<p>Why are you all so concerned with grades? Harvard has a record of accepting people who are not academically strong! To help you understand better, read "How they got into harvard" by harvard crimson, and in there, you'll see that harvard doesn't care that much about grades at all... What harvard looking for is a leader of tomorrow and it doesn't matter how good you grades are because it will make you look like a geek... Obviously you can't be failing your ass out of high school but if your GPA is within the range of 3.6 and above, it doesn't matter whether it's 4.0 or 3.6... I just get so fed up with people thinking that Good grades = good chance. there's 11,000 transfer applicants this year with only 75 spaces availble... So i can ASSURE you that there's AT LEAST 5000 people with perfect SAT scores and 4.0 GPA.. What sets you apart from them is the key to your admission</p>
<p>Most of us already know this, but you can't say that "Harvard doesn't care that much about grades at all." I'm sure it's the first things they look at.</p>
<p>Oh yeah.. I was referring to LAST YEAR's transfer stats.. I called the admission office and the person in charge told me there WAS 11,000 APPLICANTS ( i m sure it's 11,000) and only 75 admitted....</p>
<p>A google search found this for 2005, leading me to believe that 1100 would be right for 2006.</p>
<p>The transfer admissions information below is valid for the 2005 academic year.</p>
<p>TRANSFER ACCEPTANCE
Transfer applicants are accepted: yes
Number of transfer applications received: 964
Number of transfer applicants offered admission: 85 (9%)
Number of transfer applicants offered admission who enrolled: 77 (91%)
Percent of all new students who were transfers: 4%</p>
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<p>...and it doesn't matter how good you grades are because it will make you look like a geek... Obviously you can't be failing your ass out of high school but if your GPA is within the range of 3.6 and above, it doesn't matter whether it's 4.0 or 3.6...<<<</p>
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<p>^^This part I disagree with.</p>
<p>Guidelines from Harvard's own website:</p>
<p>"The Admissions Committee recognizes that schools vary by size, academic program, and grading policies, so we do not have rigid grade requirements. There is no single academic path we expect all students to follow, but the strongest applicants take the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them. We do seek students who achieve at a high level, and most admitted students rank in the top 10-15% of their graduating classes."</p>
<p>Read that last sentence over carefully. A 3.6 ain't going to put you in the top 10-15% of most graduating classes.</p>
<p>Very competitive schools generally do a very job of letting colleges know their profile. The profile would have all AP, honor courses offered, and grade distribution. My daughter's school doesn't rank, but by looking at her transcript you would get a pretty good idea what percentile she is in. Her school CC also speaks with most of college's admission rep about their applicants. In Feb and early March they will find out how their applicants are doing and give any additional color on the applicants. I wouldn't be surprised if the conversation includes, "If you admit this applicant, I think he will very likely attend."</p>
<p>It really depends on your CC. Their job is put on the best light for you. If you are not doing so well second semester, and the grades are not officially in yet, then they probably wouldn't bring it up. I know my D's counselor will highlight what's positive because they(and the school) get paid for getting students into best schools possible.</p>