<p>Hi All,
I'm Madananteshwar Vinayak Bhat, a 1st year Pre-University student from Bangalore, India (FYI- Pre-University is equivalent to 11th and 12th grades), and while looking for Colleges, I've come to a decision that the Ivy League and Stanford are THE best options for me. I ask you respected elders for your opinion as to which University to go for, as I've got to pick one University to enroll into. My options are:- 1. Harvard University, 2. Yale University, 3. Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and last but not the least, Stanford University. My criteria is as follows:- 1. Great "community feeling" and friendliness towards International Students, 2. Respectable Safety record, 3. NO discrimination towards Hindus and those from LGBT community, 4. Financial aid options for international students, 5. Good housing and dining options for undergraduate students (as I'm planning to stay on campus for the full four years) 6. Majors in either Ethics, Politics, and Economics/Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; and International Studies/International Relations, Minors in Environmental Studies, 7. Campus setting (but Urban Setting will also do, providing that there's a single campus where most of the facilities are located), 8. Options to take few Graduate-Level courses, 9. Lots of Entertainment options, etc, etc.
Any help would be most welcome,
Yours,
KMB</p>
<p>Oh and BTW I’m planning to apply via Early Decision/Early Action</p>
<p>First Harvard, Princeton and I believe Yale have discarded their Early Decision/Action program so must apply via Regular Decision. All your desires are pretty much given justice at all institutions, it really comes down to where you would like to go (assuming you get in) - do you prefer Californian climate over the <em>sometimes</em> harsh weather in Boston? Do you prefer a Megapolis like New York over the small Philadelphia? If I were you, I would apply to all those (if you feel you should) and then decide upon visits. Besides, you first have to get into them, they are rarely students who get into all…The University lastly decides whether you fit. Likely it will come down to say, for example, Harvard vs. Pennsylvania (they concluded you fit) - the question is then where you think you would fit <em>best</em></p>
<p>Greetings</p>
<p>Hi Sir/Madam,
Below is some information I’ve found in yale’s website
-------------------------QUOTED FROM [Yale</a> University](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu%5DYale”>http://www.yale.edu) --------------------------
“Q. I’ve heard early admissions programs were discontinued. I’m confused.”</p>
<h2>“A. Though Harvard and Princeton decided to discontinue their Early Action or Early Decision options, we are committed to continuing our early admissions program. We feel Single Choice Early Action is an appropriate option for those who have carefully considered their alternatives and feel strongly that Yale is the best fit for them. It also provides us with the opportunity to make an offer of admission early in the year to strong candidates whom we are certain that we would admit whether they apply in the fall or the spring. At the same time, the nonbinding aspect of our Early Action plan gives our applicants ample opportunity to compare other offers in the spring and make a careful, unhurried decision.”</h2>
<p>Yours,
KMB</p>
<p>
Sorry but this statement confuses me. Felix has pointed out that your acceptance into any of those institutions will be determined by the university and not you. Picking “one” and only one increases the likelihood that you will not be attending any of them. Last year the acceptance rate at Harvard as a whole was about 7% (I actually think it was under 7%). The acceptance rate for internationals is typically lower than average (felix may know the stats). You really may want to broaden the list of schools that you are considering.</p>
<p>As a non-international parent of a current Harvard freshman I will answer what I can:
- The sense of community at Harvard D has experienced has been a pleasant surprise. She is aware of a associated with a number of international students.
- This one gets debated a lot. I feel that Harvard is safe. I know that there was a really stupid (in my opinion) survey recently regarding the top 25 dangerous schools. Harvard, Yale were both on the list. What was ironic is there were obvious schools missing from the list. Anyhow, I would have not sent my daughter to somewhere that I questioned its safety.
- I don’t know about ethnic discrimination. As for LGBT, I get the impression that there is a lot of support. Son graduated from another school where I do not believe that he met, or knew he met, one LGBT student. D immediately had 5 gay friends and is friendly with a L proctor. She definitely has a mix of peers and enjoys them all. Now, on the other had, nephew is a Harvard grad. He is/was gay with 3 out of 4 roommates gay and gay dean. When deciding where to go, he had gotten into almost everywhere and had the full range of choices. He chose Harvard. In a more recent discussion with him, from the LGBT point of view he would had opted to got elsewhere. I believe it was Yale that he wished that he attended (and it was a choice and he is there now as a grad student).
- We don’t qualify for FA. I know nothing.
- Housing - we are very happy. Dining, D is not impressed. The food frequently upsets her stomach. BUT I know that many are very happy. I am especially pleased that they support the students with the evening “brain break” and the required dining plan for all students is unlimited.
- Sorry - D is a science student
- The setting - I love. The opportunities never end.
- don’t know - but I assume that will be acceptable as long as the prerequisites are met.
- see #7</p>
<p>Madananteshwar - By saying that you need to pick one school to which to apply, I’m assuming that you mean one school with which to file an Early Decision application. Harvard and Princeton, as you noted above, no longer have early programs. Penn and Columbia offer Early Decision, and if an applicant is accepted under that provision, s/he is obligated to attend. That’s not necessarily a good thing if financial aid is important to you. But Yale and Stanford both offer Single-Choice Early Action. Under SCEA, you can apply to either early but can still opt to attend elsewhere if you’re accepted. That would allow you to compare aid offers from multiple schools.</p>
<p>Harvard is an excellent fit for all your criteria (with perhaps, the food reservations that Smoda mentions). If you made Yale or Stanford your early application, you could still choose Harvard if you’re admitted in April with a better aid offer. (And BTW, my daughter’s cost at Harvard after their aid package was $23,000 a year less than it would have been at Yale after their package.)</p>
<p>Dear Mr/Mrs Gadad,
You’re right, I do mean ONE university to file an Early Action/Early Decision application, as I’m allowed to apply to ONLY ONE university “By saying that you need to pick one school to which to apply, I’m assuming that you mean one school with which to file an Early Decision application.”</p>
<p>Well what’s the admissions requirements for Harvard? and What are my chances of getting in (My Academics are as follows:- 1. My Board Exam Scores in my 10th grade are English: 75% out of 100 Marks, Home Science: 70% out of 100 Marks, Business Studies: 68% out of 100 Marks, Economics 70% out of 100 Marks, Word Processing: 60% out of 100 Marks; 2. My Board Exam Scores in my 1st year Pre-University are English: 85% out of 100 Marks, the remaining subjects are yet to be submitted. I’ve yet to take the SAT, ACT, and TOEFL tests and will take them in January, 2010, as I’m planning to apply for a seat in the class of 2015; and my Extra Curriculars are as follows:- I’m the Chief Communications Officer of my Dad’ Nonprofit organization, and I’m the Newsletter-In-charge at my Dad’s company and I cook a lot, and I’m a Hobby Architect/Fashion Designer/Interior Decorator/Graphics Designer, and I also run my own website/blog and I also do Taek-Won-Do and I Swim),
Yours,
KMB</p>
<p>Okay here we go. First, you do not have to write in formal style - nobody cares here xD. </p>
<p>In my opinion your scores are <em>soso</em>. We can not give a completely accurate judgement because we neither know your educational system nor courses available or level of difficulty etc. According to your percentages they are not too high though. Often we Europeans set Harvard equal to Cambridge and Cambridge would give you a flat out rejection based on those scores. They usually require 90% (in subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Literature, History - Subjects such as “Word Processing” or “Business Studies” are, I am quite sure, not set equal to History or Physics.) and sometimes higher for admitted students with a conditional offer - this may give you an indication of the academic strengths at those top-notch institutions. If your school requires 70% for an A, then you have straight As all the way through and perhaps a B. Nobody can trivialize, there are students admitted with As and Bs, others are rejected with A+ all over. It depends on many factors, SAT scores, class rank, impression conveyed by teacher recommendations, secondary school reports and a lot more. </p>
<p>Your position in your dad’s company is also a little ambiguous. You will need to show them the demanding effort that has to bet put in. They will straight out ignore it if you got in purely because your dad is the CEO/entrepreneur/president whatever and you just “hold the position”. The rest is perfectly fine, especially the Cooking, Interior decorator. For internationals these are great as long as they are pursued with passion and devotion. The sports are also fine. Do not be demotivated by the <em>impressive</em> stats of the Americans here. Internationals are neither required to be presidents of five organizations nor to have won any supra-regional or international awards simply because the competition is not that fierce among them. </p>
<p>You could really play on your Dad’s firm - I read somewhere, I believe it was in the Boston Globe, that entrepreneurs are some of the most demanded students around the world. If you could show them that you draw on the experiences your father had, you could really have a chance. But this does not mean you just have to mention your involved with <em>some</em> company. You will need to demonstrate several projects, ideas, business plans, successes - perhaps failures as well, for this to be fully appreciated. Anybody can state he/she desires to start up a firm. </p>
<p>There are many factors and a lot more and again a lot more than that. And in the end the question of whether you will be admitted will be determined by <em>Context</em> - the only person who is aware of that is YOU. You need to know yourself whether you consider yourself academically strong and whether this strength is sufficient to study with some of the most brilliant scholars of the world. (What a sentence xD) Greetings.</p>
<p>My first reaction to the “jobs” at your dad’s company, “Chief Communications Officer” and “Newsletter-In-charge”, was that they are token or pet jobs. Realistically what kid is “chief” or “in-charge” of anything of significant value to a company. If you are one of those rare teenagers who can contribute on an adult level, then you are going to have to find out a way to convey this. If not, I would get rid of the over-the-top job titles and just address your contributions in an appropriate way. It can put people off )(like admissions officers).</p>
<p>For comparison, S also worked at his dad’s company. At the age of 14 he was working 20 hours/week (two 10 hour days), at 15 30 hours/week, at 16, 17 he did 50 hours/week. He had no fancy titles and his responsibilities grew each year. No “pet” projects. His first year I had to buy him leather gloves because his hands were being destroyed. He developed a great work ethic and fantastic reputation with the adult employees.</p>
<p>He got into (but declined) both Ivys he applied to. He continued two more summer at 50 hours/week and then was aggressively recruited for the two summer internships and had two companies battling over him for permanent employment in October of his last year of college.</p>
<p>Working at a parent’s company can be good or seen as pampered or bad. Figure out what you want the colleges to conclude about you in this regard and make sure that it is conveyed in your application.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>wow
laziness at its worst
one of the largest part of the college application process is picking the schools to apply to.
do your own research!</p>
<p>because you are international, very few of them will accept you anyway. you cant just choose a school. and from your scores (i am quite familiar with the indian system), you have a lot of work to do.</p>
<p>^well, one does have <em>some</em> advantages as an international I suppose, albeit not many…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that’s exactly what he’s doing. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Hi all,
Point #1. Dear Mr/Mrs NJDS, Because as you said “because you are international, very few of them will accept you anyway. you cant just choose a school. and from your scores (i am quite familiar with the indian system), you have a lot of work to do.” It would be very nice of you if you’d let me know what all I’ve got to do in order to get in, coz I’m REALLY serious about getting in to Harvard.
Point #2. What all exactly should I do, and how exactly should i prepare myself in order to get in to Harvard and what should i do to boost my chances of being admitted?
Point #3 Dear Mr/Mrs smoda61, I REALLY work HARD at my father’s NGO and his company , I work about 4-5 hours, Monday to Saturday, and he’s given me those titles because he thinks I deserve them, and BTW I’ve also got to study for my High School Board Exams, as I want to get good grades, as Harvard probably wont even open my application if I don’t have good grades,
Any help would be most welcome,
Thanks in advance,
Yours,
KMB</p>
<p>Ok, what I still don’t get: Why do you want to go Harvard? You haven’t even visited the place? You state “what all I’ve got to do in order to get in”. I think you do not get the point in Harvard Admissions. The people they admit are admitted BECAUSE they have passion and worked very hard and share intellect, THEY ARE NOT passionate and work hard because they want to get into Harvard (At least those who I know that study there), you mentality is a post hoc fallacy. You do not need to boost your chances, orientate yourself at what you would like to do, devote your time to, and be passionate about what youre doing - The officers recognize those students immediately that just apply because they want to attend their school - your way of thinking is simply wrong and will likely end in disappointment. Just do what you want to do and try - don’t steer your life according to <em>Harvard</em>.</p>
<p>Maybe its just me who is thinking this way, but I just cannot comprehend your approach to college admissions. I visited Harvard in 2008, talked with the people there, attended a lecture and toured around Campus. I finally grew to love it and this makes me apply. I am 100% confident in my success yet I realize very well I may not be accepted and that would be fine - afterall the admissions officer would conclude that I would not fit (a rejection is then even in MY interest), then you attend another institution - it’s hard to accept but that’s how life is. Good luck anyways</p>
<p>Hi all,
I know that Harvard University admits students BECAUSE they’re passionate and work hard alright, (and BTW I AM passionate about a LOT of things and I DO work extremely hard in day to day life), but since age 5 I’ve SERIOUSLY wanted to go to Harvard, and I’ve been working all my life to do what best I can in order to get in, coz a Harvard Education would mean OH SO MUCH to me and it would make my life COMPLETE. And BTW my folks are saving up all the money they can find to pay for my Harvard Education, and hence are very reluctant to spend money on letting me travel abroad and because they aren’t willing to spend money on letting me travel abroad, I’m unable to visit Harvard, and I repeat again, I SERIOUSLY am VERY passionate about MANY things, like architecture, design, cooking, Taek-Won-Do, politics, tech, etc, etc. And I follow and pursue my passions with FULL dedication and commitment and it would be very nice if you guys could provide me with tips, tricks and help in order for me to fulfill my LIFE’S DREAM and GOAL of getting a Harvard Education,
Any help would be MOST appreciated,
Yours,
KMB</p>
<p>You’re a funny guy.</p>
<p>All the oddly chosen capitalized words convinced me of his passion.</p>
<p>Mr. or Ms. madapfadnqaopdnzp,</p>
<p>Earlier, you said that you can only pick one school to apply to because you wanted to apply via early-decision. However, as others have said, early-decision in many Ivy League schools has been dropped. So, your only choice is to apply via regular-decision where you can apply to AS MANY schools as you would like.</p>
<p>BUT ANYWAY, I do not really understand why you care about Harvard so much. You seem MUCH MORE passionate about it than you do your academics or your activities. It seems to me and a bunch of other people that you only do good in school or do your activities only to get into a school such as Harvard. But let me tell you, let me tell you that people on the Harvard Admissions crew can spot people like you. They can tell if someone is truly passionate about their activities. And it is those people, it is those people that Harvard Admissions accept into their university.</p>
<p>ALSO, there are plenty of other good schools in the USA. There are plenty of good schools that ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have international students to add to their diversity. University of Michigan, for example. It’s one of the top public schools in the nation and they have an incredible amount of international students. But anyway, my point is that even if you do not get accepted into Harvard, your life will not be over. There are plenty of other paths you can take.</p>
<p>Yours,
Mr. Sexy</p>
<p>Hi All,
Thanks for all the support you all have given me but any way, lemme get STRAIGHT to the point.
Point #1. I Know that there are other universities out there waiting for me, but based on all the information that I’ve gathered, I’ve come to the conclusion that Harvard is the ONLY one apart from UPenn, Yale, Oxbridge, and Stanford which will meet ALL of my requirements, and also I SERIOUSLY feel that Britain is WAY TOO formal, and the weather and the whole atmosphere at the UK is a bit too Not-For-My-Liking, and at UPenn, I Believe, My ability to pay DIRECTLY affects my chances of getting in and I’m from a Middle-Class family in India, and Stanford DOESN’T offer some of the Majors that I’m thinking of pursuing, and I have questions about my safety at yale because of the recent murder, So Harvard, I guess is my ONLY option.
Point #2. Because Harvard is my only option, I’d like to make sure that I have the BEST chance of getting in, and IF not, then I’d like to know HOW exactly i can boost my chances, coz my heart is SET on Harvard, so that’s why I’m posting about “What all I Should do in order to boost my chances of getting in” and other similar topics.
Point #3. So it would be very nice of you respected elders if you could guide a poor soul towards his goal of Harvard, and BTW, I’m working REALLY hard to improve my grades at High School, and I’m also working my butt off preparing for the SAT and the TOEFL, and I’m also handling two jobs side by side and I’m NOT just working hard and being passionate JUST to get in to Harvard but I AM also working hard and being passionate because I TRULY CARE about the many topics and subjects which are CLOSE to my heart, and I MEAN what I’ve just said above in this and all of my previous posts, and I SINCERELY feel that ONLY Harvard can prepare me for my future career and bring me closer to reaching my goals,
Any help would be MOST valued and appreciated,
Yours,
KMB</p>