<p>Hello everyone! I'm currently a freshman in high school and the constant college talk has caught up with me. I know that I'm young to be thinking about this, but I feel that if I can get a head start it will make things easier on me when crunch time rolls around.
Harvard is my dream school, and it's not because of the prestige (although it certainly helps!). I have seen the campus during the school year and I absolutely loved the atmosphere.
Can anyone give me some advice on things to start doing that will increase my chances at getting into Harvard? I selected the most rigorous course load possible for next year and my grades are good, but I feel that my extracurriculars are going to be weak compared to other ivy league applicants. People win internships and national competitions and things of that sort, but I have no idea where to even begin to look for contests of that caliber.
Anyway, thank you very much for any advice and pointers that you can give me. Anything at all will be very helpful. I am all but clueless.
:)</p>
<p>Find your focus, discover your passion. Pursue it wholeheartedly...that is the key to all.</p>
<p>debate_addict is right. Choose a passion. I say choose rather than discover because it's possible that you simply won't discover it at this stage in life, but you can certainly find something you at least enjoy and are good at and then pursue it whole-heartedly. That will get you through all sorts of doors that may lead to other passions down the road.</p>
<p>What do you feel passionate about? Or what do you feel the potential to be passionate about? Once you figure that out, getting started in it is not too difficult as long as you put the time and effort in.</p>
<p>And bear in mind that you should incorporate it in your essays. Try to make it really stand out!!</p>
<p>Well, I <em>do</em> think it's too early for Elanorci to start worrying about the essays... lol</p>
<p>It's never too early!!</p>
<p>I'm very interested in languages. I'm currently taking French II and Latin I and plan to continue both until level four.
I'm also interested in genetic research and the social sciences, and but I really don't know how to start the process. In fact, I know very little about research in general.
I also like to write.
Haha, I guess I haven't really found a focus yet...</p>
<p>I feel the potential to become very passionate about any of the above subjects. I also have a chunk of time over the summer, so should I do some community service? Or would it be better to do something more unique? I know that tons of ivy league applicants have hundreds of service hours..
Thank you so much for all of the responses. What a friendly board! :)
(Essays! Haha, maybe it really is never too early. :P)</p>
<p>It is too early for essays. I'd spend three years working on learning how to write well if I were you. Don't worry about essays until the second half of your junior year. If you try them now, you'll just end up with a lot of things that you think are crap when you look back on them in three years. </p>
<p>I don't know much about genetic research, and which social sciences exactly do you mean? But as far as languages go, you could turn an interest into a passion by 1) spending most of your free time doing activities that will put you in the way of the language you want to learn 2) tutoring others in the language 3) doing freelance translating 4) reading up on linguistics as well as individual languages and getting a feel for the sort of research and study that is done (historical linguistics, early childhood language aquisition, second language aquisition, comparative linguistics, linguistics in connection with cognitive science, etc). 5) Get in contact with language teachers and professors in your area. If they try to put you off, don't let them. MAKE yourself involved. Get in on the papers, the research, the anything and everything. Take college classes if you must. </p>
<p>etc. And those are just examples. The further you go, the easier it will be to make and recognize opportunities.</p>
<p>Social sciences like sociology and some forms of psychology... Behavioral things interest me a lot. </p>
<p>I have a question about talking to professors in my area.
My parents are professors at Rice, so that pretty much gives me an 'in' with the faculty there. Will the colleges that I apply to look down on the fact that I used my parents to set up my contacts? Should I try to forge my own relationships with faculty elsewhere? Or should I just be thankful for the connection and use it?
Thanks again.</p>
<p>Please don't 'choose' a passion. It should just naturally fall into place. A passion shouldn't be something that gets you into a school. It should be something you'll pursue no matter what school you go to.</p>
<p>I can't say it enough. CURE CANCER! It's not that hard. just do it.</p>
<p>WindCloudUltra: There's nothing wrong with choosing a passion <em>until</em> one naturally falls into place. For some people, a particular interest would never "naturally fall into place" because they have so many interests and wouldn't really follow one in particular. Choosing one is a necessity, and if it's something enjoyable to the person choosing, no harm is done. As I said, choosing passion doesn't mean choosing one for life. It can open doors to new things later on. You act like I'm giving shallow advice. I'm not. I'm explaining one of the many enjoyable tools that can be used in life.</p>
<p>Elanorci: Be thankful for your connections and use them AND forge your own connections. It sounds crazy-hard, but it's really not. The more people who approach about research and theories, the more you'll find who will pay attention to you -- statistics alone make it possible.</p>
<p>Why didn't I think of that? I'll get on that cancer cure right away. :P
I don't think there's anything wrong with choosing an area to focus on. I have many interests and it would probably do me a lot of good to hone in on something. </p>
<p>I'll definitely look around for some linguistics and/or science people to talk to.
How do I go about looking for internship-type things, maybe at newspapers or something similar? Is there a list of the places that offer those sort of positions somewhere?
All of you have been very helpful. Thanks so much for the great responses.</p>
<p>I usually just barge in on people and say they should let me help them and then try my darndest to market myself well. It could probably be called "the annoying route" but it's the only way I am able to do things since opportunities don't just fall in my lap like they might for some more priveleged people. The real opportunities aren't generally listed or even mentioned. You have to make them. But, as I said above, the more times you try, the more likely you are to get something. It's like, the first nine times maybe you get nothing, but then the tenth time... you know?</p>
<p>You seem like a very determined person. That's very cool, for lack of a more refined word.
This summer I am going to get involved. I've always been very passive and have sort of waited for things to come to me-- no more! :)
Thanks for making me realize that I have to be proactive if I want opportunities and for answering all my questions. It's good to know that there are such helpful people around.</p>
<p>I can't stress this enough: do lots of extracurriculars! Get really good at something you love to do! Spend your summers having fun, but get an internship, volunteer, etc etc.</p>
<p>This coming from a panicky junior who definitely hasn't taken that advice.</p>
<p>I'm planning on doing some volunteer work also this summer, since the start date of school was pushed back and we get out at the same time. I have literally a three-month summer! :)
I'm going to contact some professors and see if they'll let me do an internship with them.
Thanks for the response-- best of luck!</p>
<p>Hey, I'm a sophomore that is trying to get into Harvard, too. Basically, there are four parts of the resume: the grades, the tests, the ECs, and the essays.</p>
<p>For the grades, continue to take as many high-level courses as possible. Also, I recommend spreading around the areas of concentration. This means that instead of just honing in on one subject, keep in mind the importance of having a mastery of many subjects. Take as many AP and honors classes as possible. Also, aim for the top 5 in your class, if not valedictorian. </p>
<p>For the tests, STUDY. Irregardless of what tests you take, you need to study! Like never before. Take the ACT, SAT I, or both. For the SAT, aim for above a 2300. For the ACT, I would recommend over a 32, but I am not as familiar with the ACT. For the three required subject tests, definitely attempt for scores over 740 and try to make them different (not all one subject).</p>
<p>For the ECs, there is a gigantic variety. I would start by joining clubs in high schools and committing to them wholeheartedly. Try to work up to become an officer position in student governments and clubs. By the end of senior year, I would recommend starting a club, becoming a president of a club, or just attempt to start some sort of fundraiser in your school. As for summer work, just keep busy with volunteership, classes, or both. I messed up my freshman-sophomore summer by not doing anything, so don't do my mistake! Also, search this site since people everywhere seem to pop up with a new EC that I've never heard of.</p>
<p>As for essays, these need to be exceptional. Basically, I would recommend starting at the end of junior year and get lots of people to proofread and comment especially English teachers and any possible alum. I'm still in the process of learning about essays, so I can't help much here.</p>
<p>Finally, check the stats profiles of accepted Harvard students (that helped me set my goals). Also, check out Harvard's website (<a href="http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/index.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/index.html)</a>. </p>
<p>I hope this doesn't discourage you from Harvard. It's just crazy hard to get in. Just remember, once you're in Harvard, you can relax a bit, live the college life, and enjoy an Ivy League experience. And prep for grad/med/law school <em>groans</em> ;-).</p>
<p>Wow, that was a really detailed, extensive post. :)
There is no possibility of getting Valedictorian. My school has more than seven hundred students per grade and is very competitive. This year, the Valedictorian has a GPA of 4.963somethingsomethingsomething. The only way to be Valedictorian is to skip ALL four-point classes-- and since I've already taken Latin I which isn't offered in PAP/honors, there's no way.
I can try for top five, but it will still be extremely unlikely.
My school is widely known and sends many kids to ivies, so will adcoms hold it against me a lot if I'm not Valedictorian? I can definitely be in the top ten percent, probably five, if I work hard.
I'm currently taking two languages, Latin for four years and French, which I can take as many years of as I want. I want to take just enough of it to recieve a good score on the AP test and the SAT II, but then drop it so I can take some electives like Psychology and Comparative Government (and take the AP tests in them). How many years of language are recommended for APs/SAT IIs?
During the summer I take classes at Duke as part of the TIP program. This year I'm taking Abnormal Psych and Philosophy. When I get back from that, I plan on doing some community service and if possible working in some sort of scientific setting. Does this sound good?
Would you recommend taking the ACT and SAT I?
(I know these questions are sort of in a random order... Sorry!) </p>
<p>Thank you very much for your in-depth response. I'm not discouraged-- I like challenging myself! :) Best of luck in your Harvard endeavors.</p>