Stressed OUT -- Harvard University, Will I Get In?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hey guys,
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I’ve been stressing really hard about this, mainly because I’m on the fence of whether I even have a chance or not at a prestigious school like Harvard (just so I could keep my expectations going forward). I figured someone else with experience with the competitive admissions process could provide some insight:

Education/Testing:
SAT - 1560 - 800 Math 760 CR, 15/24 on essay (I know, the essays horribly low)
GPA: 97.24 (weighted) our school doesn’t rank, but if I had to realistically guess, top 5
SAT II: Math 2 - 750 Chemistry - 720 (I know, also very low)

AP - taking 6 as a senior, have 12-13 total. Exams, not too high scores, total average is about a 4, with 5s in Calc BC and Lang

Alright so testing is clearly not my strongest suite, but my ECs (I’ll briefly cover) may help:

I was selected for a highly competitive research institute (less than 1% acceptance rate) in my freshman year of HS. I’ve had over 400 hours of lab experience, working alongside post doctorates and graduate students. I have internally published one of my projects (outlining biodegradable scaffolds) and presented a poster in the university lab’s conferences. I am looking to publish a much more in depth paper (on drug delivery methods) by the end of my senior year. Also, I presented this project’s findings earlier last year in an International Conference of Pharmaceutics, alongside doctors/grad students from across the globe. My research and presentations associated with it are probably my biggest “Spike” and are highlighted/mentioned throughout my application.

In-school:

VP of Bio-Olympiad, VP/Co-Founder of School’s only engineering club, Captain at Science Olympiad Team (State Medalist in several competitions each year), Varsity Debate

NHS, Math honor society, Spanish Honor Society, AP Scholar w Distinction, PSAT Commended Scholar, Princeton University Book Award

Out-of-School:

Research (see above), Summer Internship (only 2 weeks, school-affiliated), Medical Program at local University (1 of 2 juniors selected), President of State-Level Religious organization that organizes monthly events (fundraisers, sports etc.)

Volunteered at Special Needs Baseball Games each spring of high school (really meaningful to me, and expressed in essays), Hospital Volunteering, Religious Volunteering for National Relief Organizations

Sports - Started JV volleyball as a freshman/sophomore , took a break junior year (cuz of AP workload), planning to play Varsity Senior year, Captain of Intramural Basketball Team

Other - Johns Hopkins CTY talent search member, 2 Literary magazine (fictional writing) publications in junior/freshman years

Supplemental Materials Submitted: Research Abstract of my to-be-published paper, actual Research Poster from already published project, and Speaker Certificate from International Conference

I guess that’s a brief overview of my application, there’s alot of smaller things mentioned in my application not mentioned here, but I’m looking for some genuine feedback (much appreciated :)). I had my interview with the Harvard Alum, who fortunately was a doctor in the field of my research, and we connected really well. He was smart, he didn’t give too much away, but I would assumed my interview overall went very well.

Again, please let me know your thoughts, this is very much appreciated!!

2

First of all, relax. There are a LOT of very good universities in the US (and more elsewhere). You have great stats and will get into a very good school.

Secondly, relax. You don’t have to go to a “big name” university to be a success in life. I noticed that you have some experience with pharmaceuticals and doctors. I am taking a wild guess that you might be interested in medicine. You don’t have to go to a top school for undergrad to get into a very good medical school. You have a lot of choices. For some STEM fields such as CS Harvard is not even close to being the top ranked school in the US.

I think that your chances at Harvard are probably no worse than the average applicant, which in a recent year was 5.4%. Your chances might even be slightly better than this. If you want to go there then you should apply. However, you definitely need to apply to other schools, and take your applications to other schools very seriously.

One more piece of advice: If you do get into Harvard, then don’t spend your life bragging about it. I know a few Harvard alums who seem to have to mention “Harvard” every time I see them. There are few things more annoying that someone who went to a very good school having to hear about Harvard every time I see a particular colleague. If you do go to Harvard, it will be a good school in some ways, but expect that pretty much no one will care.

Your success will depend upon what you make of the opportunities given to you, and will depend a lot less upon where you go to university.

3

Hey, thanks for the advice.

Yeah, of course, I’m looking into other more reasonable schools that have great Biomed/engineering programs (georgia tech, Northeastern etc.). Harvards always been a dream, not just cuz of the name, I genuinely loved it there each time I visited and I know a lot of students/organizations that I’m close with. We’ll see what happens, I won’t be too upset if I don’t get accepted, but I guess I’m just trying to get a feel as to which tier of schools is fit for me.

Again, thanks for the reply!

4

With those ECs, I’d accept you lol. But it’s Harvard who knows.

5

Put in your application, then forget about it and focus on your other applications. Don’t put Harvard on a pedestal or measure your self worth by whether you get in. It is genuinely almost irrelevant to your success in life. You have good stats and likely will have good college choices regardless. Stop stressing out, it is abut ridiculous to put so much emphasis on one school.

6

@intparent

Yeah of course, not putting it on a “pedestal” or anything, I am focusing alot on other schools but since I did use my single choice Early action on Harvard over other schools, I just want to know if I should even have a chance at “expecting” an acceptance, or if my credentials are just too glaringly low for it, in which case i could completely forget abt harvard.

Just looking for a realistic estimate lol, thanks for replying!

7

I know it’s hard to wait, but at least you aren’t waiting for results of a cancer scan or something. Jus try to stay distracted.

You look like an interesting candidate. Have no idea why you think 720 is too low by the way.

I am interested in drug delivery for personal/family reasons. Any chance you worked on a way to have glucagon in a pen, or Forteo in a patch?

8

You have a great profile. If Harvard does not accept you, I am pretty confident that another equally reputable university will. You have good chances relative to most other applicants who apply to Harvard

9

Update: Deferred :frowning: