hey guys! ever since i was little I’ve dreamed of going to harvard. right now i’m a sophomore in high school and was wondering if someone could give their opinion on my shot at Harvard or a comparable school.
freshman year: 4.56 GPA 1st semester, 4.63 GPA second semester (4.53 cumulative GPA that year–I thought it looked weird so in case anyone’s wondering it’s on a different scale according to my college counselor). did 4/5 possible honors classes. I had all A’s and A+'s except for an A- in Honors Ancient Lit first semester.
sophomore year/this year: 1st semester isn’t done but as of right now i have the highest GPA possible. GPAs aren’t given until the end of the semester but i am doing 5/5 potential honors classes and have all A+'s with one A.
extracurriculars:
Freshman year:
Mock trial–varsity letter, certificate of merit from the Minnesota state bar association, and an outstanding attorney award from an invitational mock trial tournament.
Model Assembly–this was more of a participation thing last year but I plan on running for office. More on that later.
Science club–co-founder and co-president. This is non-competitive, but we have discussions of scientific topics and do dissections and experiments (it’s really fun).
Rowing–I am not a good rower at all at this point but I did get second place in an eight race last year.
Sophomore year:
Mock trial: I did Empire mock trial this year, where my team got 3rd out of 28 internationally. I also spoke to a coach who said I have a pretty good shot of being a captain during regular season this year.
Model Assembly: I am in appellate court this year, and I plan on running for the elected position of Head Judge of the Court of Appeals. I actually know what I’m doing this time so there’s a possibility of me receiving an award.
Science club–same as last year
Student Senate–I was elected along with two of my classmates as a student senator for my class, which basically includes speaking to administration and organizing student events.
NHS–yep
Volunteering at a hospital
I’m also planning on competing in the Biology Olympiad, but I don’t really know what to expect there.
I got a 31 on my ACT last year and I have not taken the SAT.
Also I’m not sure how important this is but I’m currently in CIS Latin VI, and will hopefully take it though level VIII senior year, which exceeds what is offered at the University of Minnesota. I’ve also gotten three silver medals on the National Latin Exam and completed a neurology camp summer 2017. I’m looking into starting a nonprofit as well.
Thanks! Please let me know what you think.
It sounds as though your odds will be as good as anyone else’s. Remember, they admit-- what, 2%?? of all the incredibly qualified applicants they get.
Sure, plan to apply to Harvard. But don’t set your heart on it. You have a year and a half to come up with options that you’ll love as much as Harvard, in case you’re in the 98% of incredibly qualified applicants who don’t get in.
Agree with above that majority of incredibly qualified applicants are not accepted. However, if you have a strong hook, the odds would be tremendously in your favor. Your ECs if you show great passion will certainly help. As a parent of an athlete who got accepted into Harvard, I can certainly say what a great help being recruited is especially with your grades. You said you’re not good in rowing. However, you if develop a passion for rowing and become good enough in two years to attract the Harvard coach’s attention then there is a good chance in Oct 1st of your senior year you’ll know you will get in :-bd
@margeu keep up the good work with your ECs and GPA and try to raise your scores. Also remember that not making it to Harvard does not mean you won’t make it to any ivy. Harvard is the hardest ivy to get into.
I really worry about the many posters who come on here saying that Harvard has been their dream “since (they) were little.” What does that mean? Generally it means that a student does not know much about the college options out there, or wants prestige and connections. It is dangerous to get fixed on one very selective college so early.
If you are a sophomore, I think it is premature to be worrying about college and your hyperfocus on small differences in grades (A+, A-) shows that your “dream” is already having a toxic effect on your high school experience. As does your question about how to enhance your applicatinon. And studying 80 hours for the ACT!
Try to find motivation within yourself that has to do with learning and developing- and not “getting in.” Try not to be motivated by anxiety either
Ironically, once you stop focusing so much on getting in, you may develop a more authentic set of interests and be a better candidate. Understand it is NOT, in the end, about grades and scores: those are only benchmarks.
If you really must think about college as a sophomore, please try to get educated on the choices, whether universities or small liberal arts colleges. Look at the Colleges that Change Lives website, buy a Fiske or other guide, investigate the little Ivies (google them), and look at larger universities as well, including your state U. I don’t know your financial situation. Basically, get yourself unstuck from this childhood dream of Harvard.
If you go to a small enough school where the guidance counselor knows you, maybe pay a visit and have a chat.
I have written this before but will repeat: don’t try to fit a school, find a school that fits you.
Thanks! That’s a really good point to consider. (Also just to clarify–I love my ECs and pushing myself hard in school, but you’re absolutely right). I’ll be sure to check out Colleges that Change Lives!
Follow your passions and if you are considering law school (based on your mock trial interest) remember that undergrad school matters less than the law school you attend. So if you don’t get into Harvard undergrad but do well at whatever school you go to, you can still get into Harvard Law (or other top Law School) and have great job prospects.
You are doing very well but is way too early to think about specific colleges (especially the hyper-competitive ones). You just have one full year’s GPA and your standardized testing needs to improve (which I certainly understand it can). You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.
It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.
For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.
I’d also strongly recommend that you give up the idea of a dream school and when the time comes work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Recognize that (assuming no major hook) Harvard (or any top tier school) is a reach for pretty much everyone. You will need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
Good Start Margeu! Keep up the studies following your passion. And stay consistent. However, like some say on this thread, you are still young to put all eggs in one basket. I see that you will be just fine with your academics throughout high school given your trend and motivation.
This is my advise, and it can be different from others, and everyone here in this thread is entitled to their opinion, and many have good advise. If I were you, I would focus and go deep in 3 areas: lead an academic leadership by going deep in one academic discipline. And this is while you are still doing well in all other studies. Go deep, I mean deep. And become a young scholar in that area. Second, go deep in one of your ECs that is not academic related. This means aside from MUN and other academic ECs that you already have. This can be through sports. If not so good in sports, do you have a deep talent? Do you do Scouting? Achieve the highest level possible in a non academic EC and go deep. Third, colleges like people with compassion, and less ego. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia get many stellar achievers with high ego. So stand out by truly committing yourself to service that means something. Not to fill service hours to get a check mark on your apps. But build a schedule for the next 2 years that you can support few missions in your area or abroad to help others. This means doing 10-20 hours every month doing something with purpose to help others. This amount of time commitment and purpose demonstrates leadership and service. And you can get recognized for all this with national level awards. In the end, you will have a lot to write about later when you are applying to colleges and going to job interviews.
You ever watch Forrest Gump? Well, remember how he says about I made everything with “Shrimp.” Well don’t be that guy/gal. You don’t want to be a one trick pony. You’re too young for that. Although colleges want to build a diverse class from a range of specialist they admit, you still don’t want to be a one trick pony doing the same thing 20,000 applicants can demonstrate. So dig deep following your passion. In the end, you will be at a college exactly where you are prepared to be. And don’t forget to enjoy your youth and growing up as a teen. Good luck!
“Does anyone have ideas on what I can do to strengthen my application”
Three things: (1) Keep up the good work. (2) Have some fun in high school. (3) Seriously think about what you want in a university, consider a wide range of universities, and actually apply to schools that match what you want in a university, not what someone at USNWR thought was important for their rankings.
“I really worry about the many posters who come on here saying that Harvard has been their dream ‘since (they) were little.’”
I agree completely. @margeu you are young and haven’t had much chance to know what it is really like to wake up in the morning at a highly ranked university, with a long list of homework to be completed and classes to attend and laundry to do and one of the famous New England northeaster’s blowing wind or snow off the the ocean onto the good citizens of Boston and Cambridge. Quite a few students dream of going to the most famous schools, but very few actually get to the most famous schools and some who do get there and discover that it was not what they actually wanted. There are a LOT of very good universities in the US, and more elsewhere. You need to figure out which ones are right for you.
@happy1 is also correct that you will need to consider the financial aspects.
Patriot4Life’s post is quite different in its approach. Some posters don’t like packaging or gearing high school to admissions, for many reasons, including emotional balance. And some posters question having Harvard or any one school as the focus of those efforts. Patriot4Life accepts the premise that Harvard is a good goal for a young person, good enough to strategize for a few years in order to get in. There is validity to all viewpoints and margeu can choose her own perspective.
