Will I get into Harvard?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello everyone,
I'm from Pakistan, doing my A-levels there. Here's my info:</p>

<p>Academia:
9 Cambridge O-levels
*English Language: A 98% (Top 5 in Pakistan)
*Physics: A 98%
*Chemistry: A 96%
*biology: A 95%
*Maths: A 93%
*Urdu: A 92%
*Pakistan Studies: A 90%
*islamiyat: B 88%
*additional Maths: 88%
I had taken the most rigorous option affered at my school (in fact i had taken all the subjects offered). I used to be at a small school in a small town and mine was their first batch for O-level; so i was at a severe disadvantage and had to shoot in the dark without any guidance from the teachers. after that i went on to do a-levls from the same school.. wasted my year there and moved to karachi for a-levels. i'm trying to makeup for lost time and am taking the full course in just one year. I've taken AS phys,chem & bio and the results are:
*Phys: A 98%
*Chem: A 97%
*Bio: A 99% (probably a distinction but i havnt come to know yet)
I have taken 4 more subjects: literature, sociology, maths and general paper,
and i'm covering up all that in a single year (most rigorous)
Okay here are my academic achievements:
Topping at my old school each year in chemistry, biology, english
Recieving a Gold medal ofr academic excellence
At the previous school, i stood 1st in a class of 30. Here, i am among the top 5-6 students from a class of 200.
SAT: 2400 (HURRAAAAAY!!!!)
havent taken sat2 yet, thinking of writing, bio, and math2c.</p>

<p>Extra Curricular:
I'm at a disadvantage here too, the sleepy town that i used to live in had no scope for any ec's, we never knew wat was happening in other parts of the country, nor did we have any information abt any competitions etc taking place in other parts of the country :p nonetheless i did sth there too.
*Youth Empowerment: I dont know why, but it has become my passion. I am Organising the first ever provincial Youth Forum on AIDS in Pakistan (i went to the UNICEF office with my idea and they liked it).
Will be going to the 1st National Youth Forum after a few months.
*Community Service: i dont think volunteerships like fund collecting, working at hospitals or going to orphanages really matter but here are the highlights: volunteering at a relief camp for the earthquake victims (most recent, moved me to tears), being a volunteer for WWF for 6 months (did various things like cleaning mangrove swamps and protecting turtles etc). i've also organised campaigns and rallies like blood drives and anti-betelnut rally etc. Organised a plantation day in my community, opened up a park for children (complete with swings and laughter).
*Acting and Theatre: there is no scope for acting in pakistan, apart from starting out as some sleazy vj. so my achievements in acting are limited to my school. I am the incharge of all the plays, skits etc, and for all the functions and parties at school. I've always wanted to work parttime for a theatre company but, sigh, there arent any here...
*Writing: I've gotten published in top magazines in the country and Have an internship froma monthly periodical. Editor-in-chief of the school magazine.
*Student Government: School Prefect. Member of the student council.
*Learning: it does seem stupid my that's what i like to do most, whether it is bonsai, or baking, or chinese language, or hair styling. i just love to learn new things. call it a hobby or madness (most call it eccentricity), i just love to learn. PS i've won some local fame for this!</p>

<p>Essay: hmmmm i'll think abt it
Recommendations: Superb!</p>

<p>Pleeeeease tell me abt my chances i'm desperate to get into harvard or yale or any good school,i can do anything, or i'lll cry .....BOOHOOHHOO!!!!</p>

2

<p>you wont get in dude. adcom dont read all that crap.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, sorry dude. Not a chance in hell.</p>

4

<p>Will you get into Harvard? Will you win the lottery? Same thing. Buy a ticket, but don't start packing your bags because Harvard is a tough admit for everyone.</p>

5

<p>Are all you Americans? Look at his marks and he has a 2400 on his SATI. He recived a 98 % in his English Language Exam. He has great EC's. He has 93.1% that is a 3.72 on his O-Levels and a 98% on his AS-Levels is a 3.92.</p>

6

<p>being a URM will help you significantly</p>

7

<p>Are you canadian kpusa1981? It's just a silly thread. He got a 2400, near flawless grades, and good EC's for his situation. His chance is as good as anyone's, but to give a yes/no answer isn't possible with him or any other applicant to HYP.</p>

8

<p>No, I am from the USA.</p>

9

<p>I say you have an excellent chance if you can write compelling essays and do well at the interview. The unfair but still based-in-reality stereotype about S. Asian students like you is that they are geniuses at science but are dull and workmanlike in person. You need to show that you are just as smart or smarter than the stereotype while being more the sort of person someone would want to have as a roomate. </p>

<p>The English A-level will help you stand out from the crowd and that Youth AIDS forum is impressive. If you can convey your intellectual depth in the essay, you have a better than even shot (that 2400 certainly doesn't hurt, either...).</p>

10

<p>Thank you pyrodastic.</p>

11

<p>"In charge of all plays."
Stage manager?</p>

<p>"Editor in chief"
Doesn't that chew up a lot of time... or perhaps there are [slight] exaggerations here? </p>

<p>"opened up a park for children..."
all during breakfast. </p>

<p>anyways... good job!</p>

12

<p>"i'm desperate to get into harvard or yale or any good school"</p>

<p>If you have a good list (and especially if you are not looking for finaid) you will likely be admitted to a very good school. As far as Harvard or Princeton go, its hard to tell. You have a very impressive profile - but every year they reject people with impressive profiles.</p>

<p>You need to have some depth on you list - schools that doen't reject 9 out of 10 applicants. What other schools are on your list?</p>

13

<p>5-10% chance, perhaps as high as anyone gets...</p>

14

<p>I don't believe it's 5-10, tjhey accept like %9 from an applicant pool of alot of worse to much worse than that. I don't really know but I'd guess like 20% at least.</p>

15

<p>its been a long time since i last logged on. thankyou everyone. esp kathy perry, it was very nice of u to email me.
ok...
let me clear some things out.
i was the incharge of the school theatre, i used to write, direct, design the sets of all the plays and used to act in most of them.
i was the editor-in-chief alright (no exaggerations there, as soon as my english teacher appointed me as the editor, a lot of me-too's came up, so she selected 5 more and made me the chief).
building a park.. ahem.. that was exaggerated, but not wholly. it was like this: we have family terms with the governor, he and his family had come to a party at our place, i seized the opportunity and explained the importance of setting up a park. he said "i'll see", then others (esp my aunts) asserted its importance so eventually he had to agree too. then i raised some money and gave it too him, and he used it to build a park.</p>

<p>i'll be taking the literature, GP, sociology, and math exams, as well as A-levels in bio,chem and physics, in May. hmmm... stereotypes, that's what i was afraid of, they may hurt. my EC's arent really spectacular either. i have done a few other things but i dont have a certificate for them, any suggestions abt that? money is a problem too (we're millionares here in pakistan, filthy rich. but our income is quite humbling when u change it into dollars: Rs.1 million=$16,000). i'm <strong>thinking</strong> of applying to the following:</p>

<p>big universities:
*Harvard(..........haaaaaarvaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard...........)
*princeton
*yale
*stanford
*cornell (my cousin used to be there, will her reference or anything help?)
*university of virginia (my cousin sara is currently studying business there)
*johns hopkins (my cousin and her husband will go there to study public health next year)
*Columbia (but my parents have clearly told me not to even think of new york.. sigh)
*Univ Pensylvannia
*Univ Chicago
*washington U in st.louis
*Michigan, Ann Arbor</p>

<p>Small Colleges:
Swarthmore (i've got their prospectus, its so coool)
Williams
Middlebury
Hamilton (Hey, kamila shamsie-a pakistani writer- teaches there, and i know her personally)
Amherst
Wellesley
Wesleyan
Bowdoin</p>

<p>Prospective Majors:
Biology
Anthropology
Gender Studies
Art History
Psychology
Pre-medical </p>

<p>and i've heard SAT II writing no longer exists, is that true? thanks again for all the advice.</p>

16

<p>and i've heard SAT II writing no longer exists, is that true?</p>

<p>Yeah, it became the writing section of the SAT, which you aced :)</p>

17

<p>why thankyou...
btw, what's URM?</p>

18

<p>"under-represented minority." You aren't one, alas.</p>