College Confidential - View Single Post - Official Harvard University 2016 Early Action Decisions Thread

tj1994 · 12-17-2011, 01:12 AM

Decision: Deferred

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2340
ACT: 35
SAT II: 800 MII, 780 Physics, 740 Bio, 720 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93UW/4.6ish weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7 or 8 out of 430
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn't submit. They were meh...
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Lit, AP Chem, AP French, AP Psych, AP Micro, AP Stats, AP Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Gold Service Award (x4), NHS, FNHS, Misc. FBLA state/districts awards, nothing interesting.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Youth Group (Pres, VP, Web Editor 12th, 10-11th, 9th)
FBLA (senior member)
NHS (organizing chair)
Produce digital music - sent CD with dubstep, liquid, house to Harvard
Internships at hospitals
Play piano, guitar, violin. Was part of advanced orchestra
Varsity tennis -3 years and this year probably. Most likely (co)captain
Job/Work Experience: Tutor at local tutoring company about 8 hours a week
Volunteer/Community service: Lots of community service via Youth Group and with hospitals. More than 1000 hours over four years.
Tutor kids in my grade for 10-12 hours a week currently in calc, physics, etc.
Summer Activities: Internships in India, treating ill patients, visiting grandparents (deathbed - turned down Harvard SSP for this), France for a few weeks with school
Essays: Common App essay was amazing 10/10. it was about my grandmother's maid of 30 years and how she has become a second grandmother to me, Supplemental essay was pretty good 8/10. about a kid from slums with diabetic foot and my conversation with him as well as what he taught me.
Teacher Recommendation: Pretty sure I got deferred because of this alone. Both recs did not make it in until the 5th of December. Harvard admissions said they will decide what to do but it could involve that they disregard the recs, which should have been extremely strong.
Counselor Rec: New counselor but she said she wrote me an amazing rec. I'll take her word for it =]
Additional Rec: None but since I'm deferred, I have a couple really good ones from outside sources I will send in.
Interview: The best part of my app, but holds the least weight. Ate dinner with my interviewer and his fam because our conversation was so lengthy and engrossing. Awesome experience.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): KS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Upper middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None lol unless my mother not going to college makes me first generation (dad did however)

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, GPA, Depth and range of EC's
Weaknesses: Number of EC's, no major awards really, rec's might not even have been considered...
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Recs had a big part for sure as well as not having any notable awards.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: KU Honors, K State Honors, U minn (honors pending), U ark (honors pending), SLU (honors pending) all with full rides + stipend. But state schools bleh...Real decisions come out late march early april

General Comments: Good luck to everyone who got in! You guys got selected and every one of you deserves to go to Harvard, no matter what people on the forum or in your respective lives say. To those who got deferred/rejected, don't lose hope! There are many schools out there that give quality education. Remember that none of the ivies come close to the top state schools in the number of high level corporate executives they put out. U of wisconson has the most Fortune 500 CEOs. However, Harvard is truly a magical school so disappointment is natural. You have to move past it though because it is not the end of the world! Cheers!

12-17-2011, 01:12 AM	#46
tj1994 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 65	Decision: Deferred Objective: SAT I (breakdown): 2340 ACT: 35 SAT II: 800 MII, 780 Physics, 740 Bio, 720 USH Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93UW/4.6ish weighted Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7 or 8 out of 430 AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn't submit. They were meh... IB (place score in parenthesis): Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Lit, AP Chem, AP French, AP Psych, AP Micro, AP Stats, AP Physics Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Gold Service Award (x4), NHS, FNHS, Misc. FBLA state/districts awards, nothing interesting. Subjective: Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Youth Group (Pres, VP, Web Editor 12th, 10-11th, 9th) FBLA (senior member) NHS (organizing chair) Produce digital music - sent CD with dubstep, liquid, house to Harvard Internships at hospitals Play piano, guitar, violin. Was part of advanced orchestra Varsity tennis -3 years and this year probably. Most likely (co)captain Job/Work Experience: Tutor at local tutoring company about 8 hours a week Volunteer/Community service: Lots of community service via Youth Group and with hospitals. More than 1000 hours over four years. Tutor kids in my grade for 10-12 hours a week currently in calc, physics, etc. Summer Activities: Internships in India, treating ill patients, visiting grandparents (deathbed - turned down Harvard SSP for this), France for a few weeks with school Essays: Common App essay was amazing 10/10. it was about my grandmother's maid of 30 years and how she has become a second grandmother to me, Supplemental essay was pretty good 8/10. about a kid from slums with diabetic foot and my conversation with him as well as what he taught me. Teacher Recommendation: Pretty sure I got deferred because of this alone. Both recs did not make it in until the 5th of December. Harvard admissions said they will decide what to do but it could involve that they disregard the recs, which should have been extremely strong. Counselor Rec: New counselor but she said she wrote me an amazing rec. I'll take her word for it =] Additional Rec: None but since I'm deferred, I have a couple really good ones from outside sources I will send in. Interview: The best part of my app, but holds the least weight. Ate dinner with my interviewer and his fam because our conversation was so lengthy and engrossing. Awesome experience. Other State (if domestic applicant): KS Country (if international applicant): School Type: Competitive Public Ethnicity: Asian (Indian) Gender: M Income Bracket: Upper middle Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None lol unless my mother not going to college makes me first generation (dad did however) Reflection Strengths: Test scores, GPA, Depth and range of EC's Weaknesses: Number of EC's, no major awards really, rec's might not even have been considered... Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Recs had a big part for sure as well as not having any notable awards. Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: KU Honors, K State Honors, U minn (honors pending), U ark (honors pending), SLU (honors pending) all with full rides + stipend. But state schools bleh...Real decisions come out late march early april General Comments: Good luck to everyone who got in! You guys got selected and every one of you deserves to go to Harvard, no matter what people on the forum or in your respective lives say. To those who got deferred/rejected, don't lose hope! There are many schools out there that give quality education. Remember that none of the ivies come close to the top state schools in the number of high level corporate executives they put out. U of wisconson has the most Fortune 500 CEOs. However, Harvard is truly a magical school so disappointment is natural. You have to move past it though because it is not the end of the world! Cheers!
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