What are my chances RD??

[fisharefriends]

I’m applying RD as an intended physics major.

Stats:
GPA: 4.0 UW 5.21 W
Class Rank: 3/425
ACT: 35 (35 E, 36 M, 34 R, 36 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Physics
AP: 5s- Stat, world, and English lang 4s- APES and Spanish
IB: Math SL-7 Business-5
Senior year course load: IB Physics HL, IB English HL, IB History HL, IB Spanish SL, IB TOK, IB Biology SL, AP Calculus BC, Honors Anatomy

Extracurriculars:

1. I’m an avid fisherman/diver and founded a photo contest for marine conservation. I was sponsored by a number of businesses and raised over $300 for a marine conservation association last summer.
2. I am heavily involved in student government. I have served on executive cabinet since sophomore year and was student body secretary/treasurer last year.
3. I’m on the staff than plans a school retreat focused on boundary breaking every year. I was chosen to be logistics committee chair this year.
4. I have played varsity tennis since freshman year
5. I play USTA team tennis at my country club
6. I swim on my country club’s swim team during the summer. I’m on the relay team that holds two club records, and we have 5 consecutive league championships
7. I tutor kids at my old elementary school in math and science.

Awards:
School excellence in mathematics award
National honor society
Spanish honor society
AP Scholar with distinction

Essays:
Common app- Pretty good, about loving nature and acting to conserve marine environments
Supplement- Talked about seeing through the world through a scientific lense, waking up at crazy hours to watch meteor showers, and being inspired by human insignificance in the universe

Demographics:
White male
Upper class

I know Harvard is a crap shoot, but do I have a significant shot at getting in, or am I just the usual Harvard applicant?

[gibby]

You seem like a wonderful applicant, as are most students who will ultimately be rejected. As Harvard receives more applications than they have seats in their freshman class, Admissions uses a student’s teacher recommendations, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR), essays and interview report to choose one high performing student over another. They look for wonderful scholars of “good character” – that’s an old fashioned word meaning the way you develop your inner qualities, intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, inclusiveness and love of learning. As none of those qualities can be gleaned from a post like yours, the best anyone can say is your stats make you a “qualified” applicant. FWIW: Harvard is on record as saying about 40% of applicants are qualified, so that means about 14,000 applications look pretty much like yours (35,000 X .40).

Although this article is dated, it will give you a good idea of the process at Harvard: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/keys-to-the-kingdom/

May the Admission-gods shine brightly upon you!

[ivyleaguedreamen]

Great stats and ECs. You seem to have a passion threaded through your app, which may bode well for you. Good luck!!!

Chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1939524-unique-applicant-chances-desperate-for-honesty.html#latest

@gibby

[gibby]

@ivyleaguedreamen: First off, what you did is called HIJACKING a thread. That is extremely rude. If you want to know YOUR chances, you should not piggy-back on another poster’s thread. Please don’t do this again!

Secondly, if after reading my comments to the OP, you still need to ask a question about your chances, let me direct you to this classic College Confidential post: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-for-admission-to-harvard-p1.html

If you have posted a chances thread on CC or have asked CC members to read your essays, your chances of admission to Harvard are probably less than 1 in 100 because your behavior here indicates you lack the confidence and critical thinking skills that Harvard seeks.

If you’ve chosen your ECs and summer activities by selecting things that you think will impress Harvard, your chances of admission are probably less than 1 in 500. Harvard wants students who follow their own passions, not students who try to fit themselves into a Harvard box or whose only passion is getting a Harvard admission.

If you’ve ever asked CC members what activities you should participate in so you can impress Harvard or other colleges, your chances of admission are probably 1 in 1,000. You lack the initiative, confidence, creativity, passion and critical thinking skills that impress Harvard admissions officers.

If you are taking notes on this post and while calculating your Harvard chances, you can stop calculating now. Your chances of admission are 1 in a million.

Lastly, with a 3.4 GPA – whatever the explanation – your chances are slim to none, even being a native american applicant. See Harvard Common Data Set, C9 Data Points: http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf

Percent who had GPA between 3.25 and 3.49 = 2.44%

My guess is that those accepted students who had similar GPA’s to yours are recruited athletes on the football, basketball and hockey teams. If you applied in the SCEA round, I would prepare yourself for a deferral. If you applied in the RD round, I would prepare yourself for a rejection.

[ivyleaguedreamen]

@gibby Didn’t mean to cause any harm or incite debate. A simple “don’t do this” would’ve sufficed. Sorry I asked!!

[snarlatron]

Really the “what are my chances” threads, which are pointless, belong in the “what are my chances” CC forum.