<p>From what I could tell, you have a very good chance :) I wish my parents would let me do what you did... Our high school is a joke...
You have excellent scores and obviously your intelligence was not impacted by the lack of a traditional, institutionalized educational structure. Honestly, I think you have a very good chance, my interviewer had told me that Harvard generally look for self motivated people who utilized their situations the best they could. I would say go for it... and good luck!
Hmm... this is a little off topic, but I'm learning Italian the same way... where do you find willing individuals to "chat" with you? I've only encountered a bunch of pervy guys online...</p>
<p>I hope you get in!!</p>
<p>I hope you get in, too, but I also hope you don't waste your Harvard opportunity if you do get it...you are very independent-minded and seem to thrive in unconventional, unstructured environments. It would really be a waste if you got to Harvard after several years of independent work and decided you didn't like the classroom structure. You didn't like high school and you don't seem too excited about community college classes...are you sure a traditional undergraduate experience is for you?
Anyway, I have no idea, I'm jus speculating. You seem to have really enjoyed your time in a school environment tailored toward gifted students. So perhaps Harvard will appeal to you in the same way.</p>
<p>Inaina: Try some of these sites.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/%5B/url%5D">http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/</a>
A fantastic forum. They've created a genuine community.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com/</a>
Use this if you want to find somebody really fast that probably won't end up being your best pal. </p>
<p>Just refuse to talk to all males if you're worried about pervy guys. There are more pervy guys at the latter site than the former.</p>
<p>MallomarCookie: I did enjoy the stuff tailored towards gifted students, yes. I enjoy being around intelligent, inspiring people -- and I especially enjoy being around people who are extremely driven. It's not classroom structure I dislike so much as schools that take a bunch of different kids with different needs and expect them to fit into the same box. I actually researched boarding schools before pulling out of the public school I went to, but my mother (this was before I was in foster care) completely vetoed the idea.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that what Harvard could offer (extremely driven students and faculty) would fit me better than some less traditional undergrad experiences. If my counselor had let me move on in math, after all, I would never have pulled out... I'm glad I did, of course, just because it's been an amazing experience... but this particular experience is near its death, and it should be. lol</p>
<p>Oh, and as an update -- I'm also going to take some APs. Calc, Physics, Psych... and... maybe some others, but I'm not sure yet. One person is telling me to take a bunch, another is telling me to take no more than two. I really have no idea. I'm worried that if I take a bunch, my score will go down on them all. And for all my online self-assurance, I'm a lot more nervous and tense in reality, so yes, I am worried about my scores...</p>
<p>You are so cool dis-grace, best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I know lol, what's up with the "dis-"grace though haha</p>
<p>It's actually after the title of a book: Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. It's one of the most amazing things I've ever read. I like thinking about how the meaning applies to the book as a whole, and I'm also sort of obsessive about pieces and origins of words, so I sort of separated the dis and the grace in my mind to have a more particular nuance.</p>
<p>btw, do any of you who have experience with APs have any thoughts about how many one should take? Maybe I should just go ask in the AP forum.</p>
<p>APs generally correspond to high school classes, so there isn't really a set number you should take. The number you take depends on the AP scheduling that your high school allows. And since you don't go to high school...I don't see why you would even care about them. You have enough test scores as it is. Again, you should probably ask Harvard about this...they actually know what they're talking about, unlike me lol.</p>
<p>I just noticed that almost everybody here seems to have taken AP stuff. Also, AP is more in-depth than SAT subject tests. Lots of homeschoolers actually take AP tests.</p>
<p>You're right... I'll ask Harvard about it. </p>
<p>Yale is your #1 choice, right? What other schools are you applying to? Or you can tell me in PM if you want since we're getting off-topic now, but I'm just curious. Colleges are like my favorite things to talk about lately lol.</p>
<p>You are unique and that will probably impress harvard who wants a very well-rounded class filled with unique people. You're not average and that of course will make you stand out. Good Luck, I feel like you have a great chance.</p>
<p>I think your profile is unique enough and your test scores high enough to show that you have been learning material that you are quite competitive at Harvard.</p>
<p>That's just awesome. I've had a very similar experience with school (i e who the hell needs an institution that purposely keeps you infantilized?) and I'm applying to Yale after realizing dropping out made me very isolated. I've been at community college for a while, and it is a COMPLETELY different deal than high school - make sure you take professors who are able to set up self-study opportunities (be it at Harvard or a cc) in addition to regular schoolwork.</p>
<p>As far as admission goes, if people who weren't afraid of leaving the mess that is mandatory schooling behind don't fit into Ivies, it's the Ivies loss more than anything.</p>
<p>I spent my 72% absence rate in high school reading actual books. No bullet-pointed ready-chewed watered-down "this is all you need to know" bs, but actual challenging literature. I honestly attribute all of my academic "success" today to skipping class, lmao.</p>
<p>frrrph: I think I'm in love with you! Okay, maybe I'm showing a little too much enthusiasm... lol. But you seem like somebody I'd get along with really well.</p>
<p>dis-grace, like almost everyone else here, I think you've showed such a maturity beyond your meager years that, yes, it really would be Harvard's loss (and let's pretend I'm indeed very qualified to make the judgment call) if they don't accept you.
Personally I've only seriously looked at the futility of the high school experience-once. Your mentality parts from mine when you decided to pursue an unguided path; I just kept trudging, thinking that the subject matters being taught now are knowledge I need to have for myself anyhow...and now here I am! lol, with only some vague recalls of inspiration from some things I read, some teacher's comments, some appreciation of somethings and.
I just think your way sounds totally fun! hardcore! and actually worth the time.</p>
<p>dis-grace, I seriously hope you get in! You have that beat generation-esque appeal that just blows me away!...If Jack Kerouac could go to Columbia, you can definitely go to Harvard. Good luck my friend!</p>
<p>I don't think you'd like Harvard that much after the great experience of unschooling. If it was up to me, I'd let you in despite your unusual background but I think you'd get along better somewhere with more freedom and more alternative.</p>
<p>I'm a bit confused.</p>
<p>Why couldn't you independently study outside of school? I'm trying to teach myself a language much in the same way you learned French. I've dabbled in self studying math and science. </p>
<p>I mean, it's neat that you decided to do your own thing, but doesn't that work against you? High school is designed to expose you to different subjects and (generally) give you a core set of skills and knowledge. </p>
<p>Just curious</p>
<p>I have a pretty good core. I've studied very widely. I had quite a bit less time to study actual things when I was in school because I had to deal with busy-work that took up most of my free time. I don't think it works against me -- I think that most people, however, rate their own experience as being worth more than alternative experiences. Because most people go to highschool, most people will say that it was an important part of their lives (whether it was pleasant or not) that would benefit everybody. </p>
<p>Anyway, even if I weren't competent in a range of topics, I still wouldn't feel that unschooling is a disadvantage. Most high schoolers are not competent in every subject they are required to study. Most high schoolers (in my experience, at least) are not even competent in a few subjects. Academically, high school just... isn't... that special. It's the social aspects that I would tend to value, and even those I don't value very much. How good or real is it to be segregated by age, for instance? School teaches people how to interact with a very limited group of people. The real world taught me how to interact with anyone and everyone. </p>
<p>What I'm really saying = it's different for everyone, and I'm happy with what I chose.</p>
<p>That's really great. What do you think were the drawbacks of your experience?</p>