ChunRich

Hey Guys I'm a white male from a suburban town and from a 2A high school. My graduating class has approx. 300 people. What are my chances of getting into Harvard?

GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: 1 of approx. 300
SAT I: 1440; Math:770 Verbal:670
SAT II Math Level 1: 760
SAT II Chem.: 720

Higher Level Classes:
AP Calc BC - 4 ; AB - 5
AP Chem - 4
AP US - 4
Frederick Community College Class - Film History 101

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Basketball
Varsity Outdoor Track
Key Club
Student Government Association
Model United Nations

Leadership:
Freshman Basketball Captain (9th Grade)
Junior Varsity Basketball Captain (10th Grade)
Student Government Web Site Committee Chairperson (10th - 12th Grade)
Student Government Treasurer (11th Grade)
Senior Class Council (12th Grade)
President and Founder of Model United Nations (12th Grade)
Maryland Boys State: President of City Council
Maryland Boys State: State Delegate

Community Service:
Approximately 180 Hours including:
Special Olympics Fall of 2004
Special Olympics Spring of 2005
Walk-a-thon for the Homeless Spring 2003
Middletown Basketball Camp Staff Member (Summers of '03 and '04)
Working with Autistic and Mentally Handicapped Children

Work:
National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity - Frederick Intern

ChunRich

Bump It Up

sunglasses

Okay, fine. Well, to be honest--you're kind of boring on paper. Your ECs are pretty unoriginal and your scores are not that high--sidenote: Why haven't you taken SAT II Writing, since you took the old SAT I?

I think you're probably a lock for some slightly lower-tier schools like a Vanderbilt or a USC, but Harvard is a reach for you, as it is for everyone who applies.

It would be helpful if you could raise your SAT scores, and you need to cultivate your passions--to make your application meaningful, you need to highlight the things you've done in a major way.

The whole "2A" school thing doesn't really mean anything--it's different in every state. For example, my high school was classified as "4A," but I was in a graduating class of only 270.

One more thing: Are you from a small town? If so, how small? That could be an advantage. Also, is there a history of attending college in your family?

HarvardAlum98'

I'm afraid your chances based on what was outlined in your original post are quite small.

Of course, that might change if you have a year of high school left.

stambliark41

The 1440 will sting. It seems shocking, but it's the truth. Only about 500/10,000 (5%) are admitted w/ a verbal score below 700. Throw in athletes, legacies, etc, and this number will shrink even more.

You could use some creativity in your EC's, but I think your SAT is more prohibitive than your EC's at this point.

apfreak

Man....just practice a crap load of verbal SAT and you have a chance. Get it to like 750

lovecolumbia

i disagree.. stambliark41 .. 25% admitted have sat scores under 1400.. that would be around ~450 people.. not all of them are URM's, leagicies or athletes and there are plenty of URM's, leagicies or athletes who have good sat scores

sunglasses

<<there are plenty of...athletes who have good sat scores>>

especially in lesser sports like (cough) cross-country.

ChunRich

Yeah since I have to take the new SAT, I plan to def raise my verbal score and get a perfect score on math.

I think i can get my sat score up to a 1500-1550...

and the writing component will be around a 700 prob.

My town is somewhat small. My graduating class will have 275 kids. My town I think has about 2600 people... but that is in Middletown alone. There are kids that come from surrounding suburban areas like Myersville (where the beltway snipers were caught (5 mins from my house)) and Wolfsville.

candlize

Yeah I mean... I took the old SAT in december and only scored 690 on verbal, but I bought a couple of books and practised and by May's New SAT, I was able to score a 760 CR... I think you can do it!

ChunRich

Thanks, I'll be trying hard.

kirmum

Chunrich, you can get into many fine schools, but in all probability, not Harvard. Even with better SATs, your ECs are lacking. Focus on the schools where you are a strong candidate.