melissaivyleague

i was wondering since i got rejected from Harvard, if i coul djust take a year off and reapply next year a a freshman since their transfer program is gone!!!! does anyone have any idea on how that process would work?!?!


ERGGGGGGG I WANT THIS SO BAD!!!
I LIVE IN BOSTON
only a 20 minute train ride to HARVARD!!

SSP student in 06' /07
3.86 GPA
sat's are okayyy
top 10% of my class
hispanic female

5 ap classes 4's on 3 and 3's on 2 of them

HELPP ME STILL CANT BELIEVE I WAS REJECTED
someone who was number 65 in my school got in... ERGGGG

foolsgold

Yikes,
There are lots of great schools! My advise would be to attend another selective college, and I would strongly caution against waiting a year and trying again. The truth is that while your stats are good, Harvard is exceptionally selective; it is unlikely you will be accepted in the future. I have no idea how such a process would work, but I imagine others will back up my advise to you. Look at the schools you were accepted to, find the one you like the best and have a great experience there.

Brycet73

My opinion would be to attend another prestigious college (if you applied) and to put the past behind you. Harvard isn't the only great college out there!

Hamman

I concur with the previous posters. I'm sure you'll get a great education from another college, don't get hung up on Harvard as it could potentially ruin a very bright future ahead

bleedblue12345

I don't get why people think Harvard is the end all be all of life.... what school is there for is to prepare you for a career or life work that is ahead of you. Sure, I am not saying Harvard is not one of the best universities in the world, and would definatly help you in the long run, but once you graduate Harvard, it's not guaranteeing success to ANYTHING. You do not deserve anything. There wealth/successful/happy people in life take something they love, run with it, and do their best along the way.

Harvard is only an institution, it's not going to make you a new person, only you can do that .....

pmyen

I don't want to put a damper in your hopes. Although you have a good academic record in absolute terms, you are in the bottom 25%ile of Harvard applicants (which means that there are 18,000 applicants with stronger records than you). Don't know your SATs. Ask yourself what makes your application so compelling that they will take you given that your stats are on the lower end of their applicant pool? I seriously doubt you would get admitted unless there was some compelling reason why your record this year was not as strong as it could have been, e.g. illness, death in the family, etc. or you do something extraordinary next year like train for the Olympics, write a best-selling novel, or start a successful business-not your typical teenager activities. Did you go to public school in Boston? I noticed you are an URM. However, both pools are strong and Harvard draws typically from Boston Latin for similar students who have done well in a rigorous environment. I certainly hope you applied elsewhere. I would recommend attending one of those schools. If you are so intent on attending Harvard (I grew up in the Boston area and it was euphemistically called "Harvarditis"), you can go there for graduate/professional school by doing well wherever you go to college. There are so many outstanding schools that offer top notch educations so I would not be fixated on Harvard alone.

Occasionally, students will take a year off-sometimes per recommendation by the admissions committee (conditional acceptance) or sometimes student/athletes will improve their academic records. This latter group will typically be elite athletes who also want to go to Harvard. A number of prep schools in NE groom such student/athletes for ivies and top LACs.

pmyen

FYI, from a recent NYT article.

"More than 2,500 of Harvard’s 27,462 applicants scored a perfect 800 on the SAT critical reading test, and 3,300 had 800 scores on the SAT math exam. More than 3,300 were ranked first in their high school class."

melissaivyleague

um yea dat really didnt help.... i'll probably just die instead but thanks!

bleedblue12345

lol ok?

but honestly it's not that big of a deal.... I am sure you can get into MANY other good schools... not to mention, are you sure Harvard is/was for you? Successful people in life don't go "O well I'm just gonna die", everyone fails at a lot of things, but the successful people pick up the pieces and move on, good luck to you Karma has its own way of making things turn out the way they are supposed to, after all, Harvard or any other "prestigious" university does not reflect quality of a person.

pmyen

Melissa,
Where were you accepted? I would suspect you have other good options besides Harvard. You have a bright future in college but it won't be at Harvard. I would urge you to move on and take advantage of whatever programs are available at one of the college which admitted you. Best of luck.

Admiral

Hi Melissa,

I'm at Harvard now, and something I've noticed is that while almost everyone here is happy with their experience, the people that aren't happy with Harvard are the ones that expected too much out of it. They expected it to solve all their problems and define the rest of their life, and no school can ever do that.

Harvard is just a school. It's a great school. But it's not the only great school. There are dozens of other schools that, depending on your interests, will offer you similar or even better opportunities.

Why would you let one school you didn't get into ruin your experience deciding between other schools? This should be a really exciting month for you!

There are some good reasons to take a year off. Trying a second time to get into Harvard is NOT one of them. If you do this, you'll regret it.

If you like, you could post the schools you were accepted to and people on the forum could help you decide between them. But obsessing over Harvard isn't a good idea.

melissaivyleague

Thanks again for all your kind words. But i can't refrain from saying that your already at Harvard---Admiral. as for schools i got into Stanford and Brown. Brown gave me not such a good package and Stanford gave me an okay package yet i will not be able to afford paying off the rest even with the help of my parents.

Thus the only thing i can do is deny the schools and i guess just work for the rest of my life!!!

It's really hard trust me! Like life itself and then this downer added on to it!! Geezz who knows! o0o well what can i do now huh?!?!? I dont think i've had a truely good day since my denied letter!

To cleaning the streets i go! lmaoz

pmyen

melissa,
You have been accepted at two top schools that will give you an education that is equivalent to Harvard. Trust me. I was on the faculty at Harvard and have immediate family members that have attended there and elsewhere for undergrad. There are quite a few outstanding schools that can give you an equally good education (and you have been admitted to two of them). The only thing missing is the cachet of a Harvard name. However, it's not the degree but what you learn while you are in college that is important. I don't want to be too hard on you but you are making Harvard an unhealthy obsession. You also creating an unhealthy and totally unwarranted sense of disappointment when you really should be delighted by your achievements and the prospects of the next few years. Don't let your Harvard rejection put a damper on it.

As Admiral has said, letting a degree define who you are is the wrong reason to attend Harvard or any other college. If you do well at either Brown and Stanford, you will be able to accomplish you academic and personal goals.

I have been on the admissions committee at one of the professional schools at Harvard. I don't think the undergrad admissions is all that different. They will not reconsider someone who has been rejected unless there are incredibly compelling reasons as I have stated in my earlier posts.

I know the feelings associated with your rejection are real. However, without sounding condescending, this is a VERY SMALL disappointment in life. You will need to prepare yourself to deal better and more maturely with major ones, as they inevitably will come. This is a good place to start.

pmyen

One more thing. I know college costs can seem daunting. However, someday, your earning power will go up in whatever you do. Depending on the aid package, you most likely will not have to pay back until you start working. I would talk with the finaid people at Brown and Stanford during the next two weeks instead of lamenting your rejection.

bay-area

next year is an even more competitive class so applying then would be pretty idiotic