<p>Yes, I plan to do that with my essay jsungoh. I already have a story in mind that I remember from chemistry class, in which I found a different way of working a problem, and the teacher got mad because I wasn’t going by the book. Also, what were your stats silverturtle?</p>
<p>Hold on. I just looked at silverturtle’s stats. His scores and grades were good, but he really did not have any major accomplishments besides this.</p>
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<p>Studious, I never thought otherwise.</p>
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<p>Yes, it’s already on the internet, and yes, the internet is clearly public–much more public than we often seem to realize.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Silverturtle had already posted in this thread and not brought his own story into it. I know that IRL, the fact that I may have said something in the past does not necessarily mean I’d like it dragged into any future conversations. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>And, Silverturtle, if you wish I would just shut the hell up about the whole thing, I apologize. And I shall now do that.</p>
<p>Why did you make a hypothetical thread?</p>
<p>Does it not bother anyone else just how absolutely sure GP is that he’s going to be an Intel finalist? (Not even semi-finalist. Finalist.) If that cockiness also comes across in his essays, or recommendation letters, it might not be as easy for him as he seems to think.</p>
<p>I have already conducted extensive research in mathematics and chemistry, and working on a mathematical topic with a professor at Vanderbilt, who thinks I can definitely make it an Intel project, and that I would have a decent chance of being a finalist.</p>
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Come on. We all had that phase when we were dead set on attending Harvard, haha.
The OP seems over-confident, a bad trait.</p>
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You know, I might sound like an old man saying this, but everything that I planned during college admissions didn’t go according to its plan. I am just saying, nothing in the world is predictable. I would be more cautious if I were you. The more you think you will get Intel, the more depressed you will be if you don’t get it.</p>
<p>“A decent chance” is about 50/50. Until you have been named an Intel finalist, all the argument in the world is moot. Concentrate on earning those kudos for now, and save the conjecturing for senior year when you have actual awards.</p>
<p>Actually I know an Intel who was rejected…maybe he was “only” a semi-finalist…</p>
<p>I recall you posting this in the MIT forum a few weeks ago. You have not achieved the vast majority of the stats you posted above. Focus on actually doing something productive instead of posting your ideal profile on college forums.</p>
<p>OP, I think you’re missing the point. None of us can tell you what your chance is of getting in, especially with a college as unpredictable as Harvard. The final decision is not up to us and we can’t assess how well of a fit you would be. Are you qualified? Yes. Will you get in? I don’t know. </p>
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<p>Hmm…since you brought it up, I’ve had the opportunity to talk/see one of those seniors in action at a science competition, and the only words I had were “wow”. It was amazing how he answered even the most difficult of questions within a few seconds. I’m not too bad at math/science myself, but the ability he had was ridiculous. He told me later that he had been “interested” since he was 5 and learned a lot of what college students learn as a middle/high schooler. Another person I met was on the same ARML A team as I was, and he never came to any of the practices, or did any sort of preparation as far as I saw, but during the team round, the methods he noticed for tackling proof related problems were amazing. It’s like he could simply see somethings the other 14 kids couldn’t see (and we had some pretty good kids…). At one point he was telling others to write down what he was saying, since he couldn’t write as fast as he talked. Point being, these individuals seem to have some kind of ability that simply can’t be learned through practice. I’m sure this does not pertain to every single kid at Harvard, but there are * many * extremely strong math/science kids in the CA/NY/northeast areas, and you look like you are one of them, but are you one of those 200-300 shoo-in kids? I don’t know.</p>
<p>And, don’t underestimate getting to the finalist level in Intel. One of my friends was a regional finalist in Siemens but got nowhere in Intel. These sorts of competitions are difficult, and I don’t think it’s possible to guess how far you’ll get. Intel seems to value innovation and creative thinking a lot more than other science competitions do. </p>
<p>Also, let us know how your predictions fare…</p>
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Beautiful post.</p>
<p>I know one Intel Science fair winner (50k scholarship) who did nt get into Harvard last year.</p>
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<p>I appreciate your warmth. Though this may come across merely as pro forma dismissal, it’s important to say (and I truly believe) that, even when it doesn’t manifest among Internet posting or face-to-face interaction as much as we’d like, excellence of character to such an extent that we may be tempted to call it extraordinary is commonplace in less-inspected or -evident ways, or perhaps just below the surface. </p>
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<p>Because I fear misconstruals of my intentions, I usually refrain from sharing my case. I certainly don’t mind, however, that StudiousMaximus brought it up, since it does, I think, serve to support in a compelling way a part of the reality of college admissions. </p>
<p>For someone like the OP, these chance threads are only meaningful insofar as they can lead to well-directed motivation. They work best when the OP knows what he or she wants and then learns the best way to get there; they are at their worst when the OP knows what he or she wants and is interested only in learning whether he or she will get there. Do the best that you can. If you couple this effort with a pragmatic but non-obsessive consideration for what colleges want to see, you can expect your dedication to be rewarding both in college admissions (this is not defined, though, by getting into the most prestigious school on your list) and intrinsically.</p>
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<p>Another beautiful post.</p>
<p>OP, your chances are zero if I have anything to say about it. You are the most tedious person around. Next you’ll want to know your chances of Harvard Medical School or whatever based on being a Putnam fellow.</p>
<p>I hate to say this, but I honestly don’t believe this is possible unless you’ve already accomplished half of it and are well on your way to achieving the rest. </p>
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<p>Any one or two of these would represent a very significant time commitment (not to mention an exceptional amount of talent), and again, unless you’re already qualifying for USAMO, unless you’ve already published articles, etc…I just don’t see this happening. Your SAT score (which I believe is the only thing that you mentioned you already have) is great, but it’s just a score. For most other things on this list, you’ll be competing against other people and not just a test. That’s much more difficult.</p>
<p>At any rate, I’d be happy for you to prove me wrong. Come back next year, and if you’ve actually accomplished all of these things by then, you should stand an extremely strong chance of getting into HYPSM.</p>
<p>By the way, I don’t understand your obsession with Harvard. It’s the person that matters, not his academic pedigree.</p>
<p>Actually, wait a second, just how old are you? I was going through posts, and you said at different points that you just finished freshman year, that you were applying to Harvard this year (i.e. this past admissions cycle, if I’m not mistaken), etc. Stop posting chance threads if you’re not even applying any time soon.</p>
<p>OP hasn’t even qualified for the USAMO yet, which makes it all the more unlikely that he will qualify for blue MOP. That’s just one of the many glaring inconsistencies in his post. I could go on, but I’m lazy.</p>
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<p>OP is going through one of those “Harvard” phases.</p>