probably going to be flute section leader for senior year, trying for 1st chair flute in highest band for senior year. Flute teacher for local middle school students since Junior year.</p>

<p>Other clubs: Member of CSF and UNICEF (helped lead and organize community service projects for both)</p>

<p>Volunteer: 50+ hours at local soup kitchen, volunteer at local hospital since sophomore year (probably will have 100+ hours), recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award (Bronze) for work with DECA as a state officer</p>

<p>Planning a trip to either Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands OR Costa Rica this summer to volunteer for 2 weeks. Will either be working at local schools, teaching English/other subjects to young, local residents or be working on conservation of local ecosystems/environmental awareness</p>

<p>Will be interning this summer at either UC Berk or Stanford (haven't decided yet). The programs I am deciding between are paid or volunteer internships with grad school mentors in scientific research in either nanoscale engineering, medical research, or the earth sciences</p>

2

<p>Handy dandy calculator: SAT above 2100, more than 0 extracurriculars, UW GPA 3.8+, asking “is it even worth it to apply” is a silly question. Yes, you are in range. Are your chances very high? Well, no, but neither were mine.</p>

3

<p>So you wouldn’t say I have a decent shot at getting in?</p>

4

<p>Like…should I be expecting a rejection, even a waitlist would be quite a shocker?</p>

5

<p>I think you are misunderstanding the Harvard admissions process. There is no person for whom my three characteristics apply for whom it is absolutely ridiculous to apply to Harvard (who also have no felonies on their record). That combination of test scores and GPA, with some signs of life outside of school, make it at least “a slight possibility.” And yet the overall Harvard acceptance rate this year was 5.9%, with 3.8% accepted RD. With statistics like that, there is hardly a person alive I would say has “good” chance, or whom I would not counsel to be aware of a high probability of rejection.</p>

6

<p>^
Precisely. I think this website, while having a wealth of information and interesting members, has contributed to my indecisiveness. All these “Do I really, really have to sell my soul to the devil to get into XYZ selective college, and if so, how do I contact him?” threads can really mess with one’s head. Heck, even I’m guilty of a couple of those. </p>

<p>You have a slim chance of getting into Harvard and any other selective school for that matter. That’s not because you don’t fit the bill. It’s because no one really knows what the “bill” is and it’s likely that it does not remain constant and there’s also the fact that everybody has a slim chance. In the “Applying sideways” blog post at MIT, the guy talks about how an applicant who was capable of building a nuclear reactor got rejected and how this should be great and not depressing news. It means about a thousand or so others did receive offers and did not build nuke reactors. Or maybe one of them did and they didn’t want another! It’s all too random for you to bother getting your panties in a bunch.</p>

<p>Just work hard, do what you love, love what you do, da da di, di da da…you know how the song goes…</p>

7

<p>Some people who look like the OP on paper will get into Harvard. Most people who look like the OP on paper won’t. Nationally (and internationally), there are lots and lots of people who look like the OP on paper, and many of them will apply to Harvard. Harvard welcomes them, but they are only one of the many flavors of students represented there.</p>

<p>The difference between the ones who get in and the ones who don’t will most likely show up in their essays and recommendations.</p>