Is it realistically possible to get in with out a perfect rank?
The only thing i have noticed that all harvard admitees have is that they are all one of the top 5 students in their class. If you are not validictorian in your class (or one of the top 5 students) do you really stand a chance? Has anyone met or heard of a harvard admitee who wasn't one of the top ten students in their class? On their site it says you should be in the top 10%, but do they even go that low? if a person is 30 out of 300, does he stand a chance?
heres kind of what im hoping for. i am/was in the most rigorous schedule our school offers. the thing is that i got a lot of B's in my freshmen and sophmore year. if you count just the 2nd semester of my sophmore year, and this year (quarter grades, semsters wont be out for 2 months) im gettting a weighted 5.0. even though i have the best gpa in my school at the moment, because of my bad frosh year, my cum gpa (and rank) is bad. do you think they will look at just the cum and say not good enough, or do you think they will think that i improved drastically even though it was to late to save my rank. thats what im wondering. i hope harvard doesnt just cut out the non 5%ers as their first line of weeding people out.
I think they'll see your improvement as a positive thing. Of course straight As across the board would be the most ideal. But improvement is viewed favorably.
If you come from Deerfield Academy, you can be ranked 50th and still get into Harvard. On the other hand, you can be ranked 1st and get a rejection. So it doesn't depend that much on it....
