<p>So I'm a junior at Ohio State in the aerospace engineering department. I guess to put all my cards on the table, I was sexually abused as a child by my father. It was a long process healing, and a lot self discovery too. One of the biggest things I started discovering was what I want in life, and why I want to learn. I loved the the concept of science. The ability to have theory and conceptual ideas and bridging them together to understand our world. I loved space as a young child. I guess this is a weird side note, but while I was in the abusive environment I would always look at images of space. I could never explain it, but it gave me hope. It just represented all this possibility in the universe, and how we can do something with it.</p>
<p>I wanted to major in astrophysics as a child, but everyone told me I wouldn't make money. I went into aero because space interested me, but I realized, this isn't what I want to do. I don't want to be an engineer, I want to do really insane research someday, and discover something new. I actually hated going to class everyday for the past few weeks before I started talking to advisers. The idea of going to grad school and studying astrophysics had made me so excited again, and I want to do it</p>
<p>When I first started college, I was going through a lot of healing in terms of the abuse, and my grades aren't ivy league tier overall. But there was a really big trend in my grades. Once I started feeling peace, and hope, my grades soared. I just found motivation, and although cumulatively it isn't Harvard quality, the last few semesters have been really good.</p>
<p>So I was wondering, do I have a shot at Harvard? I think it would be amazing to study there. I'm going to switch from aerospace to industrial systems and take as many physics/math classes for knowledge. If I can write in my personal statement what happened to me, why I really want this, and showcase the trend in my grades+get research/good on the GRE, do I have a shot?</p>