I applied to Harvard as an international student back in October but, like most people, was unfortunately deferred. however, after 3 days I got an email from a senior admissions officer that wanted to talk to me through Skype and during our Skype conversation she was joined by an admissions director at Harvard. they advised me to apply to Andover academy, a prestigious boarding school, because I was too young for college ( 15 back then ) and told me that if i decide to do so they will send my Harvard application instead of me applying directly. However, I was unfortunately wait-listed there and I was later also wait-listed at Harvard. I also survived the wait-list rejections harvard sent out and made it to the second round of waitlists. after being waitlisted on ivy day, I got an email from the same AO recommending me to consider reapplying to Harvard for fall of 2021. as i was not admitted to any college this cycle because i applied to very few, i am planning on reapplying but i am not sure how good/bad my chances are at harvard and whether i should REA to harvard or ED to a less competitive school and play it safe. Harvard is my dream school and I would love to go there but at the same time i really don’t wanna waste the early round boost. any insights on this are welcomed 
You are getting a lot of personal attention from admissions. We don’t know why you are applying at a younger age or what your schooling is right now, including for next year. Were you ultimately rejected by Andover or are you still waiting?
Why is Harvard your dream school? It would seem you have a chance, but there are many schools out there. Many times Harvard is a “dream school” because it is so well-known. But it definitely has its drawbacks and being younger could be a negative for some.
It is hard to comment on your question since we don’t know much about you.
I would follow what Harvard apparently wants, which is some rigorous schooling and/or some pursuit of interests outside of academics, and a little time to gain some maturity.
If you are gifted, you could also look at high schools with a college education such as Simon’s Rock or Boston University Academy. Too bad you didn’t apply to some other boarding schools besides Andover: not sure why a Harvard admissions office would limit choices to Andover.
@compmom thank you for your response. I graduated high school early because I was “gifted” and skipped two grades. I am still wait listed at andover but have lost hope at this point. I would love to go to Harvard for many reasons and if given the chance ill choose it over any other school. Also, the reason why my AO at Harvard wanted me to apply only to andover was because they were the only ones offering extremely generous aid to international students. I just recently got a full scholarship at a prestigious university in Turkey where their campus is extremely international and their primary language of instruction is English. I was wondering about attending that university and then reapplying to Harvard as a freshman from there in hopes of it fulfilling the need of the rigorous schooling Harvard wants.
You can ask the admission officer you have been on contact with but my guess is if you start college in Turkey you cannot reapply to Harvard as a freshman. You would be at transfer student.
That said, I would probably grab the wonderful opportunity you have in hand. You can always come to the US for grad school.
I do not think that it is possible to know the future. Also, your situation is quite unusual which makes it even more difficult to know what to recommend. We can only guess.
I started at a highly ranked university down the road from Harvard the week after my 17th birthday. I think that I would have been better off with a gap year. The academics were not a problem. Being that young was an issue in other ways. It sounds like you are one year younger than I was when I graduated high school.
I think that similarly you are very young for Harvard. Life is not a race. If you have something useful to do during a gap year, then I think that you should seriously consider taking a gap year, and reapplying to Harvard REA.
You could also ask the Harvard admissions person that you are already dealing with if they can suggest other high schools in the area. They almost certainly have connections that the rest of us do not have.
Okay now I get the picture 
Ask Harvard about the university in Turkey. That university sounds like a great option, rigorous, tuition free, international, and closer to home in this time of uncertainty with COVID. Maybe communicate with the AO you have a relationship with.
It’s hard being gifted. But there are a lot of fields to explore before university and lots of extracurriculars to try out and lots of maturity to achieve.
I would think Harvard might be more interested in demonstrations of maturity than academic rigor at this point, since clearly you can handle the latter.
It may be unfair to go by age of course, but still, people do.
Find out if Harvard would consider the classes at the university in Turkey as a kind of dual enrollment and whether you would be a freshman or transfer in their eyes.
Good luck.
ps Andover may still come through. Would you go? Waitlists are very different this year due to COVID.
@happy1 thank you for your response. I did email her about the university I want to attend. Fortunately, the university I’m going to is not a liberal arts college so I will be able to reapply as a freshman!!
Good news. FWIW I would hold onto the email correspondence you are having with the admissions officer (maybe create a separate file in your email account for it) in case you ever need to reference it down the road.
@compmom thank you for ur reply! I feel like going to a university outside my country, exploring a new community and hopefully doing well in a rigorous envoirment might show them both my maturity and the ability to handle rigorous coursework. Fortunately, according to Harvard’s transfer policy, I can still apply as a freshman bcz the university I’m going to attend doesnt have the liberal arts style of education. Also, if given the chance I’d definitely still choose andover bcz itll be a much more pleasant experience for me.
@DadTwoGirls thank you so much for your reply!!
Seems like you have a clear path. Andover if it happens, and the University in Turkey otherwise. Maybe you have already but I would double check on that university, with Harvard, just to be absolutely sure. Hoping for good news from Andover for you. But it sounds like you will be fine anyway.
In many ways it’s hard being gifted. You are being proactive for yourself which is great. Good luck!
ps check this out too https://simons-rock.edu/ It’s a high school affiliated with Bard, for students ready for college early. Very well-known here in the Northeast.