I am currently a senior in high school, and I'm wondering if I'm good enough to get into Harvard. I didn't do so well in freshman year: My GPA was 3.15 the first semester, and I got a D in Spanish and several Bs. In my second semester of freshman year, I decided to get my **** together and I got a 3.7 GPA, with all As and 2 Bs. Starting sophomore year, I got 4.0s both semesters and in junior year I took all available honours classes and got all As (4.6 weighted GPA in each semester). I am taking all available honours and AP classes now in senior year, and I will be getting all As (it'll be a 4.6 GPA first semester, and 5.0 weighted GPA in second semester). I also have 5s in every AP exam I took: Calculus BC, Physics 1, Physics 2, Physics C, Studio Art, Language and Composition, and Literature and Composition. I have around a 1450/1600 on my SAT, and I have not taken any SAT Subject Tests or the ACT. By the end of the year, I should have around a 4.2 weighted GPA.
I also have some really great extracurriculars, (my major will be in astrophysics), and I have been a member of an astronomy organization in San Diego for 4 years, and I co-discovered an exoplanet using Kepler light curves from the NASA data archive. I'm also planning on submitting an art portfolio, (I was a member of an Art Studio for 5 years), and my art won an award and was displayed in the San Diego Museum of Art for 4 weeks.
I'm really worried that the D I got in Spanish and all those Bs in my first semester will bring me down (I retook Spanish when I moved schools, and I got As in all those classes). Do you think if I take the AP Spanish test and score a 5, that'll help to impress admission officers? Honestly, I have no idea.
Tell me your opinions.
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Can I get into Harvard with my grades?
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Am I on the right track???
I'm only a junior but I want to know if I am on the right track!!
SAT I (breakdown): (Haven't taken)
ACT (breakdown): (Haven't taken)
SAT II: Bio M 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/370
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (3), Bio (4), Art History (4), WH (5); PLTW: Principles of Biomed (8), Human Body Systems (8)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Junior Year Course Load: AP Lang, AP US, AP Seminar, AP Physcology, AP Calc AB, AP Chem
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd HOSA State, International HOSA Semi-Finalist, 3rd in State Biology Merit Exam, Freshman Math Award, Sophomore Science Award, SC Youth Black Leader, 5th Place in State Marching Band, 2nd in State Marching Band, 3rd in State Marching Band, Bio-Health Student of the Year, Academic Quiz Bowl
Hopeful Awards This Year: Intel Isef Finalist, Science Olympiad National Finalist, International HOSA (1-3rd place), Biogeneius Finalist, JSHS Finalist, Working on grant for Aquaponics at my school
Extracurriculars: Scholars Academy (Parlimentatian), Bio-Health, Green Student Committe, Feminist Club, Beta Club, Spanish Club, Political Awareness Club (founded), HOSA (president-elect), Winter Wishes (co-chair), Peer Tutoring Program
Creating These Clubs This Year: National Math Honor Society, Science Olympiad Team, Math Calculus Team, Teen Political Awareness club
Job/Work Experience: Publix
Volunteer/Community service:Tutoring, Harvest Hope, Clubs Service Hours (300+)
Summer Activities: NYLF, NLSC
State (if domestic applicant): SC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (Urban)
Ethnicity: Black (Nigerian)
Gender: M
Income: 80,000K+
Potential Hooks: URM, and if i get Intel ISEF Finalist
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Does Harvard accept Reading score range between 500-600 ?
College Board Statistics
Harvard College
Total applicants 37,307
Admitted 2,080
Enrolled 1,660
It mentioned there are 3% of students who admitted with SAT reading score with the range of 500-599. It means out of 1660 enrolled freshman, approx. 50 of them were scored CR range of 500s. Is it possible thing for college like Harvard?
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SAT II for SCEA
Harvard's website says that they will accept November scores but should I submit my June SAT IIs just in case even though they're a lot lower than what I expect to get in November. Is it certain that Harvard will receive my scores in time for EA consideration? Thank you!
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Harvard Acceptees: Did you waive FERPA?
I know that technically FERPA doesn't have any bearing on admissions, but I want to see if there's any correlation or strong representation in one category.
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who is qualified for harvard?
i always hear statistics saying "at harvard, even though 25% (or 60, or 80, or 15, idk) of students are qualified, we only accept 5%"
so what does qualified mean? am i qualified if i have a certain gpa, act, etc?
from there, how are applicants distinguished? thanks!:)
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Harvard Early Action
Hello,
I am planning to apply EA to Harvard. I was just assuming the deadline for application is Nov 1st. However looking at website deadline seem to mean 15 oct. Does anyone know what is actual deadline for harvard early action.
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Harvard and class rank
Looking through Harvard's common data set, I noticed that they do not consider class rank. To what degree is this true? Do they just completely disregard it all-together, even if it's on my transcript? I ask this because I'm looking to apply RD, and my class rank is not spectacular. Due to some personal problems, my freshmen year grades were not so good, but I have much improved since. My class rank is currently 62/352, right around 17%, I attend a very competitive public school that currently has a 26 way tie for rank 1, so it is very difficult to move up the ranks despite having done very well the past 3 years. My ACT score is much better than my GPA, a 35 (tied for highest in the grade, surprisingly), and I'm planning on taking 2 subject tests. So is it still worth it for me to apply (and be competitive) despite my discouraging low rank, EC's aside for this dilemma.
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Please Chance Me!
First of all, thank you for reading this post. I'm trying to do my best but I really need your advices. In order to make it easier, I will list everything out in bullet points. So here we go:
1. Identity and Background: I'm Asian, female. I came to US when I was 15 and have been living with a host family. I lost my father when I was 15, and had been going through many hardships. But I've learned a lot, and became more mature. (I wrote my personal statement about this) The school I go to is an all-girl school, which ranked #1 last year in our state. Really competitive, really privileged, all overachievers.
2. Scores: GPA 3.6 out of 4.0. Almost all the courses I took are Honors ( we don't offer AP), and everything was fine until my junior year. I took the hardest courses, and I ended up with two B+. They were extremely hard, and I had a long time struggle + depression because of these courses. But it turned out to be that our class average was B for both of the classes.
ACT: 34
TOEFL: 110
SAT II: Math 750 Literature 750 Korean 750 (I speak Mandarin, and English fluently, took French at school for 4 years, and learned Korean by myself. Recently I just started learning Arabics at school)
3. Extracurriculums:
a. Established my own business with my friends, aiming on helping international students. Also the editor-in-chief of an online publication, writing pieces in both Chinese and English.
b. Amnesty International Club Head
c. Varsity Dance team co-captain
d. Young Scholars Program at Upenn. Took undergraduate class, and earned a 4.0 GPA college credit.
e. Summer program at Columbia University in Creative Writing and summer program at New York Times, reporting issues on immigrants in NYC.
f. Deca International business club, won nationals last year.
g. Model Congress member
h. School Newspaper staff writer
i. volunteer at local hospital
4. What I'm doing now and dreams: I want to be a journalist, and do reporting on international issues. I know my GPA is not good enough, but I can make sure straight As on Senior first semester. I have never thought that I was going to be good enough for Harvard, but my college consoler said that I might have a chance and I should try. But I really don't know.
Please let me know what you think! Thanks again!!
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Harvard raids rival Columbia for new endowment chief
"Harvard University said Thursday that it recruited a veteran investment manager from rival Columbia University to take over its struggling endowment.
The Cambridge school named N.P. “Narv” Narvekar chief executive of its $35.7 billion fund, the largest endowment in the higher education world. Narvekar, 54, has run the $9.6 billion Columbia endowment since 2002. He’ll take the reins at Harvard on Dec. 5." ...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/09/29/harvard-hires-new-endowment-chief/BAOnlLOh3craakscDa8fjO/story.html
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Importance of AP, SAT/ACT Writing, and Subject Tests?
7 years ago, in an interview with the New York Times, Fitzsimmons said
"We have found that the best predictors at Harvard are Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate Exams, closely followed by the College Board subject tests. High school grades are next in predictive power, followed by the SAT and ACT. The writing tests of the SAT and ACT have predictive power similar to the subject tests."
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/harvarddean-part2/
Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that Harvard places more emphasis on AP exams, SAT Subject tests, and ACT/SAT writing tests than grades in their admissions process? Does anyone know if this is still their policy, or have things changed recently?
I thought I would apply SCEA, but I am not sure anymore, because my grades are the weakest part of my application, and I heard most Harvard students had 4.0 GPA's in high school. I have a 3.92 GPA from a school that sends 4-10 to Harvard every year. I have great subject test, AP, and ACT writing test scores (800 on 3 tests, 5 on 7 tests, and 11, respectively). Are these scores more important than my grades or are grades still most important? Is applying to Harvard without perfect grades a waste of my early application?
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Are my chances ruined?
Long story short, I did something in 9th grade that I truly regret. (Academic Integrity wise). I got an In-School Suspension for it. Fortunately, since I've cleaned up my act, the principal stated that the In-School Suspension will not be on my record. Fast forward to today. I'm a relatively great applicant, stellar GPA, near perfect SAT, perfect SAT II, most competitive AP course load, valedictorian, amazing teacher recs. I also have great extracurriculars and also a URM (if that helps?). I feel very confident in the fact that I worked my ass off since that incident and became a great student. Unfortunately, my guidance counselor has some reservations with me. Usually, I don't care, but I just realised that she is the one filling out my SSR.
In it there are two sections that I'm very worried about:
"Has the applicant ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at your school from the 9th grade (or the international equivalent) forward, whether related
to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in a disciplinary action? These actions could include, but are not limited to: probation, suspension,
removal, dismissal, or expulsion from your institution."
And of course the recommendation part.
What I done in 9th grade was very wrong, I have learned from my mistakes and revised myself. However, will all this ameliorating be in vain because of the SSR?
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***Discussion for Harvard 2022 Applicants***
A little early, but I wanted to see who would answer this :)! What other schools are y'all applying for?
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Am I Qualified for Harvard Pre-Med
Hello,
Harvard is one of my top choice schools (I am looking to major in Biology and follow the pre-med track). These are my current stats so far. I haven't taken the ACT yet so I don't have any scores to include. Let me know if I can get into Harvard and what I can do to improve my application.
3.8 GPA
4.2 Weighted GPA
Advanced Classes Taken or Taking (so far - APs aren't offered at my school, honors is the highest level course):
1. Honors History 10th
2. Honors History 11th
3. Honors Conceptual Physics 9th
4. Honors Bio 10th
5. Honors Chemistry 11th
6. Honors Algebra 2 10th
7. Honors Pre-Calculus 11th
8. Honors Lit 10th
9. Honors Lit 11th
10. College Photography class (4.0 gpa)
Extracurriculars:
1. Varsity Basketball (first person in my family to play-- self taught after hospital visit, joined the team a few months after)
2. Varsity Soccer (starter)
3. Seasonal orchestra
4. Violin
5. STEM Institute
6. School-wide art exhibition (photography)
Leadership:
1. Founding member of school STEM institute (on the Board of Directors)
2. VP of Architecture Club
3. Director of STEM Institute outreach (youtube channel)
4. Led lectures at educational conventions on STEM education in high schools
5. Worked with companies to produce educational games (through the STEM Institute)
Work Experience:
1. Volunteer at UCLA Health
2. Reading to kindergarden students
3. MOU partnerships with companies through STEM institute
Clubs:
1. Architecture club
2. STEM club (9th)
Volunteering:
1. Volunteer at UCLA Health
2. Reading to kindergarden students
Accomplishments:
1. Designed the school STEM lab for the STEM Institute (Head Architect)
2. 2x published photographer in LA times travel section
3. Published 4 times in school scientific journal/magazine
4. Varsity Letter
Future Classes:
1. Advanced Biology Honors
2. Calculus (honors not offered)
3. Political Science
4. Honors Lit 12th
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Letter of Recommendations--is this too much?
Hey guys, so I'm applying EA to Harvard.
Over the summer, I worked for a congresswoman and I gained a solid letter of recommendation from the office I worked in. I also did research at a Peace and Conflict studies center over the summer, and my professor that I worked alongside wrote me a letter and already submitted it through the Common App.
Do you think submitting the congressional letter of rec and the professor's rec are both too much? I feel that it would show that I'm dedicated to going into a Gov major at Harvard--and a unique perspective as well, perhaps?
What do you think? Should I mail the congressional rec in tomorrow? I'm a bit too worried that it's too much
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Question about arts supplement for transfer application
I am sending a transfer application to Harvard for next year and had a question about their arts supplement option. I have never had formal instruction (meaning that I don't really know how to do portfolios), however I believe I have enough talent that it may add something to my application when I do send it.
My questions for anyone that sent one in the past- Should my art portfolio show diversity, or should I stick with showing what I am the best at? I know Harvard website advised sending between 2 to 25 pieces through their Slideroom, but which number should I be closer to? Should I even consider it, although I am just doing a Fine Arts minor?
Basically, I am begging for any advice anyone may have for me. Thank you to anyone that responds! (:
MODEERATOR'S NOTE: Link deleted - not allowed
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Harvard dining hall workers could strike, so students are hoarding food like doomsday preppers
"Inside the dining halls at Harvard University, the students are prepping in apocalyptic fashion.
Backpacks are stuffed with apples and plates are stacked with brownies. Smuggled-in Tupperware bowls, slyly hidden beneath the table, are being filled with hot food from the cafeteria buffet. Mini fridges are overflowing. Freshmen have ordered Cup Noodles on Amazon — in bulk.
The student newspaper even wrote a survival guide." ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/04/harvard-dining-hall-workers-could-strike-so-students-are-hoarding-food-like-doomsday-preppers/
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Should I drop Calculus C Senior Year?
Hi,
I am currently enrolled in Calculus C, and I am struggling a lot with this class. I am applying ED to a very selective school, and I don't want them to see a C on my first quarter grades. Please Help!!!!!
So I talked with my counselor, and she said that she strongly recommends that I stay in Calc, and just try really hard to bring my 1st quarter grade up to a B. But by talking to people who have taken this class before, I don't think it will be possible.
She said that it would look bad for colleges because it would show a withdrawal in Calc, and I wouldn't be taking a math class senior year. However, I already took 4 math classes, so Im wondering if its ok to not take a math class senior year.
9th grade: Algebra 2 GT
10th grade: Precalc GT
11th grade: Calculus AB AP AND Statistics AP
12th grade: Calculus C AP
Please help I'm really stressed and my counselor is not very helpful.
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REA Harvard vs ED Wharton
Hello All,
My daughter is confused on what to do? REA Harvard or ED Wharton. Below is her profile and any advise would be greatly appreciated.
GPA: 4.0/4.0, 4.7/5.0
SAT: 1580/1600
ACT:35/36
SAT Subject: Math2: 800, Chem: 770
Took all APs in her public school and scored 5s and 4s
Sports and Extra Cur: Varsity and Regular
She is interested in business and has visited Wharton for summer program. She is not 100% sure to apply for ED as she prefers a collaborative environment and thinks wharton is cut throat and worried of binding. So she is debating between ED to Wharton vs REA to Harvard (Economics). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I saw a thread from last year from a student "IvyWin" and I am not sure where he ultimately went. Thank you all for your help.
Does she stand a chance in either one?
Best,
Ron
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Harvard EA?
I am considering applying to Harvard EA, but to be honest, I am not quite sure if I am the type of student Harvard is looking to admit EA. Does Harvard ever admit a decent number of smart involved high-scoring kids who don't have a crazy hook (winner of int'l competition/legacy/lab research/recruit athlete)?
Also, what does Harvard like to see someone express in their Common App essay?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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