you never know you have a shot

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>my friend (from Canada) got accepted into harvard EA and it shows that sometimes great stats simply do not matter; it shows that anyone who applies has a shot</p>

<p>my friend's stats:</p>

<p>*Decision: Accepted *</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 640 (math), 560 (critical reading), 540 (writing)
[</em>] SAT IIs: 610 (math IIc), 570 (physics), 480 (US history)
[<em>] ACT n/a
[</em>] AP: AP calculus (our school only offers 4 AP courses)
[<em>] Courseload: moderate
[</em>] GPA: 3.2 (unweighted; our school does not weigh GPAs)
[<em>] Rank: top 50% (about 78/220)
[</em>] Other stats: 79% average (Canadian education system); on the school honor roll
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: decent but nothing truly amazing (i read his essay)
[</em>] Teacher Recs: honest assessment; he told me it was nothing amazing
[<em>] Counselor Rec: same as teacher recs
[</em>] Hook (if any): played varsity rugby; play community basketball, volunteered at local church, played piano for 9+ years (Diploma from London Conservatory of Music), very artistic, hardworking student who uses hard work and motivation to compensate for lack of talent
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: US citizen but schooled in Canada and Hong Kong
[</em>] School Type: fairly competitive; has one of the best chemistry and math programs in province (Canada equivalent of state); has only sent one student to a prestigious school (MIT) in school history
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Surprisingly low SATs; made hard work and motivation a key part of his application
[</em>] Why you think he was accepted/deferred/denied: I had no idea how he got accepted with such low stats compare to other applicants; I have way better stats than him in school and I don't have a shot at any Ivy league school
[/ul]Other Factors: did not apply for financial aid (perhaps it helped); very artistic
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: we told him to tryout as a joke and now everyone at my school is in total disbelief</p>

2

<p>Um, there's always a shot at winning the lottery too.</p>

3

<p>haha its funny how stuff like that works out. nice wit Kamikazewave, your comment made me laugh.</p>

4

<p>wow. I am in disbelief too, if that alone is the ONLy factor in the game.
There MUST be something else that distinguised him from others!
Might be his circumstance, or, his talent in rugby?
Is he recruited atheltic or something?</p>

5

<p>troll of all trolls</p>

6

<p>Is it a troll?</p>

7

<p>actually Kamikaze, getting into harvard is easier than winning the loterry probability wise ;)</p>

8

<p>

Um, fine, I can buy the whole low test scores deal but how the hell can your friend make "hard work and motivation a key part of his application" when he as a 3.2 UW GPA??</p>

<p>TROLL!!!</p>

9

<p>dude just because someone has a 3.2 GPA doesn't mean he or she is not a hardworker. my friend was not blessed with any academic talent but he improved from being a troubled borderline fail student to being a 3.2 GPA student in the span of 2 years by hard work. perhaps harvard admired his willingness to work hard.</p>

10

<p>Not for a 3.2 GPA applicant with SATs in the lowest 1% of admits orange :D.</p>

<p>"Diploma from London Conservatory of Music"</p>

<p>There is no such thing as the London Conservatory of Music either. There hasn't been one since 1922...This reminds me of that episode in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (Don't ask) when Sabrina's aunt supposedly graduated from Harvard over a hundred years ago...</p>

11

<p>I am 90% certain that cp3 is either fooled by his friend or is completely making everything up.</p>