The Moment The Harvard Board Has Been Waiting For...

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Finally, an opportunity for all of you to evaluate my chances for Harvard!!!;)</p>

<p>School: Competitive Public in MI
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
UW GPA: 3.81 with HARDEST COURSELOAD in history of school according to GC with 9 AP tests taken by junior year
PSAT: 215 (M:80, CR:67, W:68)-100% sure will advance to Semifinalist status
SAT I: Verbal: 700 Math: 760 Writing: 720
ACT: 35 (32E,35M,36R,35SC,11E)
SAT II: Math IIC 760, Physics: 740, US History: 720, English Literature 620 , World History 620<br>
AP's: Calculus AB-5
Chemistry-4
(7 more to come once I receive my AP scores for junior year)
Other Stats: AMC 10B(2005): 116
AMC 12B(2006):115
AIME(2006): 5 </p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Model United Nations(3 years)
*Member(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*Secretary(10th, 2004-2005)
*5 hrs/month year round </p>

<p>Quiz Bowl(3 years)
*Varsity Player(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*5 hrs/weeks year round
*State and National Qualifier(X2)
*5th ranked team in the state in 2005-2006 year </p>

<p>City Youth Health Council(1 year)
*Member(11th, 2005-2006)
*Promoting Active Communities(PAC) Committee
President </p>

<p>Hospital Volunteer(1 year)
*Information Desk Manager(11th, 2005-2006)
*5 hrs/week and 100+ volunteer hours </p>

<p>Boys Tennis(2 years)
*JV Player(9th-10th, 2004-2005) and expected Varsity
(12th, 2007)
*10 hrs/week plus tournaments during Spring for School
*4 hrs/week Club Tennis year round besides Spring </p>

<p>Policy Debate(3 years)
*Member/Novice Judge(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*5 hrs/week plus tournaments during Fall </p>

<p>International Club(3 years)
*Member(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*Mentee(11th, 2005-2006)
*4 hrs/month year round </p>

<p>Teen Court(3 years)
*Member(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*2 hrs/week year round </p>

<p>Forensics(3 years)
*Member(9th-11th, 2003-2006)
*2 hrs/week plus tournaments during Spring </p>

<p>National Honor Society(2 years)
*Member(10th-11th, 2005-2006)
*Arts/Showcase Decoration Committee
*2 hrs/month </p>

<p>Freshman Mentor Program(1 year)
*2 hrs/week
*I help the freshman in my school adjust to the new
surroundings and experiences of high school during my
seminar period as an upperclassmen.</p>

<p>Awards and Recognitions:
*Inter-County Quiz Bowl Junior Varsity Champion(10th,
2005 Spring)
*Model UN Conference Chair Recognition Award/Gavel(11th, 2005 Fall)
*AMC 12 Distinction Award for 10th and under(10th,
2005)
*AIME Qualifier(11th, 2006)
*Quiz Bowl UMD Spring Classic 2nd Place
(10th, 2005 Spring)
*Quiz Bowl Division Champions(10th and 11th, 2004
and 2005)
*Academic Letterman/Honor Roll 3 times(9th-11th, 2003-
2006)
*National Honor Society Member(10th-12th)
*District Festival Qualifier and Student Congress
Participant(2005 Fall)
-Executive Committee member
*National Merit Commended(will find out if I advance to
Semifinalist status in September)-(11th, 2006)
*Telluride Association Summer Program for High School
Juniors(TASP) Finalist-(11th, 2006)</p>

<p>In addition, I am planning on leading the startup of a JSA and Amnesty International Chapter in my school because those are two organizations that don't currently exist here and I love political and international studies and want to spread awareness on it. I am interested in majoring in Economics and
International Relations!!!!!!!!!!!! :)</p>

<p>Please be honest and give constructive feedback instead of general comments. I greatly appreciate all your help!!!</p>

2

<p>In a word, no. Your starting up of JSA and Amnesty Int. will probably appear as a cheap attempt to boost your ECs on an app. GPA not wonderful, SAT II scores average, generic ECs with few awards of value, and you are Asian. Without hesitation, I would call it a fluke if you got in.</p>

3

<p>Umm, do I sense some bitterness here??? I wonder since when SAT II's in the 700's were considered "average" and a 3.81 UW GPA courseload packed with 8 AP classes was not considered "wonderful". Not every EC gives away some giant trophy that you oogle over if you weren't aware. I participate in all my extracurriculars since I love doing them and they have been very satisfying experience for me throughout high school. Not for all the money in the world would I switch my interests/passions to scientific research or something just so I can have "SIEMENS REGIONAL WINNER" or "ISEF FIRST PLACE" on my resume.</p>

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<p><em>UPDATE</em></p>

<p>After receiving my AP scores for the 2006 year, it seems that I will be eligible for the "AP Scholar With Distinction" award.</p>

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<p>I'm not gonna lie, drummerdude is probably spot on. SAT II scores in the 700s are very average for the Harvard applicant pool, and a 3.81 UW GPA is undoubtedly very good, but is far from perfect. You asked for opinions; don't gripe when you get ones you don't like.</p>

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<p>dictator- if you post something like this and say "be honest" its completely immature to get defensive when someone is honest.</p>

<p>In addition, if you everything you do has given you a 'satisfying experience' through high school, then why define yourself by harvard? why do you need someone on this board to tell you what you want to hear? keep living your life without worrying about how harvard will judge you. Apply, and if you get in, great. If you dont, you said yourself that high school has been satisfying.</p>

<p>but DON'T attack someone for telling the truth.</p>

7

<p>


</p>

<p>Well...I hope you do know that most of the people who win awards like that usually don't do it for padding their resumes. Thinking that you can just "decide" to win one of those awards and start prepping now is probably too late. </p>

<p>Do not think that winners of prestigious awards do it simply for college resumes. Many truly LOVE what they do. Same goes for awards like Davidson Fellows and NFAA Arts etc. In any case, only real interest and passion shows in those awards- 99% of the time.</p>

<p>Don't get defensive or angry as you did request for honest opinions in the original post. I certainly don't see why drummerdude_07 is bitter- do you honestly think everyone wants to go to Harvard? Perhaps he's a student there in the first place...or perhaps at a comparable institution. Even if that's not the case, you post reply seemed to carry an air of superiority that I (and others on this board) don't care for. </p>

<p>Anyway...if you want 'my' honest opinion, I wouldn't say that you don't have a chance. Of course you do. The SAT scores and SAT IIs are reasonable. However, the 620's in English lit and World History might hurt as the official SAT reports list ALL your scores. Does your school rank? If so, what is it? That might help us determine your 'chances.' Which in case you haven’t noticed, is nothing more than a subjective sentence that we provide you with such as “Maybe,” “Good Chance,” or “Probably Not???" In any case, it’s not something to lose sleep over. </p>

<p>I agree with the previous posters- your ECs are kind of generic. We never said that you are not committed to them; honestly, we can't tell if you are or aren't. Rather, we are simply comparing you to other similar candidates who have posted their stats on this board previously. They also showed great interest in the fields you've listed. And they also have similar awards.</p>

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<p>I agree, that you should not get defensive. No one has told you not to apply, and honestly, my stats were lower than yours for the SAT but were much higher for GPA and I still got in. It seems like you do a lot of activities, but from what you wrote, your awards do not seem to show that you are outstanding in any of them. If you are truly passionate about what you do, show it in your app and that's all that I can say.</p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

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<p>What?</p>

<p>With such a hard course load, your gpa is fine. Your lowest SAT II scores won't matter because Harvard only cares about the highest 3. You're very involved and have received some good distinctions--they don't necessarily have to be earth-shattering. If there are clubs that your school doesn't have but that you are passionate about starting, go for it. Even if you don't get into Harvard, you'll have made a difference.</p>

<p>As far as those things go, you're right on track with everyone else, which doesn't mean you have huge chances, but I think they'll give you some good consideration. I think if you nail the essay(s) you'll have a decent chance. You could combine personal experience and your passion for international relations and funnel that into something pretty interesting. Best of luck!</p>

<p>ps, Harvard doesn't have an "international relations" concentration in the strictest sense. But there are ways of getting around that and there are definitely classes tailored to that interest.</p>

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<p>u don't need to have other people tell u that ur chances are fine. i'm sure u are "smart" enough to realize that u have a shot. when i was helpin out my friend apply to harvard, he had half the things on ur resume ... so i think u'll be fine.</p>

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<p>****ing crazy.</p>

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<p>All of you, thank you very much for your honest opinions and I am very sorry if it sounds like I'm getting defensive about my credentials. I understand that my SAT II scores are trash compared to a majority of the Harvard applicant so I am going to retake three of them that I feel most confident on to get triple 800's. As far as my low SAT I score, I think that my 35 on the ACT gives me around a ~2340 on the SAT/ACT conversion chart and I have a really good essay score on both tests; therefore, I may or may not retake my SAT I depending on if I have time. Another point of concern is the two lower SAT's that are in the 600's and I really hope Harvard overlooks them and just focuses on the top 3(I actually got a 580 the first time on Physics before I retook it for the 740).</p>

<p>As far as EC's go, I realize mine aren't earth-shattering but I am very commmitted and passionate about each and every single one of them. I might not include some of the generic ones in my application so I can focus on the clubs/organizations that I clearly made a difference in. My biggest issue is perhaps that since my interests don't lie in the math/science field, I'm not sure how I can rack up any awards in the IR/politics area. Math and science students usually have olympiads and research competitions to prepare for but there's nothing concrete like that with regards to the humanities. I have a few other minor debate awards and stuff but IMHO, writing good essays that highlight your passions may be the only way to stand out if you're interested in majoring in IR/politics/public policy/business management.</p>

<p>Finally, in response to WindCloudUltra's comment, I never implied that the science awards I listed in my previous post were easy to attain at all, in fact I know for a fact that they are very diofficult to achieve, which is why they are prestigious LOL. Actually, I was merely stating that I personally would not be willing to switch my passions into the Math/Science field just to get some "cocrete" awards like that. However, if you're a budding scientist, then more power to you I guess.:)</p>

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<p>I wasn't trying to degrade or insult you. Certainly, everything there is "wonderful" to 99% of the population, but you have to be well beyond "wonderful" to get into Harvard. You have to be somewhere between "I don't believe you" and "<em>fainting</em>" on the scale of the general population. Don't take it the wrong way. I don't think I'll get into Harvard for some of the same reasons I don't think you will (generic ECs and no real awards).</p>

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<p>While I think you're insane (haha) to have taken NINE APs by your JUNIOR year...geez...I think you have a good chance, at least. To have a 3.81 with that hard of a courseload is a very good thing. From my experience, the Harvard admissions committee(s) look at everything IN CONTEXT, not independently (correct me someone if I'm wrong, please!). As for "no real awards", I disagree...I didn't have any "real awards" either (well, sort-of, haha), and you do NOT have to be "earth-shattering", you just have to have potential, great potential and character, and from your stats (a very narrow picture of a person, I realize) and your subsequent replies, I think you at least have a good shot. Good luck!
~lb</p>

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<p>What's Quiz Bowl?</p>

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<p>By the way if you want some stuff for international relations and politics, why bother winning awards etc? What a waste of time.. go out there, work for some think tank or something like that. Pull up daddy's connections, find some diplomats, talk to them, find out what you can do etc. Work for some political party, play up your MUN and debating etc.</p>

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<p>With no experience in the details of Harvard acceptee stats, I can't give a really legitimate opinion of how much of a shoe-in an applicant with these credentials would do when results come around.</p>

<p>However, asian_dictator's stats kinda remind me of my own (down to ethnicity and type of school I attend). Unfortunately, I have been pretty lackluster about how much a chance I have at Harvard. (The long post for the acceptance stats for the Class of 2010 haven't made me feel better or worse about things as they are now.)</p>

<p>Umm, since it's been brought up here, I wanted to ask about PSATs. They change with the years, but can anyone give an estimate of about what scores appear to be the minimum for being a Merit semifinalist? Even with a 228, I am nowhere near as confident as asian_dictator that I will be announced as one in September.</p>

<p>This probably stems from the fact that the Finalists I know for last year all have their scores in the mid-230's. And with my school only having 6 semifinalists last year but hailing from one of the top educational counties in the nation (= incredibly competitive), I would be disappointed to know my school only had 6 people with schools above the 220's, if the cut-off is indeed somewhere in there. (Of course, me making semifinalist would definitely alleviate some of this grief, heh.)</p>

<p>So anyways, yeah. Are there different regional cutoffs in effect for stuff like this?</p>

<p>P.S. Quiz Bowl is a national competition where teams form from a school and compete using buzzers to answer questions of any sort: science, history, math, language, you name it. It's your basic academic competition, usually favor the quick-witted and fast-fingered.</p>

<p>P.P.S. Good luck on those 7 AP scores, dictator. 0_o</p>

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<p>Hmm, too late to edit.</p>

<p>Anyways, I've found the answers to my own questions.</p>

19

<p>BUMP!!!</p>

<p>P.S.: kryptonasa35^^
228 is definitely a good enough PSAT score to get you semifinalist status in ANY state in the US. Don't be too hard on yourself.:)</p>

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<p>arent the psats just a stupid test you take one day sophomore year and you can skip real school and just like chill out?</p>