What else would I need?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hello CC! This is my first post =) </p>

<p>I come here with a question. What else would I need to add to my application to look appealing to Ivies, especially UPenn, Harvard, and Yale? I have the whole summer ahead of me and am willing to work 24/7 towards whatever it is I need to still do.</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>Race: Polish / Indian [not Native American]</p>

<p>Rank: Top 10%
GPA: 3.92 [This is the only grade our school gives us, not weighted/unweighted as seperate]
2340 SAT I
780 Bio M SAT II
750 Math II SAT II
760 US SAT II</p>

<p>AP's Taken:
European
English Language and Composition
US History
Biology</p>

<p>AP's for Senior Year:
Latin
Government
Chemistry
Calculus BC
Macroeconomics
English Literature</p>

<p>EC's:
Writer's Club <a href="9th-12th%20Grade">Creative Writing</a>
Track & Field (9-12th Grade)
Mock Trial <a href="11-12th%20Grade">Debate Team</a> (Went to local semi-finals)
National Honors Society (11-12th Grade)
Opinion Editor for Award Wining School Publication (12th Grade)
Writing Submission's for Award Winning School Publication <a href="11-12th%20Grade">Different One</a></p>

<p>Awards:
United States Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award
National Latin Exam Medals- Gold,Silver,Honorable Mention
Local Latin Exam Commendation
Final 10 for Regional Latin Poster Contest
Presidential Award (From 8th Grade, not sure if it counts?)
Honor Roll each year</p>

<p>Volunteer Hours: (Here's the Sore Spot)
35 Hours Cardiopulmonary Ward for Local Hospital 9th Grade
10th Grade Summer - Zilch
11th Grade Summer - Here we are, what shall I do?</p>

<p>10th Grade Summer was a disaster to say the least. My family is not very wealthy = no car for me, and since we live in a rural environment/farm country I could not get rides (takes 20 minutes to drive at max speed to school.) This situation was only exacerbated since my sisters (usual ride-givers) were stuck at college. </p>

<p>Thanks for the input!</p>

2

<p>Your EC’s are pretty weak compared to most applicants, so that’s what I would focus on improving. Also, get a job or do some volunteer work this summer. One of the questions on Princeton’s application asks how you spent your summers, so this is definitely something that colleges care about. Nice stats!</p>

3

<p>If you live on a farm and also help with the farm work, include that on your app as that would be interesting and impressive. Could be in your essay and listed as part of your ECs. H has a hard time attracting students from rural backgrounds, and H wants such students in order to help create a campus that is diverse in all meanings of the word. Heck, if you spent your summer working hard on your family farm, that would be very interesting to H and also to other top universities – particularly those located in large cities.</p>

4

<p>I agree summer is obviously your weak spot. If you can’t get to a job or a volunteer activity you’ll have to find something worthwhile to do on your own. My son is lucky, he’s working from home computer programming. My younger son is working for me and later this summer will be completely revamping one of my business web pages. You could also do a distance learning course.</p>

<p>I agree with Northstarmom that there is nothing wrong with helping out on the farm.</p>