<p>OK. I think people have become obsessed with finding "hooks" for Harvard. Many of these so-called hooks are just tip-factors. There are 100's, if not 1000's, of other very well qualified students applying who could also claim these advantages in the admission's process. So being a URM, athlete, poor person, or a legacy isn't as big as a deal as we'd like it to be. A tip-factor is really just a boost in admissions. If they have two exactly same applicants, they'll more than likely admit the applicant with the tip-factor. Tip-factors don't make up for bad scores, ec involvement, grades, etc... </p>
<p>Now, this year I noticed that several people on this board are identifying themselves as low-income. Believe it or not, Harvard can look at your parents' level of education, whether or not you used a fee waiver, zipcode, etc, to figure out what your income probably truely is. </p>
<p>With that said, there were several low-income people who were accepted EA, but only because the admission's committee felt that they would be clear admits when the entire RD pool was in. So, in turn, many of you were upset and thought you were getting shafted by Harvard. You must realize, though, that you still have a chance at getting into Harvard RD. Wait until they can see all the low-income people and pick the best ones who'll add diversity to their campus. </p>
<p>Hooks --- Publishing a NYT bestseller, having parents donate 10,000,000 dollars, nobel prize winner, olympic athlete, homeless, etc... Only these things can probably make up for terrible grades, low scores, etc... </p>
<p>I was accepted Harvard EA, and I'll be attending next fall. I live in Wyoming and come from a low-income family. My scores and grades were extremely good, I took extra independent AP classes as they weren't offered, finally got rid of most of my chronic illness, work 30 hours a week, and am in my 4th years of Spanish and German (even though I took both AP tests and scored 5s.) My ECs really suck. However, I worked on average full-time and was sick (I missed 70% of the first semester of my junior year) , so that "kind of" made up for it (well, that's what I'm thinking.) ------ Just don't lose hope and continue to do well and I'm sure you all well be accepted into a top school.</p>