Hi, guys!
I’m a junior in high school who wants to apply to Harvard’s Early Action Program this year.
I’ve had this dream to get accepted to Harvard for quite a long time. Now that I’m on the verge of applying to colleges, it’s so hard to carry this out on my own because of a lot of stress and concerns. So, I’m just looking for people who share this dream of mine. It’d be great to just meet online and talk about our concerns together. 
If there is any, please answer. Thanks!
Expect to be rejected. If you are, you won’t be sad. If you’re accepted, you’ll be super happy.
Hey @hvbaozi20! I’m also someone who shares the dream. But like @qpqpqp said, I’m doing my best to try to expect rejection—and also fall in love with other schools I have a much better shot of getting into!—so that December & March won’t be too bad if it doesn’t work out. I try not to stay on here too much because of the pretty impossible standards people have here but I’m definitely glad to meet other 2020’ers who have similar hopes!
Hey there! Awesome to meet you fellow dreamers! Yeah it’s definitely stressful knowing the chances are very low, but I second what @RandomRhino said. I think it’s so important to love a number of schools, so that way wherever we end up, we know we will be happy. What are some of the other universities you all are looking at?
Hey guys. 2019’er here. Not that it means much, but good luck to all of you! I definitely advocate not having very big expectations with Harvard, because it’s quite exactly at destroying them as lots of people here can attest to. Still, don’t completely discount it. Trust me when I say that absolutely anything can happen. I mean, I got in somehow
Hey! Also planning on applying early action this fall! Best of luck 
Don’t expect rejection…
That’s awful.
Honestly, if I went around expecting rejection, I wouldn’t have applied.
You have to expect the best to succeed. You have to believe that you can do anything…and you can!
Nobody can tell you if you will or will not get into Harvard. In reality, everybody has a chance. You can increase those chances by being exceptional in any given area. Harvard is looking for future leaders and incredible team players. Harvard is looking for the game changes, the “round pegs in the square holes”… Take that as you will.
If you are in fact rejected, you just have to know that you’re better suited at a different institution, and that’s not the end of the world. Then set another goal, and go for it.
Maybe that’s just how my brain works, but thinking in this manner has definitely enabled me to take big risks and reap the rewards.
Also, as a high school junior, you will do a lot of exploring college options over the summer. Don’t get your heart set out on Harvard. Keep an open mind about schools, and chances are you may find other places you’d rather attend. I’m not trying to discourage you from applying to Harvard, I’m just saying to really think about a place that suits your needs. A lot of people apply to Harvard simply because it’s Harvard and when it’s all said and done, college is a very important time in your life, and you want to be perfectly happy with your decision.
For instance, when I was in your position, I was obsessed with Columbia. I went to a summer program there and had a ton of fun, but looking back on it now, after I visited many different schools, I realized, I only really liked Columbia so much because of NYC. If the school picked up and moved to a different location, I wouldn’t even consider it. I didn’t even look into Harvard until September of my senior year.
You really have to visit different places and talk to the profs and students. Look at internship opportunities, jobs, study abroad, the surrounding area, surrounding colleges, distance from home, food (if that is as important to you as it is to me), weather, alumni success stories, architecture that you find appealing, school colors. Things that seem so small will become so much bigger when it’s really time to fill out those applications.
Good luck!!!
I share the same dream.
I think the best piece of advice I could give is to keep an open mind during the time admission decisions come out. When you’re applying, make sure that your passion (whatever it is) is genuine, true, and richly displayed in your entire application. That’s the time for you to tell YOUR story, let it shine in its own right! Apply to the schools you would sincerely enjoy attending while being mindful of your actual chances of admittance. After you’ve applied, just let it go and trust in the application you so carefully crafted. Then on the days when you get your decisions back, make sure to really appreciate your acceptances and dismiss the rejections as a sign that it wouldn’t have been the right one for you. I was in love with Harvard but as decisions neared, I opened myself to the possibilities of other schools I had applied to and found out some things that put them at Harvard’s level in my mind. I was rejected by Harvard but got into Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, and offered wait lists from Brown, Columbia, and UChicago. If I’d only see Harvard as my goal, I would’ve completely failed in my mind during this admissions season. But I am completely grateful because I allowed myself to enjoy my other options. Now, I seriously can’t picture myself going to any other college than Princeton and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Best of luck class of 2020, either way you’ll end up exactly where you were supposed to!
@Homeless2Princeton Wow that’s incredible! You must be so happy. Congratulations!!!
Did you apply undeclared for your major or declared for the school’s you got into? Georgetown is my absolute dream school. I’d love to hear what you think really made you stand out or how you think you got into these schools. Again congrats!!
I’m definitely applying early action to harvard next fall! It’s a reach for me, as it is for anybody, but it’s not completely impossible. A chance is a chance, no matter how small!
I feel like early action is a bit risky tbh guys which is why I’m going for regular decision. The whole thought of not being able to apply to any other college just makes me shiver. Harvard is my dream as well but I have an open mind to other colleges.
@RoadtotheIvies98 If you apply to H for SCEA, if they defer or reject you, you’re 100% allowed to apply to as many other colleges as you wish. Also, you can apply to early notification Public schools like UMich too. You only can’t apply to other EA or ED programs.
@qpqpqp advice is good. In other words, don’t get any high hopes. It’s hard for a reason.
If you REALLY want to increase your chances, go ham on essays. Seriously. Ivies put a considerable amount of thought into reading those.
Applying this fall, considering applying early! Not expecting much but hey, why not. Definitely a dream 
@RoadtotheIvies98
why not?
With SCEA, you are allowed to apply other colleges even “Early Action” to public schools. Remember, it is EARLY ACTION, not early decision!
I’m an aspiring freshman who also views Harvard as a dream college. For all of you who have already gotten your results back, would any of you mind sharing what they were? For those who made it, do you have any advice or insight on how to be accepted?
@CollegeEducation: “SCEA” means Single Choice Early Action – you can not apply to other colleges’ EA programs. Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford all have the same prohibition. GTown and BC (I believe) have some sort of restricted EA as well.
This differs from “normal” EA-- which does allow you to apply to other EA programs
@T26E4 for the record
Early Action is a non-binding early program, meaning that if you are admitted you are not obligated to enroll. If you apply to Harvard under our Early Action program, you may also apply at the same time to any public college/university or to foreign universities but you are restricted from applying to other private universities’ Early Action and Early Decision programs.
please see this https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/application-timeline/restrictive-early-action
Has anyone created a Facebook page for this group. If yes I will really like to get the link.