Hi, just going to quickly dump my academics real quick. My extracurriculars are currently shaping up quite nicely but I want to focus on my academics quickly:
GCSEs (Year 10-11/Grade 9-10 Terminal Exams): 10 As (above an A), 1 A, 2 Bs
A-levels: Predicted AAAA
SAT: 1510/1600 with EBRW 750 and Math 760
SAT Essay: 6/6/6
SAT Subject Tests: Planning to take Math II and Physics in May
I’m currently in Year 12 (Grade 11/Junior).
I took my SAT on the 3rd of December and it was mainly to get a feel for the SAT, I did one practice test a few weeks beforehand but I stupidly didn’t actually revise anything - I didn’t know a couple Math topics due to curriculum differences and I probably missed out on a couple grammar rule questions because I never even looked at the list of things that can come up, I essentially walked in blind. However I still ended up with a 99th percentile score so I was happy.
I know this might sound senseless - especially as an international so they’re probably more lenient - but seeing as the median SAT score for those admitted to Harvard is apparently 1540, is it worth a retake? I’m almost certain I could push my score past that with some actual revision, that’s only 3 questions more to get right. I’m an idiot for not revising and don’t really want to retake it a third time, so I definitely would revise.
But for such a small difference is it worth it? I’m leaning towards it, I’d probably do it at the start of Year 13.
My other issue is the SAT Essay. I only got 6/6/6 instead of 8/8/8, is it a big issue? It was my first time seeing an SAT Essay as I again stupidly didn’t revise it, but is it a huge deal?
The real issue: International applicants do NOT have the same odds as US applicants. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford and MIT (among other colleges) limit the number of international students to about 10% to 11% of an incoming freshman class. That means that Harvard admits about 160 to 190 international students per year. To see how many students from your country are currently attending Harvard, go to: http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics. From the pull-down menus, select STUDENTS, HARVARD COLLEGE (the undergraduate school) and YOUR COUNTRY. Be sure to divide that number by 4 to get an idea of about how many students are admitted each year from your country.
Harvard doesn’t publish the number of applications from each country, but there could be more than 1000 students applying to Harvard from your country in any given year for a limited number of slots. To be admitted you have to be the best-of-the-best from your country. Those are terrible odds, no matter what your stats.
So, your scores are certainly within Harvard’s range, but as an international student that’s not good enough! Since you are a junior, and English is your first language, I would suggest you take the test again and see if you could do better.
You’re asking about Harvard, one of the tippy-top colleges in the US – of course 6’s on your essay need to be improved! Google “how-to-get-a-perfect-sat-essay-score”
I’m here to pretty much back up @gibby’s comment - I am a French SCEA applicant who got deferred with 1500 and 7/7/7, but my essays were really bad, so might not be ONLY because of the score.
^^ Sorry about the deferral. As Harvard does not require the TOEFL for international students, it is thought that Admissions pays close attention to a student’s Evidence Based Reading and Writing SAT scores, as well as a student’s essays to judge English proficiency.
^ Your sat score didn’t get you deferred. Unless you’re attending an international school like Jeannine Manuel, rather than a lycee , it’s a tippy top score for a French student (lycee students typically do really horribly on standardized tests because it’s so completely the opposite of what they’re taught to do.) So, you were likely deferred because your essays weren’t unique enough - I don’t know if you had a reviewer used to American college essays but those are, again, opposite what you’ve been taught for ‘dissertation’ - Or your letters of recommendation and ec’s weren’t ‘good enough’, often due to wording (sometimes due to actual fact, but culturally the French consider that a short ‘good’ is high praise and that doesn’t cut it for the US. Again, if you’re at a regular lycee his may be a problem, if you’re at an international school used to US admissions or have a private counselor they know what to do.) Fortunately the deferral means you can review your application and improve on it.
@CloakedSpartan : it’s worth it to retake once, since English is your native language and you went in unprepared (note to current juniors: never do this).
Your academics are outstanding so clearly on that count ou’re within range. But if course it only means perhaps a 5% chance of you apply early, and less than that if you don’t. And all reasonable British applicants will have the same type of profile as yours.
What’ll make the difference is your essays - look at the questions on common app already and start thinking so that you can draft them over summer holidays - and your ec’s (if you’re not tops nationally at something, time to crank it up.)
@MYOS1634 I had the chance to look at my recommendations after they were sent, and MOST of them were really good (I asked my English literature teacher to write me one, but he just wrote me a letter of rec English-Uni-like - boring, barely saying that I was a good student and giving me 16/20 as predicted grade when I have 18.5 overall - so it really contrasted with the other 4 recs). I do a pretty high amount of ECs (mentoring at school, leader of senior commitee, leader of UNICEF project, japanese culture club, 400h community service in Romania etc.). I am in a lycée which contains a British International Section (we take courses in English Literature and History in English, and we pass an A-Level-like exam at the end of senior year), so I don’t think that counts as an international school as I do same workload as a normal French student plus the British thing. I had 115 on the TOEFL, so that contrasts with my 690 in the English part on the SAT (hope that in a good way).
That said (as I am really going away from the subject here), do either @MYOS1634 or @gibby have the time to take a look at my common app essay? (I will send another supplemental to replace my old one when I finish the Princeton one - pretty much same subject)
@Theoddorre: Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t permit me to work with students on their essay(s) as the process involves too many back-and-forth messages – initially with just my comments, but then the student revises their essay(s) and the process continues with further editing, refining, polishing and sometimes reworking an entire essay. I just don’t have the time for all that these days (sorry).
Make sure to show your completed essays to an adult who knows you well. Ask them “Does this sound like me?” Your essay should sound the way you talk, as if you were standing in front of an Admissions Committee giving a TedTalk.
@theoddorre : any chance to retake the sat in January (standby testing, late registration?) A TOEFL 115 + oib British with A Level literature would mean an expected 730+ on both EBR and English Literature sat subject. Your 690 is hurting you because it’s below expectations for your background. If you haven’t taken the English Literature subject test it may be worth it to take it if you think you can hit a 750 to offset that 690.
As for your essays, sure, send away, but I’m swimming in essays right now as you can imagine, so I can’t promise I’ll have time to do the back and forth on drafting and redrafting over the next three days.
Hi @MYOS1634 and sorry to hijack this thread but I am struggling with a decision. I have a 10 and 12 year old and thinking of moving to Paris for familial and health reasons. We are looking into lycee international de Saint germain en laye. We’d move permanently, but I’d like the kids to attend college in the US still. I am on the fence. What would be potential impacts of such a decision on college admissions for the kids?
@gibby Wouldn’t his time be better spent on something else instead of the SAT, like ECs, essays, and Subject Tests? I can’t imagine 40 points from a “preferable” score to be the make-or-break difference, even for internationals, and applicants (even internationals) get in with a 6/6/6 essay. Admissions care a lot more about ECs, awards, essays, etc than an SAT score within their range (which he already has) that everyone already has.
Selective colleges are looking for applicants who have made a long time commitment – measured in years not months – to something outside of the classroom. The idea is that a student’s commitment, devotion and energy is a transferable skill that might be applied to another activity in college or later on in life. An applicants EC’s – no matter whether that applicant is domestic or international – are what they are by the end of junior year. When a student joins or participates in new clubs or activities their last semester of junior year or first semester of senior year, Admissions might look upon that as resume padding. So, the OP should continue to spend the same amount time (or more) devoted to his current EC’s, but at this point, they shouldn’t bother doing more stuff – as more is not always better.
Subject tests are now optional – and they are best taken at the end of a course when the material is fresh in their mind. So, they OP should consider taking Subject tests in May/June – but that doesn’t preclude them from ALSO retaking the SAT.
If you look at the graph of GPA and SAT scores in the Freshman Survey, you can visually see that students are accepted with the same SAT score as the OP, but more students are accepted with higher scores. IMHO, the Harvard Freshman Survey – which is totally based on self-reported scores and GPA’s – presents a starkly different picture about acceptances than Harvard provides on their website: Namely, the higher your test score (and GPA), the better your chances.
Lastly, yes the OP should work on their college essays, but that is something that can be done between the summer of their junior year and senior year.
@CloakedSpartan I would for sure retake is it is possible, both the SAT I and the Math subject test. Even more so for international students, Harvard is the ultimate dream school because it has the biggest name recognition and prestige so it is the most visible school outside the US. Harvard adcoms are not gonna be at all lenient because you are international. Quite the opposite really. The competition for internationals is just utterly insane. Even people with perfect scores, grades and good ECs get rejected all the time.
While any ivy+ school is a crapshoot for anyone Harvard (and Stanford), is like exponentially harder for internationals.