I am a current graduating senior in 2016 looking to attend community college and transfer to Harvard College. I would like some advice on ways i can increase my chances of becoming 1 out of the 15 transfer students who get accepted to go to Harvard.
Get very lucky. But seriously, don’t fixate on one school. Learn about many schools and apply out to as many as you can. Then go from there. You are asking me to tell you how to win the lottery. If you want advice about how to get into a top school I can help you there.
Only about 1 out of 100 applicants is accepted each year. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/6/21/transfer-admissions-one-percent/
I’m going to assume that like most of us, you’re not the child of Bill Gates, about to win a Nobel, or a gifted lacrosse player. This essentially means that you need a compelling reason to attend Harvard. Your reason has to be beyond the fact that it’s one of the best universities, if not the best university in the world. It has to be beyond the fact that you want to attend an Ivy League or a top school in general. Why do you want to go to Harvard? Why do you need Harvard? Do you NEED Harvard? If you provide yourself with an answer that, when translated into an essay, can easily flow if you replaced “Harvard” with “Yale” or “Columbia”, you will probably be rejected, as it is what will most likely happen, given every transfer applicant’s chances to begin with. Of course you need to prove that you can handle coursework by having a 3.7+ GPA, as Harvard is tough. You are better off applying to Harvard, as you seem to really want to, along with applying to other schools that also have what you’ve really liked about Harvard. It isn’t the end-all, be-all and there is always grad school (depending on your plans). Just understand that 15 people is such a minuscule amount. This is like filling a room with 15 people who are going to contribute flavor and substance to rye conversation that is being had in that room. It’s very cutthroat because you truly must stand out from 100 people instead of 24 or so. In summary, excel in your classes/extracurriculars and have a legitimate and compelling reason to attend Harvard.