Hi! My top choice is Harvard
ACT (breakdown): 32
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.4 (can be explained, see essay)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Regional science research competitions and collegiate debate and model u.n. first places
Subjective
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President Student council, President Model U.N, Secretary Debate
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteer at hospital with over 800 hours
Started initiative to educate native communities regarding disease awareness.
Summer Activities: Worked in two highly respected labs. Worked in lab of Nobel prize winner at Harvard; he wrote me a rec. Paper being published in Nature.
Essays: Talked about how parent’s disease influenced me to do research and learn more about the disease and start the program to educate other natives about the disease. And how I take action in face of uncertainty. Addressed the fact that i had to work to pay bills – Single parent household.
Teacher Recommendation: Couldn’t read them, prob good.
Counselor Rec: Very good, explained my circumstances
Additional Rec: Nobel prize Harvard professor, amazing letter (read it).
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Native American, Enrolled
At first, just looking at your scores, I was about to say that Harvard might be too much of a reach… but I think Harvard would be really understanding in terms of your circumstances. Also, the additional rec probably will help. Also, the fact that you’re Native American is also helpful.
Still, it is Harvard. I’d say you’re somewhere between low and high reach. Middle reach(?). I don’t know if you applied already, but go for it.
Your research / published paper / good rec and family situation should definitely get you noticed. Your URM should give you a boost as well. ACT, GPA, other ECs, and awards are normal. IMHO - very good chance. Good luck. Keep us posted.
If your name is on a published nature paper then I commend you greatly. You have a very interesting life story and I believe that your GPA should be considered in the context of your circumstances.
Harvard could go either way because it’s a reach for everyone, but I think you have a very solid chance. I would advise that you apply to multiple highly selective schools such as Cornell or Dartmouth since I think you will get into more than just one of them.
@ivyleaguedreamen - yes - but I believe your personal situation explanation would compensate for that. At this point, all you can do is wait till December 13th for Harvard. Keep your next set of apps ready, just in case - because you never know with these highly selective colleges.
@ivyleaguedreamen I am sure you know this, but Dartmouth has a particularly strong commitment to Native American applicants (historical and current). It is great for medical science. Seems like a great fit and I bet you would pop up beautifully on their radar with your unique story. Congratulations on your paper.
My guess is that those accepted students who had a similar GPA to yours are recruited athletes on the football, basketball and hockey teams.
Keep in mind that Harvard professors (rightly or wrongly) believe they are teaching to the brightest gifted and talented students of this world, so – they pile on the work. Some courses at Harvard, like LS2 (http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/adamfrange/files/life_sciences_2_evolutionary_human_physiology_and_anatomy_syllabus_2012.pdf), which is normally taught in a YEAR LONG course at other colleges, is taught in ONE SEMESTER at Harvard. So Harvard students taking LS2 are expected to master the material in half the amount of time as students at less competitive colleges. As such, with a 3.4 GPA, I would think Admissions would question whether you could handle the intense work-load on their campus and maintain a B average.
If you applied in the SCEA round, I would prepare yourself for a deferral. If you applied in the RD round, I would prepare yourself for a rejection.
@Ivyleaguedreamen you sound like a stellar human being. Really. Your accomplishments are remarkable given what you had to manage at home with an ill single parent. And that You worked to pay billls is another impressive thing. And all that might be why your grades and ACT are not so stellar, but the fact that you have low grades and an ok ACT is going to be a problem for many of the ivies.
But please Do Not get hung up on one school or even on the ivies. You would do well to attend a school that will give you a huge scholarship, and there are many top 25-30 schools in the country that would offer you a scholarship. I would hate to see you leave school with sizable debt, because there are many schools that would be generous with merit and need-based scholarships for someone like you. And you are the kind of person that will want to go to graduate school. So go to a great college, be stellar there and apply to the best graduate schools. That’s what will really matter in the end. I wish you and your parent all the best. Please post what you’ve decided to do so those of us on this thread can celebrate with you. And remember this wisdom from Frank Bruni’s recent book: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania; Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be !
@Isabel2017 Thank you for you words and kind sentiments ( and renewed sense of hope, if I may add.) Great advice. I sure will let you know how I end up! Thanks again!!!
@gibby thanks. But in response to your claim that AOs might be concerned that I can’t handle the work load: For what it’s worth, I have a rec letter from a University Professor at Harvard who is the recipient of the Nobel Prize. In the almost two page letter, he compares me to his graduate students and the students he’s taught ‘over the past five decades.’ He notes that he would consider my ‘scientific aptitude easily on par with that of an upper level undergraduate in the most rigorous undergraduate curriculum.’
Whether this will make a difference or not, I’m not sure. But, it’s something to consider. . .
@Ivyleaguedreamen please tell us which other schools you are considering. I think you might consider applying to Johns Hopkins, MIT, Vanderbilt (need-blind) Tulane, USC, Northwestern, Tufts, WashU, UChicago.
How did you volunteer 800 hours at a hospital? Did they allow you to volunteer at age 16? Or earler?
@Isabel2017
I’m applying to Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Tulane (already accepted), UChicago, Northwestern, Yale, UVA, UNC-CH and a few safeties.
I volunteer 8 hours every Saturday, and have been doing so since freshman year.
I like your odds. For one, you already showed demonstrated interest by working with a Nobel Prize Harvard Professor(I wish I could do that). Second, you grew up in single parent household, worked to pay the bills, while also finding time for varsity crew(I know how much commitment that is as one of my classmates has an offer from Harvard for rowing) and community service every Saturday. Your scores are low, but extraordinary if you look at the circumstances. You obviously have leadership and have taken initiative with the disease. Also, being Native American, especially as a student of your caliber, benefits you as well for diversity purposes. Overall, I think (and hope) that you should get in.
Since Harvard is oh-so selective, these chance posts can’t tell you much, but I think it depends on the application pool. Your diversity is inspiring, and I’m sure the application review board will see that too, but test scores and GPA are often so high with Harvard students that the board may not think you can handle the tough academic climate of their school. It’s definitely worth applying, and I think you have A chance, but with Ivies, it is up in the air as to who will be accepted. Best of luck.
Admissions is going to have to reconcile this . . .
With this . . . .
Does Admissions believe your transcript and test scores or the accolades of your research recommendation? As some of the elements of your application appear to be out of sync, I would imagine that Admissions would have to dig deeper into your application to see if your GC and teacher recommendations echo the transcript or the research recommendation. Depending upon what was said, it could go either way. My gut says that Admissions may want to defer you to the RD round to compare your academic record with a larger applicant pool. I’ve posted this before, but here it is again
You’ll find out in about 17 days! Best of luck to you.
