I’ve struggled throughout all of high school, with my father passing away on the last day of 8th grade and me moving halfway across the US from Indiana to Maryland that summer. Then, my senior year I moved again, this time to Virginia, just 45 minutes away. My mother works part time and goes to school for the rest of her time. Predictably, my high school grades aren’t stellar. What are my chances considering my background?
GPA: 3.58 (unweighted), 3.65 (weighted) (my school messed up my GPA when I moved here, I know it definitely should be higher than 3.65 considering my grades (mostly As and Bs with maybe 0 or 1 C in my hardest class, usually no Cs though, and almost all honors/AP classes).
SAT: 2290 (780 Writing, 740 Math, 740 Reading)
SAT II: 710 Math II, 700 Lit, 730 World History
ACT: 34 (35 English, 32 Math, 33 Reading, 34 Science, 27 Writing)
ETs: Model United Nations (won two awards in three conferences), teacher’s assistant at Korean School, one year of debate, volunteered almost every weekend at my church, annual Turkey Bowl football tournaments.
AP Exams: World History 5, Psychology 4, Government 5, Language 5.
So, can my high test scores + all that crap going on in my life carry me to Harvard or am I boned?
There are hundreds of great colleges in the US. Why not choose a realistic one to love. No, Harvard is not in your future. It’s not about your hardships or your moves. It is about having a record that is good but that does not show you to be among the very top students applying to college. There is nothing wrong with not being in that group. But you aren’t. Move on before you find that you’ve invested too much energy in a no win situation!
I say that to be helpful, by the way, not as a put down. And really, do you think that the nearly 33,000 students denied entry to Harvard (and other hundreds of thousands who did not apply because they were able to be realistic about their chances) are boned?? Please!
You have a very good record (based on what you posted). Apply to a very good school!
You shouldn’t focus on going to Harvard to be honest. Your GPA is very low among the applicant pool for this school even though your test scores are within range. Your EC’s are great, but they don’t stand out among the applicant pool.
Since you’re in Virginia, why not apply to VCU, Virginia Tech, or UMD? They’re in your area.
Don’t feel bummed that you’re likely to get rejected from Harvard. If you read Malcom Gladwell’s David and Goliath, there’s a part of the book that talks about how a Harvard physics major who graduated from high school early ultimately changed his major because he was struggling so much with the physics courses in Harvard.
Harvard is probably not gonna happen. You should apply anyways and hope for the best. Also apply to other prestigious schools such as UVa. Your GPA is low but your SAT should make up for it and admission for schools with 15-35% acceptance rate should be your main priority, with of course, some safeties just in case.
Why exactly do you want to go to Harvard? Even ignoring the low chance (well under 1%) of getting in with your GPA and scores, there is nothing to suggest ftom what you have posted that Harvard would offer you more than many, many other fine schools.
Don’t let the negative comments dissuade you from not applying to Harvard. If you want to go, APPLY. Don’t be practical or realistic because you will never know if you don’t try. Your scores are in range. Your gpa is lacking but with an excellent essay anything can happen. Who knows…its harvard
If you’re an URM your chances are increased SIGNIFICANTLY. If not, write an amazing essay and see what happens. I’d also recommend you send in your ACT scores over SAT. Both are phenomenal but your 34 is a little higher.
But even if you dont get into Harvard, remember there are plenty of other institutions which offer you a great education from esteemed faculty. See if your state has a flagship university.
Why Harvard? No really, serious question. Great school, but is there anything particular about Harvard that you’re seeking? Because there are so many other schools out there where you would have a much better shot. Sure, apply if want. It’s not off the table, but your odds (as are everyone’s) are exceedingly low.
I also agree with collegedreamer, AdComs are pretty unpredictable, and your test scores show that you’re ready to do college level work. I think they’ll look at you pretty holistically, with the AdComs inundated with so many boring apps, if they ‘like’ you, you’ll have a chance. Colleges want a well-rounded student body, not necessarily a well-rounded student. Present yourself well, and be likable. Also, you CAN explain your circumstances in the ‘extra info’ section of the commonapp. Dont make it seem like youre making excuses, sum it up to some sort of lesson it taught you.
the main points have been beaten to death but the bottom line is that there’s not enough on your app to extrapolate that you would have excelled had there been no significant life changes. Maybe if you stayed in one place, you could have clearly shown you were a well qualified applicant, but unfortunately life’s circumstances have not afforded you that opportunity and so it’s not clear.
@okon2122 not to a school like Harvard. The award is fairly minor and the test scores, fairly pedestrian by Harvard’s standards (unhooked). Definitely not enough to safely project as an elite applicant.
As many have said, those test scores and your GPA will mostly likely not get you into Harvard. There are too many applicants that are much higher than those stats. Have you considered a more realistic school? You can get into many others.
I agree chances are very slim that you will get into Harvard but that’s the case for most students who apply unless they published a novel, cured cancer or did some other spectacular thing or if they are legacy and the parents donated a million. Can’t hurt to apply though except for the money it will cost you. Even someone with a 4.0 gpa and perfect sat score has no guarantee they will be accepted.
I should also probably mention I was close with my counselor and he wrote me an absolutely stunning recommendation. Both of my teachers have reputations for writing godlike recs at my school, too.
I also feel a little bad because at my Maryland school my weighted GPA was a 4.1 (they weighted honors classes the same as AP classes) while here in Chantilly it’s a 3.65 because they don’t weigh honors classes any more than regular classes.
I’ve also managed to get application fee waivers to every Ivy League school, so I’ll be applying to all of them just for the slim chance I do manage to get into one of them.
As for why I want to get in, Harvard is, believe it or not, cheaper for me than UVA. My family makes $20,000 annually pre-taxes, so I fall well under the income limit set for where you would pay $0 to attend Harvard (and all Ivies). Public, tier 2 good schools like UVA, JMU, UMD etc don’t have those kinds of generous aid programs. Not to mention I don’t even qualify for in-state tuition because I haven’t lived here for a year or more.
Basically, I would pay close to $0 to attend an Ivy League, and possibly up to $10,000 a year attending a good school. So why not take the risk free applications?
Also I applied to Harvard early (thought I’d already posted that, sorry guys I’m really nervous lol) and I have all of my other apps basically done.