<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>First, I would like to thank you sincerely for all the help you provide here. It is incredible! </p>
<p>I know these types of posts are kind of flooding the boards, but behind every Will-I-get-in? question hides a different student :). You are among the persons that impress me the most, and I would truly appreciate if some of you could take the time to answer my questions.</p>
<p>I am a French Canadian and was wondering if I could possibly be considered as part of a URM because of that. </p>
<p>I am an high school valedictorian (1/433). In Quebec, you have to go through 2 years of CEGEP before attending college, so it explains why I graduated from high school but am not a college student yet.
My current IB grade average is 95% (we have no such thing as GPA here)
I haven't taken any SAT/ACT/TOEFL yet since I will only apply next year (I however consider taking my first ones very soon).</p>
<p>I have been quite active outside classes (Amnesty International, VP of student council, major roles in school plays, yearbook committee, international student exchange, soccer, gymnastics, ballet, peer tutor, ect.). I have organized and led a big fundraising campaign to help 200 children from my town to get new school supplies, and I will travel to Peru, next summer, to do some community work. I also plan to organize a 24h famine with students from the 8 CEGEPs in my city in order to raise money for the local food bank.</p>
<p>However, I don't know how much this can really set me apart from the 20,000-something applicants.</p>
<p>My true passion is writing. I've grabbed a pen every week since grade 6th, and my dream is to be an international journalist. I've written for my school's newspaper for the past three years and I am currently being considered as the next editor-in-chief. I am also part of my school writing club and might soon be working on my skills with my English teacher, a freelance journalist, to publish some of my articles in papers. Furthermore, I am currently working on my first novel, since many of my teachers have encouraged me to do so.</p>
<p>But what makes me a bit different from the other applicants, I believe, is that I initiated a research project aiming to improve a solar water disinfection (SODIS) method used by two millions people in Third World countries. It was part of my science fair project and led my partner and I to the international level, as either the few or the only Canadian representants. My work has also been acknowledged by the president of the organism that promotes SODIS, and I have been offered to participate in field work with the UNICEF to teach the use of SODIS. I plan to keep working on that project in order to patent my designs.</p>
<p>I am not desperate about getting in Harvard. I don't want to change myself, for instance, to become the captain of a team, just to add something to my curriculum. Getting in Harvard has been my ambition for a long time, but I understand the standards are, let's say, extremely high, especially for someone whom first language is not English. I plan to apply, among others, to Harvard, Yale and Princeton colleges next fall, and later get a master degree from Columbia school of Journalism. I have carefully taken a look at these three colleges, and I feel they are all great fits for me in their very own way.</p>
<p>Yes, here comes the maybe-over-known question : Is it reasonable for me to hope to get in any of these colleges?</p>
<p>I know there are not any magic recipe and that nothing can be sure. I know it is hard to tell whitout any standardized tests scores. And I know you are not from the admissions office, but, since some of you went through the applying process, your advices will indeed be useful!</p>
<p>Thank you so much! You have no idea how I can appreciate your help :)</p>