Suggestions for One Ambitious Soph

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hello,
I would like any suggestions or recommendations to improve my chances of being accepted by Harvard . I am still a sophomore, but I dream of attending this university someday. This is my first post, so please accept my apologies for my “noobness”. Thank you!

SAT I (breakdown): haven’t taken yet
ACT (breakdown): haven’t taken yet
SAT II (place score in parentheses): haven’t taken yet
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 out of 4.0 (4.6 out of 4.6 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 1%
AP (place score in parentheses):
Sophomore - AP WH (currently taking)
Junior - AP Physics 1, AP Chemistry, AP Cal AB, AP Lang. (Expected)
Senior - AP Biology, AP Cal BC, AP Lit., AP Stats, AP Comp./Gov. (Expected)
Subjects:
Frosh - 3 honors
Soph - 3 honors and 1 AP
Junior - 4 APs
Senior - 5 APs
Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Academy of Future Phy. and Med. Leaders, HOBY Award (expected), Frosh 4.0+, Principal’s Award, Society of Torch and Laurel Award, Top 3 Student in All Courses (Frosh), etc.

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): STEM Honor Society (Founder and CEO), Altar Server (veteran), Robotics (Director of Recruitment), Rep. of School (Rep.), JV Tennis, NHS, Boxing, National Society of High School Scholars
Summer Activities: Taking summer school courses (health, seminars), honors summer school, traveling around the world, etc.

[ b]Other**
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian/Hispanic (1/4)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

2

I’m not too familiar with a number of your “awards”. Some of them seem to be more participatory. Cost a lot of money, but not as selective as the “nominations” lead one to believe. I’d be careful with those.

I know you’re only a Soph, but you don’t want to fill it up with lightweight “awards”. Only put things there that you truly competed for and won. Nearly everyone applying to a selective school like Harvard has NHS, so…okay, I guess, but…
Also, If you have a 4.0, the Frosh 4.0 is redundant and the “top 3 student” thing is a little suspect. If your school hands out an award each year for top student in an entire department, that might be okay, but “Top Freshman in Science class” I wouldn’t do.

Over the next few years, continue to develop your interests and make sure to actually get some competition in on them so that you may have some big ones by application time.

Make sure your AP classes are timed so you will be getting some goodAP scores and investigate the SAT and other tests thoroughly so you have no surprises. Harvard competition requires ridiculously high scores on those.

Value your teachers and get the most out of them. They are a source of recommendations. You basically need to be the best recommendation they ever wrote. Time the class/teacher you plan to get the recommend from to be done in time for recommendation writing.

Keep that 4.0 alive by cooling every class.

You might branch out into some sport, music, drama or art. You’re a little one-dimensional. The new experiences may help you write your essays, too.

Get a “mentor”. An adult who has been to a competitive university is best.

I’ve given you a lot to think about and do, but it’s good you are thinking about it early.

Read CC and you will begin to get some idea about how difficult/fortuitous it is to actually get into Harvard. A lot of students deserve it and few get it.

3

Hi JustOneDad,

Thank you for your quick reply. You seem to have great knowledge in the Harvard’s application process. I am still preparing for those special awards when I become a Junior or Senior (AP Scholar, Olympiad, Intel, NMSF, etc.). I asked other people who attended Ivies about what is the most important part of your application process. They have told me just to follow and expand my passion as much as possible. (I personally found their statements as something very broad, but I came to CC to see other people’s opinions.) Do you agree with their statement? Why or why not? Thank you.

4

I very much agree with their statement. Passion is key.

But, I also suggested that you try a few new things to possibly add to it. If you win a convincing national award by application time, you might not need it. Short of that…

The other thing is that universities are picking students that will go out in the world and lead in something. Ergo, leadership development is important, too.

5

In addition, if I were to win some national awards by application time (God’s willing :smiley: ), why would you recommend me not to put awards like National Phy. and Med Scientists or HOBY on my application? I received full scholarships by the school to attend both conferences. I heard many rumors about the National Phy. and Med. Scientists as something bogus on CC. I personally believe that it is not, because students are recruited by (1) teachers, (2) alumni, or (3) because of their test scores from the college board. In addition, I made many friends who have extraordinary scholarly achievements (I admit: they are way qualified to get into Harvard compared to me). Also, I just wanted to say thanks for replying back to my question, and I appreciate it for taking your time for me!

6

I’ve posted several times how I’m not a fan of the company that runs the Future Physician’s conference. Mainly due to their business practices (foisting a costly program on kids/families, sending out press reports to both publicize but also exert pressure on the family to HAVE to send the kid – all the while, its actual benefit is questionable for the dollars spent). It seems the actual event is beneficial for its participants – the fact that you got it paid for you is fine. But don’t be fooled by its selection criteria (teachers (paid a fee), alumni (probably paid a fee), test agencies (company buys a list of high test scorers)). The GPA cut-off is 3.5. How many kids at your school have a 3.5 GPA? That’s how (non) selective the program really is. It’s a money-making venture, masking as a prestigious resume line. Go and enjoy but don’t buy into THEIR line and over-inflate its uniqueness or reputation.

As for your aiming for Harvard – I always caution ppl to eliminate the focus on any “named” super selective school. It’s just foolish, IMHO. You’ll serve yourself much better if you aim to be the best you can be, eventually targeting a broad list of (hopefully) “elite” colleges.
Read this thread and especially note post #6
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1726396-my-goal-is-to-get-into-harvard-p1.html

7

I think HYPSM Admissions would agree. Any award that costs a family money is going to have Admissions rolling their eyes and saying, “Looks like this kid’s family was trying to buy him awards.” The same with service trips, where parents pay a company so the student can have the experience (and write about it in their college essay) of helping the homeless in a foreign country. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/09communityservice-t.html

8

Hahaha. My fellow alumnus interviewer is a judge. He lamented to me how one particular un-impressive applicant droned ceaselessly about her community service. He said “Do high school students know that community service is commonplace? I SENTENCE people to community service!”

9

National Society of High School Scholars – you can omit that one too. It’s another vanity money-making venture along with the now bankrupt “Who’s Who in American High Schools.” NSHSS awards about $50K in scholarships but takes in about $600K year in fees from its “awardees”. It’s a complete joke. 3.5 GPA or better – basically, if you join, you get to pay $70 for someone to restate that you’re on the school Honor Roll. They pay the schools to give them lists of students who meet this criteria.

My kids’ “award” package hit the trash bin. Although I see proud parents with the NSHSS bumper sticker…

10

Regarding community service, when one considers that many schools now require it to graduate (including the school from which my sons attended), it seems ever more meaningless. Over the years, I had more than one conversation with the principal about the absurdity of “mandatory volunteerism.”

11

Hi T26E4,

Thanks for responding to my post. I have been told by many to pick the “best” college for me than dropping dead for some elite school. However, I am attracted by Harvard University because of its strong pool of passionate students, endless academic resources, the ability to gain ahead in a competitive world, its #1 ranking in medical research, and by the stories of people who attended the university. I believe that I might be able to do great things in this world with the help of my Harvard education (God’s willing :smiley: )

Whether you are wondering if Fut. Phys. and Med. Scientists was worth it, I can tell you that it was very inspirational. After attending the conference, I got to meet the Former Physician of the US President, the US Surgeon General, Harvard Professors, the medical dean of Georgetown, teen prodigies, Nobel Laureates, and an Ebola survivor. It was the one of the most defining moments of my life, and I would definitely go back. And yes, I already got your lecture about awards that are not won in a national field. However, it definitely shows my passions in medicine, and it is my way of separating me from my peers.

12

Hi gibby,

I see your posts everywhere in Harvard University’s forum! Therefore, it is special to receive a reply from you. My question for you is why would Ivies send their students to travel around the world to help the homeless, gain experience, etc.? Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you do have to pay for them unless they are on sponsored funds. In case you are wondering, I plan on writing my essay entirely about how my passion guided and inspired me over the years. I don’t believe the intended purpose of community service should be used to “look good” at those admin officers. It is to help others and gain experience that will benefit you for the rest of your life. Thank you.

13

I’m not sure where you are getting your information from, but I’m not aware of Harvard or Yale sending their students around the world to help the homeless. Please point me to an article in the Harvard Crimson, The Yale Daily Herald, The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, or any respected publication that says they do.

FWIW: At the undergraduate level, actually very few Harvard and Yale students study abroad – maybe 300 out of 6000 in any given year study abroad – and when they do, they STUDY, they don’t feed the homeless or help the poor – at least not as their main activity.

I agree, but the vast majority of high school students think the more community service hours they have on their resume, the better chances they will have for Admissions – and it doesn’t work that way. For example, both my kids had no community service on their resume – zero, zilch none. And that didn’t stop them from being admitted to HYP and a whole range of other top colleges.

14

It seems like the thrust of presentations during college visitations the last few years has been heavily weighted towards talking about opportunities for study, research and yes, even service abroad.

15

Hi gibby,

Actually, an alum from my school came to visit us. He is from Princeton, and he talked about his trip to Africa that he attended with his classmates. My mistake for involving it in a Harvard University forum. Thank you.

16

According to Harvard’s website, 60% of undergrads integrate international experience into their studies. And yes, they do help with humanitarian relief work.

See:
https://college.harvard.edu/academics/enrichment-programs/study-abroad

17

^^ Harvard has about 6400 undergraduate students enrolled full time on campus each semester and LESS than 100 of them are abroad during any one semester: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/2/13/why-not-study-abroad/

Most Harvard student’s travel abroad during the summer and are doing so for college credit, not necessarily humanitarian work: http://oie.fas.harvard.edu

1000/6400 does NOT add up to be 60%, so I’m assuming that Harvard is getting that 60% figure by including many students from affluent families who travel abroad during the summer for pleasure.

18

-_- Does it matter how many students study per semester? Per year? Why or why not? It is the bigger picture here: 60% of undergrads travel abroad for multiple reasons. My earlier posts included that Ivies send their students for helping the poor, gaining experience, ETC. Instead, you dissected my phrase “for helping the poor” and reasoned that Ivies mainly send their students to study abroad. Congratulations to your children for being accepted and attending HYP. It is a rare and amazing feat. I wish them and you the best in life. However, I am different from your children: ECs, GPA, personality, etc.

19

Yes, I think it does matter, because it says a lot about the college – and what the Administration deems as important. At some universities, more than half all undergraduate students study abroad because those universities and their administrations believe studying abroad is an important life experience – but that’s NOT the case with Harvard’s Administration, as most student’s do NOT study abroad, and the university does NOT easily give credit for studying abroad. A student must get their program and course rigor pre-approved in advance – and that is very difficult. Contrary to what you believe, the majority of Harvard student’s who do get their program approved to study abroad actually STUDY; they are not going abroad for humanitarian reasons. I’m just trying to set the record straight, as you have a misconception about the college.

20

Okay, okay. Just to let you know: I am aware that the majority of students go out to study. However throughout our entire conversation, I meant to include on why there are different other reasons on why they go international.