<p>Exhibit a strong passion to learn. Do things you love (clubs, internships, etc.). Score well on standardized tests. GPA + class rigor only shows how hard you’ll work.</p>
<p>toughyear, “So, one strong condition is ‘don’t be an asian’ if you want to have a good chance to these schools [disclosure: im an asian american ]” - do you mean "don’t be an asian ‘male’ " ?</p>
<p>@toughyear: Your anecdotal evidence doesn’t provide strong support for your statement.</p>
<p>In order to say it’s more difficult to get into Harvard (vs. other U.S. colleges) as an Asian American applicant, we would need application statistics broken down by ethnicity for Harvard and all the other U.S. colleges. We would also need to take a look at mean GPA and SAT/ACT scores for Asian American vs. other ethnicities within the Harvard “accepted” applicant pool. As far as I know, the Harvard Admissions Dept. hasn’t released such statistics to the public.</p>
<p>The Harvard undergraduate student body is incredibly ethnically diverse. For what it’s worth, when I was an undergrad (mid-90s), approx. 15% of the Harvard student body self-identified as “Asian American.” I believe that the percentage of the current student body that is Asian American has increased to 17%. Anecdotally speaking, I’m a half-Asian male who was valedictorian in high school (not nationally ranked).</p>
<p>Bartleby007, “There’s no magic formula.” - Agreed.</p>
<p>henryvli, “How to REALLY get into Harvard? You need to stand out, you need to do something other CAN’T DO.” - but ‘how’ to stand out?</p>
<p>Bartleby007, " I’m a half-Asian male who was valedictorian in high school" - I am positive that there are plenty of valedictorian Asian males who didn’t get admissions to harvard. To be fair, by any chance, did you stress out your “half-nonAsian” part over “half-Asian”?</p>
<p>@PVmusicmom: I agree. I’m sure there are plenty of valedictorian Asian males who didn’t secure acceptances from Harvard. Similarly, there are plenty of valedictorian non-Asian males who didn’t secure acceptances from Harvard. My point is that, without the proper statistics, one cannot make the sweeping statement that toughyear made.</p>
<p>FWIW, I never stressed out about college admissions. I think parents and students who stress out about the process are approaching it in a non-productive way. That being said, I can report that, culturally speaking, Asian parents place a strong emphasis on academic achievement (perhaps a stronger emphasis than non-Asian parents might). As some of us know too well, it can help motivate the student…or stress him out. Hopefully, it’s the former rather than the latter.</p>
<p>Toughyear, Asians are not at a disadvantage. It is not right for you to discourage other Asian students from applying to Harvard and other elite colleges, when more than 20% of the admitted Class of 2016 at Harvard is Asian. Asians fare quite well in college admissions across the board. But Asian students do not hold a monopoly on outstanding academic, extracurricular, and creative ability in this country. </p>
<p>Students with special and extraordinary abilities come from all ethnic and racial categories, and schools like Harvard are very good at finding them. So stop thinking that Asians are rejected because of their ethnic status. When you apply to Harvard you are competing against top students from around the world and from every state. So, at a college with limited space for freshman (1900 to 2100 at Harvard), the overwhelming majority of white, black, Latina, and Asian students are rejected. Indeed, under such competitive circumstances, one should expect rejection but hope for acceptance. Harvard is a hope thing, not a sure thing. So no one should play the blame game if he or she is not admitted.</p>
<p>For students interested in Harvard, what you must communicate on your application is that you are either special or extraordinary in some way, and understand that you cannot depend on your grades, courses and test scores to make your total case. Every aspect of the application process must validate how special or extraordinary you are, meaning your essays, teacher and school evaluations, honors and awards, and the uniqueness of your life story. However, even when you have made the best case possible for yourself, there is no guarantee that you will outshine 93% or 94.1% of the applicants to Harvard in a given year. To even think that you are a lock for admissions to Harvard is the height of arrogance. Likewise, to think that you are truly the most gifted person on earth just because you have been admitted to Harvard is pure hubris.</p>
<p>Your job is to make your case in a way that convinces Harvard it has made a great find (and not the other way around). If you communicate how special or extraordinary you are, you may win them over. But if not, so be it. You will know that there is another great college out there that needs your special or extraordinary abilities.</p>
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<p>Did you figure out why MIT rejected you?</p>
<p>There are plenty of kids got admissions to MIT but didn’t get into Caltech as well. So, he can figure it out.</p>
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<p>My two cents:</p>
<p>It’s not that Asians are at a disadvantage, like someone on the adcom would say “Wow, look at this person! He/She has very impressive achievements! Oh wait, they’re Asian. I don’t think we’ll accept you.” </p>
<p>What I do believe is that those who are URMs MAY(!) not have to reach the same level of accomplishment that others may have to reach in order to be accepted to these top-tier colleges. In my school at least (#2 in nation), it is clear that there were some students that were accepted to MIT, Harvard, and Princeton with “lesser” stats than many who applied. Ignoring essays and teacher recs, which can only get you so far, as academics are the most important, there is a clear discrepancy between where you would expect an average student with those stats to get in versus where they actually get in. </p>
<p>So, I like to think of it as others having a small advantage rather than Asians being disadvantaged, because nowhere are our chances being decreased because of our race. Everyone applying to Harvard is at a disadvantage when someone is accepted because there are just one less seat left. That’s how admissions work.</p>
<p>Monepo, your emphasis on lesser stats is precisely the problem, especially since you are primarily talking about the SAT scores and not the GPAs and AP scores of URMs. And yet Harvard is explicit when they tell the whole world the following about the stats you are so fixated on:</p>
<p>Harvard does not have clearly defined, required minimum scores; however, the majority of students admitted to the College represent a range of scores from roughly 600 to 800 on each section of the SAT Reasoning Test as well as on the SAT Subject Tests. We regard test results as helpful indicators of academic ability and achievement when considered thoughtfully among many other factors. (See [Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/faq.html#10]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/faq.html#10))</p>
<p>Here, upfront, Harvard is telling Asian, white, African American, Latina, and Indian (or polka dot) students that it may consider you special or extraordinary even when your SAT scores are not perfect. Curiously, you and many other students are still trying to define to Harvard the test scores it should use to determine who gets in, but Harvard, every year, keeps telling everyone, We are Harvard, not Berkeley! Monepo, get over it: At Harvard there is no Ignoring essays and teacher recs [and athletic and extracurricular awards and honors]! </p>
<p>Nevertheless, I hear you. Some Asian students are seeking perfection in ways that hurts them. They think great stats, particularly test scores, are the prize. But one students 2300 on the SAT could be more impressive than anothers students 2300. One students 1900 may be more compelling than another students 1900. You see, its not all about the numbers (the stats); its the story behind the numbers: the person, their achievements, their struggles, and their triumphs that makes one student special or extraordinary and another student non-compelling or ordinary. Some Asian, white, African American, Latina, Indian (and polka dot) students understand this and are fortunate enough to get in. But not all of the astute ones get in because there is just not enough room for Harvard to take every special or extraordinary student it finds. Is it egotism that prevents some people on College Confidential from understanding this reality?</p>
<p>It’s been a few years since I saw that documentary, but from what I remember, that girl did come from a top New York high school, one of those Ivy feeder ones, and presumably excelled there academically, even if she didn’t get quite a 4.0. That definitely worked in her favor. </p>
<p>Going off of what one of the other posters said about there not being a magic formula, I think that at the end of the day, a lot of it has to do with luck. Why are some applicants accepted, while other, equally qualified applicants are rejected? It’s hard to determine.</p>
<p>To answer the OP’s question, the girl most likely got in due to the fact that her essay was unique. I mean, how many people write an essay about English? That’s what made her stand out in my opinion.</p>
<p>Monepo, if you’re at the NVa #2 US hs, do you have any idea how many of your peers applied to H? How many seem identical rather than unique? H admissions is holistic- not all about stats. And the URMs who get in are usually fabulous. You can blame Asian admit “problems” on “race,” but you do not read applications, do not see how many “top performers” come across as same, not special. How many write lame essays and get same old LoRs. And, you missed the part about the freshman class at about 20% Asian kids when their proportion in the US pop is roughly 4%. </p>
<p>When you’re in hs, your sole perspective is hs- but the colleges are looking for more than another hs kid or top dog or stu govt prez. Have fun with this link:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-admission-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-admission-harvard.html</a></p>
<p>Btw, Berkely is also holistic, though on a different level. And, I hope the kid who posted the names of wealthy families knows not all sent their kids to H.</p>