What needs improvement in my application? Am I heading in the right direction for Harvard?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

Hey!!!

First off, I know I’m only a freshmen! For Harvard, you need to start and care early! Please give me your honest opinions- it would mean the world to me! Note: none of this is meant to show off, but I really wanna know what needs improvement!

As of now, I’m planning to apply to Princeton, Yale, and Harvard, Notre Dame, Rice, Wake Forest, and Duke . Harvard as my number 1. Im going to add in some safety schools but I haven’t found any that I love.

SCHOOL
-rural public
-297 students in grade
-Maryland
-95%+ white
-10% in free lunch program
-Usually three or so students attend a top school such as in ivy or MIT.

ACADEMICS
-4.0/4.0 unweighted
-5.38/6.0 weighted
-Rank 1/297 for unweighted, and 5/293 for weighted. (This will rise as I took my gym credit the year, which counted as standard for weighted, and my art credit which was also standard level.)
-Expecting the weighted GPA to have an upward trend as the rest of the classes I take in high school will be in the gifted and talented program or AP.
-Hopefully will hold the 4.0 GPA, might get 1 B, but so far haven’t gotten anything lower than a 95%.
-PSAT 9: 1290/1440, minimal studying, 99 percentile overall, top score in my class.
-AP’s: Ill be taking a ton. This year only one was available so I took AP government and politics. Im self studying AP comparative government. Over the summer I’m taking AP biology online with some face to face labs with other students and a professor. Taking 4 AP’s next year: Computer Science principles, World History, Human Geography, and Statistics.) Not sure how I’ll do on the exams, but on the government midterm I scored a 5 if that helps to gauge.

AWARDS
-High honors for CTY
-Team first place for regionals in cross country, and indoor track.
-I NEED MORE AWARDS!! Ideas would be appreciated!

EXTRA CURRICULARS
-Three sport varsity athlete as a freshmen- cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.
-Co-founder of model UN team: Co-captain
-Founder of a service club called CASA, aims to fundraise for nonprofit CASA (works with foster care kids). Holding a benefit run for the organization, raised $3,000 for sponsorship already, President
-Member of…
Key club (service), Student council, Class Council Member, Kids Helping Hopkins (service), Fellowship of Cristian athletes, and act of kindness club (service).
-Running for Vice President of class next year (should win because no one else in running as of now)- I ran for president and lost this year by two votes to another Harvard hopeful.

SERVICE
-Right now I have ~250 hours
-I organize care packages for students who grow out of the foster care system (work with CASA). I started this drive by myself and have gotten over $2,000 in donations. Right now I’m giving one to every person in my county that grows out- aim to give it to most people in my state that grow out by senior year (This will require help from other students so it would no longer be just me)
-Cook and serve dinners at a house for families with very sick children (holding name for privacy), this happens about once a month.
-Service clubs in school will provide extra hours.

EXTRA NOTES
-Family Income ~150k
-Not a legacy
-I know absolutely no one that went to Harvard.
-Will have great recommendations, but I most likely will only write an average essay compared to those students applying.
-The interview will go fine, I like to talk to people.
-Honestly unsure about major. As a freshmen I feel unexposed to the real world in jobs. As of now, I levitate to the STEM field because it comes easiest to me.

THANKS SO MUCH!! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RECEIVING THEIR ADMISSIONS SOON!!

2

you are most definitely on the right track. As you are a Freshman, it is really hard to give good advice- maybe wait till sophomore or junior year? But for now, stay focused! Re. Awards- maybe some science fairs?

3

bump

4

So far so good but boy, you still have a ways to go yet. Top grades in what colleges consider “challenging” classes a must, and tip-top (or nearly there) scores on the SAT and the required number of subject tests. Leadership positions in after-school activities and lots of service hours for good causes-check. Rural might help if they think they need to fill “geographic diversity” slots. Even with all that you will STILL be in the great big pile of candidates with similar credentials, so what else can you add that will flag you out as something special and be able contribute to the broad college community? In your case, being a top athlete who continues to win awards might definitely be a big plus, especially if you’d express an interest in pursuing it in college.

But…

although having Ivy credentials on your future resume might make you feel good and initially catch the eye of some hiring managers, what’s also important is where you’ll feel comfortable going to school. What you think you want today may change in two years. Best to check out all your potential schools in person during the next two summers to make sure they can provide you with what you think you want, and to see if you can feel at home with the student culture at that place. My daughter, for instance, was solidly determined to get into a particular “dream school” from the time she started high school, but when we actually visited the place a couple year later she was kind of “meh” about it after we toured around and caught the general vibe of the place. On the other hand, we accidentally stumbled into an open house at another school which hadn’t even been on the radar and it suddenly became “The One”. She ended up getting in and going there, and never once regretted her decision.

5

@Vot123 Thank you for your feedback! I will definitely look into visiting the schools. Hoping to visit Harvard this summer! Great to here about your daughters success- congratulations on her!

6

Oh boy here it goes. The bottom line is that there is no clear formula to what is a perfect application. What you need baseline is competitive GPA and SAT scores, competitive classes in transcript. But that alone is not enough, awards if possible and excellent letters of recommendation and personal statements. But the key to that is doing what you love and display your passion. Be active and engaging! Do it because you love it NOT because that will look good. And even that, it’s not even guaranteed that you will end up at Harvard but you will surely end up at an amazing school if you work hard and be who you are! Be sure to research heavily multiple schools not just harvard, and be sure to know WHY specifically do you like the school? Knowing this will help you significantly in finding out what college FITS you because it’s a huge investment. After that if you still want to apply to Harvard, go ahead and be prepared to get rejected because the odds are not in your or anyone’s favors. After that if you are still willing to apply just go ahead and wait. Best of luck!

From your fellow applicant who went through application hell! :slight_smile:

7

@hola1997 Thanks for your feedback!

8

@Jt128a : You’re welcome! It’s nice to see someone who’s also part of the Christian Fellowship in here :slight_smile:

9

Almost every senior member on this site like @gibby will tell you to apply sideways. Do the things that you love because you love them. Not because they will get you into your dream school. If you get in, then great! If you don’t, at least you spent that time doing what you love.

10

^I agree with that.

Also, start taking SAT Subject Tests as soon as you take the corresponding courses; as someone who took three subject tests immediately after the corresponding courses and two Subject Tests multiple years after those courses, I can tell you that you will forget some of the information!

Moreover, if you have any questions about the process, don’t hesitate to ask admissions (after you look at the website, of course)! The admissions office’s job is to facilitate applications, and asking an INTELLIGENT question POLITELY can only leave a good impression.

Most of all, BE YOURSELF! Admissions officers quickly become accomplished at administering the BS test on the applications they evaluate; therefore, show them deep commitment in areas that genuinely interest you, and you can make the best of the raw 5-6% acceptance rate.

I hope this helps!

11

I just want to say that I don’t think you are really living in a psychologically or emotionally healthy manner if you are so focused on college admissions at your age, and, for instance, actively soliciting advice on what awards to go after. Living to build a resume really can get you off track and lead to burnout and depression.

Please don’t spoil your high school years thinking so much about Harvard and other elite schools.

Explore and follow your interests, make friends, work hard. try to be a nice person, and don’t think about college for a couple of years.

12

Very impressive. I’ve never seen anyone do that!

Here is some great advice from Yale and MIT, which is likely applicable to Harvard.
Former Yale admissions dean, Mr. Brenzel, told the NY Times:

Chris Peterson an MIT admissions officer wrote:

http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

Help your self by giving this advice some serious contemplation.

Best of luck!

13

Gravitate toward STEM

14

@compmom any ideas as too ways to show my passion?

15

@Jt128a : You need to rephrase that sentence. What do you mean by “too ways”? Did you mean “too many ways”?

16

Any idea as to ways to show the passion. It’s not hard to figure out what was meant.

17

Jt, you are not understanding the message, or at least what some of us are trying to say. Don’t think about showing your passion to colleges. Don’t think too much about college at all if you can possibly do that. Your post, to me, is not healthy. Yes, work hard, and choose courses well, but otherwise, use high school to make friends, explore interests and as time goes on you will naturally narrow them a bit and go deeper. For now, please, just relax and live your life in the present before you have to think about college and other future issues. No college is worth living like this.

18

@compmom : I think the only time when such thought like this can be beneficial, if not necessary, is if a student’s family is financially and situationally dependent upon a student’s success in entering famous colleges so that he/she can ease the burden of parents and take care of the family after school. (Generally, that’s in a big family or families that had to work really hard to put everything into their children’s education for a better future). But if not, then I completely agree with your statement.

19

It is not necessary to attend a “famous” college to make a good living, and those who burn out during high school or in college due to stress while preparing for college, often do a lot worse than those who live a healthy high school life and attend a state school, or a less well-known college. :slight_smile: