<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm Asian and went to Germany when I was 6. Now, I have the German
citizenship, but Harvard probably doesn't care about that. I was just wondering
whether being untypical for an Asian would help me out. For instance, I am not a science guy but rather a language guy(4 languages)? Or that I do a lot of sports, as football and track in the states, and badminton, table-tennis and volleyball in Germany?</p>
<p>do u have a green card? applying as an international will hurt u</p>
<p>nope... no green card... yea, i kinda knew that applying international would hurt me... but y actually? Just because they take fewer applicants, or because the competition is tougher? Btw, is there a possibility to see the acceptance rate of german applicants at harvard?? well... I'm goin to bed... its midnight</p>
<p>pearfire: Harvard is one of the VERY FEW schools that is need-blind for international students. The fact that you are going to be applying as an international WILL NOT hurt you in any way shape or form. Admissions decisions will be made with whatever is in your application.</p>
<p>If I were you, pearfire, I would strongly, strongly emphasize your passion for languages. Build your application about your passion for languages, and how you stepped out from the typical asian crowd, and did something which you were actually passionate about.</p>
<p>Harvard gets very few asian applicants who are passionate about languages since the overwhelming majority pursues the same exact EC's such as classical music and math club. If you're able to cogently express how you "dared" to step out of the norm, you will stand out among the pool, which is absolutely crucial.</p>
<p>Also, doing varsity athletics as an asian will help you.You should also try to talk about how you stand out doing that, as well.</p>
<p>well i'm an asian, but i'm "untypical" i guess in the sense that i am an english nerd, and i'm not too great at math.. or at least.. math/science isn't my forte. my EC's included things like cheerleading, model UN, and newspaper. i got waitlisted at harvard... but yeah, you sound more atypical than i, anyway.. but i was just saying =]</p>
<p>@xjayz Are u sure about that need-blind thing? Did they change that recently? I think most ppl told me that the Ivies are still ALL biased about internationals? But anyway, what other schools are also need-blind for Internationals, do you know? </p>
<p>Oh guys, maybe mislead you a little bit... I didn't mean that I am not a math/science guy at all, but that I am much stronger at languages. I mean I am still taking AP Calc II and all that, and I also do play violine. Do you think I should just simply not mention all this stuff??? I mean I played in a chamber orchestra that won national awards, too... But would that make me sound like any other Asian? I'm kinda confused</p>
<p>pearfire: Yes. I am very sure. It has been in place for about 3-4 years, so it hasn't been that long. Many other ivies ARE still need-aware for internationals. I do not know of any other schools that are need-blind for internationals. You would have to check.</p>
<p>Yes, although you took AP Calc and stuff, you should still make clear your love for languages. Are you thinking about linguistics? My blockmate is electing Advanced Standing in Linguistics (4th year Master's, pretty easy in Linguistics) and she loves it. 4 years of mathematics is expected, as stated on Harvard College admission's website. </p>
<p>Knowing four languages is pretty unusual.</p>
<p>To be honest, I don't really know what I wanna do, yet... Does your major actually influence the admissions process?? Economics is obviously pretty popular at Harvard, so would an economics student have worse chances than, say, an astrology student??
Well, I think four languages is pretty common in Harvard, but I'm just guessing...</p>
<p>I kno Chinese because, well I am Chinese, ^^
I kno German, cos I live here (since 12 years)
I kno English cos I study it at HS + exchange year in Ohio
I've been studying French since 7th grade, and I participated in several
exchanges to France...</p>
<p>What exactly makes an "atypical Asian"? I'm atypical in that I have a sub-par GPA, but that doesn't exactly help me in the admissions process..</p>
<p>The 4 languages thing is awesome, though.</p>
<p>pearfire: No. Your major really has no bearing on the admissions process. The only time it would have any bearing is if you have substantial evidence that you would be majoring in a certain field. For example, if you were an ISEF, Intel finalist, you've done research for a long time and you took college-level classes in the sciences, it's pretty much certain that you would be majoring in something, let's say, Chemistry and Chemical Biology.</p>
<p>However, for the vast majority, the interests change - a lot. I myself went from Classics (Greek) to Biology to Biochemical Sciences to Comparative Study of Religion to East Asian Studies to History and Science.</p>
<p>Wow... thats quite a shift, ^^... Btw, do you kno any summer school programs that I could attend this summer? Something like TASP or actually anything that would improve my chances for admission? I believe that Harvard only admits like 2-3 students each year from Germany, so competition will be very tough</p>
<p>pearfire: I am surmising you can choose something that you are interested in. Try for TASP, if not, don't lose heart and just do something that might show passion or relevance to languages if that is the personality you want to come across in your application.</p>
<p>You can't just say, "I love languages!" and leave it at that. Show relevance - volunteer at community centers that work with people that are linguistically challenged or something. Again, I'm guessing you will be applying this coming fall, so it may be a bit too late to just volunteer now, but if language is your focus, you want to basically focus on that!</p>
<p>^ Does TASP really improve one's chances of admission? If so, to what extent?</p>
<p>Yes, I am applying this fall, but I have started community service a long time ago. I work as a teamleader of an international workcamp for college students. Last summer, I led a team with about 10 international students(from France, Russia, Japan, ect...) to renovate a historical mansion. That was pretty funny, cos I had to speak in several languages simultaneously, ^^...
Oh about that TASP thing, it's too late now... Application deadline for this summer was some time in January, but do you kno any other summer program?</p>
<p>wow.. lol you and i have almost the same exact stats. i'm going to germany the coming school year on a scholarship =) which region do you live in?</p>
<p>Wut kinda stats r u talking about, I don't remember talking about that?
But anyway, I live in Clausthal which is in Niedersachen. About an hour away from Hannover. Which college r u attending? Heidelber, Aachen, Berlin??</p>
<p>just the activities that you are part of and interests. i.e. - the number of languages. =p EC "stats" i guess. oh no no i won't be part of a college =) i'll be staying with a host family and attending a local high school for a year. and no i don't know where i'll be staying yet lol. ooh we'll be "Rivals" haha :P jk. it's scary when you see someone with really similar stats though ='( ! but our other interests besides languages and english are not similar at least.</p>
<p>Did you already graduate? I don't mean this in a bad way, but I've noticed that all the American exchange students we get have all finished high school, but when they get here, they r all put into the sophomore class, which is kinda weird... And when German sophomores attend American high schools, they're all put into the senior class, weird huh? But still everyone wants to attend Am. colleges, ^^...</p>
<p>savoirfaire and pearfire: I don't know, since I didn't do TASP at all and didn't even hear of it until I landed in Cambridge this past fall. During the summer, the program itself doesn't matter, but showing your passion and diving into something you like to do does.</p>