<p>According to my book "The Truth About Harvard" - 3/5 perfect scorers on the SAT are rejected. This book is a little outdated by a few years. I dunno if the stat has changed. I think the val stat is 4/5 are rejected. It's similar for brown, where 3/4 Vals are rejected.</p>
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According to my book "The Truth About Harvard" - 3/5 perfect scorers on the SAT are rejected. This book is a little outdated by a few years. I dunno if the stat has changed. I think the val stat is 4/5 are rejected. It's similar for brown, where 3/4 Vals are rejected.
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<p>Based on the description of the admissions process, I have some beef with it (it's on page 1 of this thread). However, this shows that nothing is a guarantee for admission.</p>
<p>Do the admissions officers get to see SAT essays and do they take them into account when looking over your file?</p>
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Do the admissions officers get to see SAT essays and do they take them into account when looking over your file?
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<p>They definitely can see your SAT I essays. It's all available on-line. They usually look at it if your actual essay is unusually good/bad compared to your scores and your English grades. It's basically another way to ferret out those who utilized college consulting services.</p>
<p>wut would be unusually good? like if u have an A+ in AP english and a 12, would they still take a look at it?</p>
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wut would be unusually good? like if u have an A+ in AP english and a 12, would they still take a look at it?
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<p>Who knows? Your guess is as good as mine. </p>
<p>For all: Just know that they can look at the essay and though it is only 25 minutes and encourages very formulaic writing, they can still see your writing foundation (how you write, your thought process, etc.) and can extrapolate information from there. Be careful! :)</p>
<p>LOL, I have an A in AP english and a 12...but I still suck :)</p>
<p>i have an A in AP English and got 11 on the SAT...so does that mean that the princeton admissions office read my essay? (im going to princeton)</p>
<p>I have two questions, but first, a prelude.</p>
<p>After viewing a number of "chances" forums and posts by several students, parents and alums, I've come to the conclusion that the general consensus on admission to Harvard, or any Ivy League for that matter, is that you need to be a straight A student taking twice as many courses as anyone else in your year, while being captain of 3 teams and winning international awards in order to even have a chance at getting in. I've seen stats of students that simply dwarf my own, both in the magnitude of the accomplishments and the sheer number of them, and they are often told that their chances of getting in are slim to none. "Crapshoot" is a word that often comes up when describing the selection process, since so many qualified applicants end up being rejected.</p>
<p>The point is, I find that there is a lot of information regarding the numbers of applicants accepted, rejected, etc., but very little regarding the <em>type</em> of applicant that gets in.</p>
<p>My first question is, just who DOES Harvard accept? What kind of people are they? Is everyone a super-specimen of teenage perfection, knowing exactly what their passions in life are since the tender age of four and juggling a host of outstanding activities while maintaining stellar grades? Just trying to ascertain whether the common man's perception has any truth to it...</p>
<p>The second, how heavily is each factor of the application weighted, considering ECs, Personal Qualities as demonstrated through admission and SAT essays, and Grades? Is it ECs < Personal Qualities < Grades/Scores? If I've left any factors out, please include them.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insight.</p>
<p>Haha - good, I'm glad. I write HORRIBLE essays on the spot. I like to carefully craft my syntax when I have the time –– essays on the spot destroy me (well... only 11)</p>
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i have an A in AP English and got 11 on the SAT...so does that mean that the princeton admissions office read my essay? (im going to princeton)
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<p>Now this is speculative and does not belong on this board. This thread is to just show how admissions decisions are made, nothing beyond that.</p>
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My first question is, just who DOES Harvard accept? What kind of people are they? Is everyone a super-specimen of teenage perfection, knowing exactly what their passions in life are since the tender age of four and juggling a host of outstanding activities while maintaining stellar grades? Just trying to ascertain whether the common man's perception has any truth to it...
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<p>No. People here are quite normal. Granted, there are people who are geniuses in what they do. However, the vast majority of undergraduates here are hard-working. There is no "one" Harvard undergraduate. Again, the characteristics of each class is carefully balanced out to include a variety of students in the arts, humanities, sciences, etc. If there were to be one characteristic, the undergraduates here think deeply about all issues and try to understand where their classmates come from when it comes to a debate, etc.</p>
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how heavily is each factor of the application weighted, considering ECs, Personal Qualities as demonstrated through admission and SAT essays, and Grades? Is it ECs < Personal Qualities < Grades/Scores? If I've left any factors out, please include them.
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<p>Everything is considered. Again, there is the minimum academic requirements of being in the top 10%-15% of your high school class and 600-800 on each section of the SAT I and on each of your top 3 SAT IIs. Again, if you do not meet these academic requirements (especially for the testing), the admissions officer will look for any circumstances that may have prevented you from doing well on these standardized exams. Again, about 80% of applicants pass this criteria.</p>
<p>After that, everything is fair game. But I would say that personal qualities rating would be weighted the most. This is where teacher recommendations, essays, interview reports, etc. are key to shedding light to who you are. Admissions officers veterans, due to their extensive experience reading applications, know how a potential applicant will be in the next 20-30 years as a person. Their judgments may not be correct in the long run (after all, people change), but they do a pretty good job with what they've got in the meantime. Yes, they are really that good.</p>
<p>xjayz: i think you've answered this question in one form or another, but let me just give a general background to my application--i've won several national/international science competitions, am editor of the literary magazine, amazing grades, taking 6 APs this year, excellent recs, research at a very well known science institution, etc etc. </p>
<p>however, my SAT scores are less than stellar for the average harvard applicant-- i got a 2170. i applied EA to harvard and got deferred, do u think that my "low" SAT score could have caused the deferral/probably my eventual rejection from harvard? is that one test so important? ppl tell me that the SAT cant possibly really matter that much, after all its only a 4 hour test...however i really see no other obvious reason as to why i was deferred.</p>
<p>Your SAT scores would not have kept you out.</p>
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however, my SAT scores are less than stellar for the average harvard applicant-- i got a 2170. i applied EA to harvard and got deferred, do u think that my "low" SAT score could have caused the deferral/probably my eventual rejection from harvard? is that one test so important? ppl tell me that the SAT cant possibly really matter that much, after all its only a 4 hour test...however i really see no other obvious reason as to why i was deferred.
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<p>If you divide 2170 by 3, that averages to about a 720 on each section. Your SAT I scores DEFINITELY did not keep you out. Lingbo is absolutely correct. Your scores are pretty much on par with Harvard's overall applicant pool. It is probably personal qualities, which means that there's nothing much more you can do. As stated in other deferral threads, have your guidance counselor fish for information. You can also call yourself as well if you would like, but again, admissions officers can tell who you are by analyzing the smallest aspects of your personality, so you may or may not want to do that.</p>
<p>If you have your GC call them, will they honestly tell him/her the reasons you got deferred? I mean what are the chances for this? Like 20%?</p>
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If you have your GC call them, will they honestly tell him/her the reasons you got deferred? I mean what are the chances for this? Like 20%?
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<p>Again, for the vast majority of applicants, there is no tangible reason why a student was deferred. The honest truth is the fact that there is really no reason why you should not have gotten in over other people.</p>
<p>Is there a specific kind of "personality quality" Harvard looks for?</p>
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Is there a specific kind of "personality quality" Harvard looks for?
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<p>I forget which article it was, but Robin Worth, a senior admissions officer, put it this way. Harvard admissions officers are trying to detect an "X factor." The "X factor" basically is a combination of passion, drive, an innate curiosity about the world, etc. that speaks to the character of a person. In some sense, it is much more than just "doing well in school." It's a character trait that is inherent in each person (hence essays, teacher recommendations, interviews are extremely important). If this "X factor" is detected (and they sure do a good job at it), then as long as you have done well in school, etc., you would in all likelihood be accepted. </p>
<p>To give a realistic example for the sake of argument, say that you wanted to become a doctor. What if you decide that you were not going to be one anymore? Would the passion/drive/understanding of the field you had when you were interested in medicine translate into another field? This is perhaps a very cursory example, but it provides a little bit of an insight of what admissions officers at Harvard are looking for.</p>
<p>Again, this is Harvard's idea of what the "X factor" is. Obviously, Yale's, Princeton's, UPenn's, etc. idea of the "X factor" is very different. Hence there is so much confusion when decisions are released. This just goes back to the point that guidance counselors have made their motto - find a school that fits you. Harvard isn't going to change for one person. Neither is any other school. Find one that matches who you are.</p>
<p>You never know how well you do on standardized tests. I received a 5 on AP Eng Lit, 11 on SAT essay, bombed my ACT essay-7/12 40% percentile in the nation. I wrote my SAT essay in print and ACT essay in cursive. I have begun to realize that almost noone can read my cursive lettering so that may have played a part in a lower score.</p>
<p>xjays-
What do you mean by "then as long as you have done well in school, etc., you would in all likelihood be accepted."? (What is the "MINIMUM" grade? 600+ ,10-15%???)</p>