What are my chances of getting into harvard?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Okay, so I am a fourteen year old male (not sure why the male part matters, but i'll put it in anyway), and have always wanted to enroll in Harvard. can anyone tell me my chances of getting in, and what I could do to bump up my chances?
To start off, I have been home-schooled my whole life. To be clear, this was not because of any religious are political reasons, my parents are both teachers, and they thought that they could do better raising me than the public school systems ever could. So, throughout my home-school life, I have gotten all A's, which raises my first question: Because I have been home-schooled, will Harvard not take my grades as... real? I do know some people who fudge on their tests and scores in order to give their children a boost, but my family has never done that, as they thought it would be to 'fake'. Being home-schooled really just consisted of my mother handing me a book, and telling me to read it. Through this, I developed a very strong reading and vocabulary skill. But now i'm rambling, back on topic. I am dual-enrolled in a local college called Broward College, and have done well in my studies. This poses another question. How common is it for students to be dual-enrolled (take college classes in leu of high-school)? As common as it may be, I still have yet to see someone as young as me enrolled (fourteen). </p>

<p>About grades:
As I said earlier, I have been a straight A student my entire life. During the last semester though, due to my new-ness in the field of public education, I received poor grades: Two B's and two C's. So my third question is, will these four grades hurt my chances in any meaningful way? apparently, college classes count the same as AP classes. In my classes otherwise, I have maintained a high ranking, with my brother and I consistently remaining in the top 5% of studetns at Broward College, a feat due to our age.</p>

<p>Extracurricular activities:
Currently, my most prominent extra-curricular activity would be a five hundred hour internship with the Cleveland Clinic of Florida (where I live), in which I work with the pharmacy and cardiovascular ward. I have also helped with a study about EKG's and Dopamine Stress Tests with Dr. Shen, the head of the cardiovascular ward. this poses a fourth question: do my letters of recommendation have to come from my teachers? due to my perpetual home-school-ness, I have had A lack of teachers, and I would think that a letter from my mother would be... stupid. is it possible to ask Dr. Shen for one? even though he was not my teacher, he is a prominent member of the Hospital, and I think that he would be happy to write me up something.
I also sing bass in the Broward College Choir. I have been in it for several years, and have done a number of performances. Along the lines of music, I play piano, guitar, harmonica, and bass. Not pro-level, but i'm pretty good at all instruments. I also am a certified Open Water Diver, which I received completion of when I was thirteen. </p>

<p>Distinctions:
I have lived in china for one year with my family for the Fullbright Scholarship, which sent us to china in order to increase relations with the US. I have helped out with Rotary on the project Helping Hands, which gives artificial limbs to Cambodians who lost them to mines left over by wars gone by. other distinctions... I won a scrabble tournament at my local library. that's all I can think of off the top of my head... </p>

<p>So in requiem my question are:
1. Because I have been home-schooled, will Harvard not take my grades as... real?
2. How common is it for students to be dual-enrolled (take college classes in leu of high-school)?
3. Will two B's and two C's hurt my chances?
4. do my letters of recommendation have to come from my teachers?
and of course
5. What are my chances of getting into Harvard?</p>

<p>Thanks all!</p>

2

<p>Your first start should be Harvard’s own website describing requirements of homeschooled kids. It’s discussed – go there first.</p>

3

<p>5.8% chance at Harvard; 6.7% chance at Yale; 7.3% chance at Princeton. Please, you’re 14. Go have fun and do what you like. Don’t worry about college yet-- it spoils the formative years. </p>

4

<p>Your Bs and Cs in “regular” classes are a huge sign that your homeschool class grades are either inflated or not rigorous enough. I’m confused. How many classes are you taking at Broward, and do you have all As in the Broward classes other than the Bs and Cs? </p>

5

<p>Flip it around…ask yourself honestly why at 14 you want to go to Harvard, and then focus on what you need to do in order to ensure that you find the school that is the best match for you.</p>

6

<p>Of course C’s will hurt your chances. What kind of question is that?</p>

7

<p>B’s and C’s indicate that you are having difficulties with the rigors of college work. That’s understandable for a 14 year old. But, unless you get your grades up to A’s with a smattering of B’s, any college — Harvard included — is going to wonder if you will be able to hack it on their campus. </p>

<p>So, read the below article (everything in it applies to Harvard), stay off of College Confidential for a couple of years, hit the books, and ace the exams!</p>

<p><a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>My homeschooled daughter was accepted EA to Yale, so while not exactly applicable to Harvard, you may find my comments somewhat useful.</p>

<p>My daughter also made “all A’s” in her coursework. However, in my discussion with admissions staff at Yale, I came to understand that homeschooled students’ grades, no matter how rigorous the coursework, are often discounted unless they are backed up with standardized test scores. My daughter had 36 ACT and a 2390 SAT, with 4 SAT2 scores of 800. So my first piece of advice to you would be to focus on your standardized testing.</p>

<p>Harvard will accept your transcript. You should include a complete course list with textbooks, courseware, etc. I also included a brief course description for each core class.</p>

<p>My daughter did not take dual enrollment courses because our local community college is known for its lack of rigor. Instead, she and I worked hard to craft AP level/advanced/honors courses, using teachers other than parents as much as possible. As educators themselves, I’m sure your parents are aware of the many options for AP classes that are available to homeschoolers. It may not be the conventional homeschool wisdom, but I believe AP classes give an advantage over dual enrollment, if only because you have yet another objective marker, the AP test score, to validate your transcript.</p>

<p>I can’t speak to how much B’s and C’s will “hurt” your chances.</p>

<p>You should make every effort to use teachers other than your parents for recommenders.</p>

<p>Finally, I’ll pass on some information about homeschoolers and EC’s which I gleaned from Yale admissions. Fair or not, homeschoolers are held to a very high standard in terms of how their time is spent. There is a somewhat incorrect idea that homeschoolers have more time on their hands, so therefore they should be able to accomplish more “outside the classroom”. As I’m sure you’ve read on CC many times, find your passion and then pursue it to the greatest depth possible. In my opinion, you have some interesting activities listed. Decide what matters to you (and why), and then hone in. Again, try to give Harvard a way to see you in a larger context by participating in group/team activities and competitions, if possible.</p>

<p>Remember, all of my above statements represent just one person’s opinion. For what it’s worth, my daughter had honestly never heard of the “ivy league” until the summer before her junior year when she began to research colleges that had majors that interested her. I agree with previous posters that the pursuit of the best possible education, not the pursuit of a name, should be your primary motivation.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>