Should I send an EA to Harvard or not?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys.
I’m a Korean girl that wants to get into Harvard.

I’m going into my senior year and I’m homeschooled. Do you think it’s a good idea for me to send an early action to Harvard?

Scores:

Sat : (New) 1600 (800, 800)
Act : 36
SAT II : Math II (800) Literature (800) Bio (800) Chem (800) Physics (800)
AP :
Freshman year : N/A
Sophomore year : N/A
Junior year : Bio (5) Chem (5) Physics C (5) English literature (5) English Language (5) Calc BC (5) Statistics (5) Macroeconomics (5) Microeconomics (5) United States History (5)
Tofel : 118
GED : Took the Korean one and got a perfect score

Extra curricular activities:

Freshman year: Math club
Sophomore year: N/A (Not really much but I started a fund raising thing in the summer and I still do it)
Junior year:
Founded a club. (President)
Volunteer work tutoring kids
Hospital volunteer work
Wrote 3 papers that was related to the field I want to study

Awards:
3 math competitions in Korea

Okay… I think the scores are pretty good and I know that I don’t have a lot of extracurricular stuff… but note that I live in Korea and it’s really hard to do all the activities American students do. And I know that I shouldn’t have done everything in my junior year, but I didn’t know that I was going to go to an American college. I think I have decent scores but since I’m homeschooled I don’t have a gpa so I can’t really prove how much I studied in my freshman year and sophomore year… I’m not sure but I’ve heard that my GED will count as a gpa? Also, I think my essays are really strong. I can’t post the topic for personal reasons but it’s like the best thing I’ve ever written. I have three essays though, all a very different topic so should I send in all three?

Can anyone tell me the chances of me getting into Harvard? I know it’s a reach, but do I at least have a chance?

Oh and maybe this will be a plus, I’ve lived half of my life in America and half of my life in Korea so I have very different experiences than the majority of people that are applying?

Oh and one last thing. Since I’m homeschooled I don’t have a counselor but I have other people to write my recommendation letters, but will that be a problem?

Things I didn’t include was that I’ve played the violin since I was five but I don’t think that would make a big difference because I didn’t do anything major related to it.
And I’m also going to take 7 ap classes in my senior year, but the ap tests are in May so when I take the ap tests college admissions would be over so…

Okay, I posted this on the Harvard thread and a lot of people said that my scores are okay but I don’t have outstanding ec’s so my chances are very slim.
I am posting this here one more time to ask about my early admission. I know that the schools I want to go to only allow the student to send in one EA or ED so do you think it’s a good idea for me to waste the one ticket on Harvard? Since I’m homeschooled I do not have a counselor so I don’t have anyone to give me advise on how to write these applications. And also, if I don’t send an EA to Harvard what school do you recommend? Well, my dream is Harvard but if I can’t get in there I at least want to go to the top schools. Are there any ivy leagues that look more at the applicant’s scores?

Honestly, it’s so hard to do everything on my own so any advise would be helpful to me. Thanks in advance!

2

I commented on your other thread, but I just want to know why you believe Harvard is the school for you. There are schools out there that would give you full tuition to attend. Northeastern University is an amazing school. You would definitely get into the honors program with a scholarship - possibly even a full ride!

If you really want to go to an Ivy League school because it’s an Ivy League, Cornell and Dartmouth are most likely to accept you; however, since admissions is holistic, they expect to see applicants with more than just test scores. Cornell is also often described as having the hardest workload of any Ivy behind Columbia. Maybe this will satiate your strong academic side.

What’s your planned major?

3

Your test scores are very strong, they will definitely get you in the door to Harvard. Also, you’re international, so that gives you a boost. I would say, if you think Harvard is your first choice, send an early application there. can’t hurt.

4

Don’t worry, just find real reasons of why do you want to go to Harvard.

Check this out http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-for-admission-to-harvard-p1.html

5

@yonceonhismouth actually, it is harder to get into Harvard being an international student; this will decrease the OP’s chances. Also, many qualified kids with perfect test scores get turned down every year.

6

Certainly this applicant is strong but like ap012199 says, the majority of perfect score applicants get rejected and being an international applicant is the MOST competitive category for Harvard and others with fantastic fin aid for internationals.

OP: your app will be as strong as anyone’s. That’s all you can ask. Good luck.

7

@ap012199 The reason I want to go to Harvard is well, it’s Harvard. The world class professors, the students that go there, and all the stuff like that… Also I’m a science kind of person and doesn’t Harvard have the best science programs? Another reason is the location, but this is just personal preference. Honestly, I don’t think my reasons are good enough. I’m still trying to find a good reason of why should it be Harvard, but the thing is none of the other top schools I want to go gave me a reason to go to those schools. I guess deep down the real reason that I want to go to Harvard is because Harvard is the number one school, and I want to be a number one in my field of studies so I felt like Harvard was for me, and I still do think that. But I’m not sure Harvard would think that as a good enough reason.
My planed major is neuropsychology or anything neuroscience related(pre-med). After that I want to go to med school to become a neuro specialist.

8

You’re right in the fact that saying Harvard is the number one school is a bad reason to go there. It’s also very vague to say that they have the best science programs. They’re number one in biological sciences, but the same can’t be said for psychology. And according to this website…

http://study.com/articles/Best_Neuroscience_Undergraduate_Programs_List_of_Top_Schools.html

Harvard is not included in the top schools for undergraduate neuroscience. You don’t need to go to a number one school to be number one in your field. You should have a genuine reason to go to a school (and I don’t think saying that it’s number one is a genuine reason), but if you really believe that Harvard is the school for you, then apply. It couldn’t hurt.

9

Your reason is the same reason as 20,000 other Harvard applicants that her rejected. Apply, but assume you will get rejected, so have a plan B.