College Confidential
» CC HOME » FORUM HOME

  College Confidential > College Admissions and Search > Ivy League > Harvard University
New User

Welcome to College Confidential!
The leading college-bound community on the web
Join for FREE now, and start talking with other members, weighing in on community polls, and more.

Also, by registering and logging in you'll see fewer ads and pesky welcome messages (like this one)!
Discussion Menu
»Discussion Home
»Help & Rules
»Latest Posts
»NEW! CampusVibe™
»Stats Profiles
Top Forums
»College Chances
»College Search
»College Admissions
»Financial Aid
»SAT/ACT
»Parents
»Colleges
»Ivy League
Main CC Site
»College Confidential
»College Search
»College Admissions
»Paying for College
Sponsors
SuperMatch - The Future of College Search!
CampusVibe - Almost As Good As A Campus Visit!
Harvard University
Massachusetts Hall
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
School Resources

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 12-29-2009, 08:40 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AZ
Posts: 79
As an asian applicant, will I sink or swim? (chance thread)

SAT I:

Math: 740
Writing: 800
Critical Reading: 750
COMPOSITE: 2290

SAT II:

US History: 760
Math II: 800
Physics: 800
COMPOSITE: 2360

AP Scores: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

GPA: 4.8, UW: 4.00
Class rank: 4/490

State: AZ
Gender: F
Race: Asian(Japanese/Korean)


Extracurriculars:
-Founder and President of Robotics Club (9,10,11,12)
-Vice President of Key Club (10,11,12)
-Gymnastics (9,10,11,12)
-Cheerleading Varsity (9,10,11,12)
-Math and Physics Tutor (9,10,11,12)
-Mu Alpha Theta (9,10,11,12)

Jobs:
I was a video director/filmographer/editor for a couple of months.

Intended Major: Electrical Engineering

Senior year courses: all APs, 11 AP courses total throughout high school, also took Calculus II

Awards: AP scholar with distinction, student of the month, some excellency awards from my school, Varsity Letter for cheerleading
DiamondsXXX is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 08:48 PM   #2
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 456
Calculate your chances for admission to Harvard?
cgarcia is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 08:50 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AZ
Posts: 79
cgarcia, why are you so mean to me? I understand that you may be trying to inform me with those links, but whatever. Hairflip.
DiamondsXXX is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 08:53 PM   #4
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 456
A chances thread killed my parents.
cgarcia is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 09:10 PM   #5
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AZ
Posts: 79
I'm so sorry....thanks for the sarcasm.
DiamondsXXX is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 10:11 PM   #6
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 456
I'm not trying to be rude, but there is a wealth of information on this subject and you have to show some initiative and look for it. Any 'chances' you get from this forum will be based on insubstantial information and therefore worthless, except perhaps as a false assurance or an opportunity to brag.

The application process for Harvard is detailed in many sources. An interesting article about the Harvard admissions process: from Boston Magazine for instance.
cgarcia is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 11:14 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,557
I must say...that is a fairly intriguing read cgarcia. I wonder if having 3 B+'s, 2 B's and a B- (or, under my school's system, 5 B's and a C) makes me academically unqualified >.
motion12345 is offline   Reply   
Old 12-29-2009, 11:23 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 42
OUTSTANDING stats. SAT IIs, APs, and GPA in particular are amazing.
However, you won't be the only one to have stats like this. Obviously being Asian doesn't help. Even a 2400 will not get you in everywhere, esp. the Ivy league. Thats where ECs come in.
Your activities are ok, you have some leadership - the robotics team is good considering electrical engineering interest. Did your team win any awards?
The video director thing is also pretty good - holding down a job, even as simple as grocery story assistant, etc. during the school year (or even the summer) is looked upon quite favorably. A specialized job like yours is even better.
Overall - I'd say apply, because your stats are great, but don't expect to be accepted at Harvard (well, no one should) because your ECs are a little lacking. Remember, you're competing against RSI & TASP ppl as well as ISEF, siemens, STS, IMO, IBO, NFL nationals, davidson fellows, etc. winners and more.
You still have essays and recs though, those are pretty important.
I'm assuming you're applying to many top colleges so you will definitely have success somewhere you like, with amazing stats like yours.
Best of luck!
att159 is offline   Reply   
Old 12-30-2009, 12:21 AM   #9
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AZ
Posts: 79
^Thank you. I applied to Harvard, but am not going to bet on an acceptance.
DiamondsXXX is offline   Reply   
Old 12-30-2009, 12:57 AM   #10
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 138
While being Asian is not a hook it has less of a negative impact than many on CC think. Asians are overrepresented at most of top colleges. The reason so many Asian students are rejected is simply a reflection of the large number of Asian applicants. Please keep in mind at many selective colleges credentials (GPA, SAT scores etc.) is skewed towards the high end. A large percentage of the applicants have GPAs 3.5 and above. It is easy to reject applicants with 2400s due to poor ECs.
appdad is offline   Reply   
Old 12-30-2009, 04:42 PM   #11
Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Duke '15
Posts: 908
You have a good amount of leadership, but your EC's don't show a definitive area of interest. I guess your stats put you in the ballpark.
cornetking222 is offline   Reply   
Old 12-30-2009, 04:45 PM   #12
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 30
You probably heard this all before, but it comes down to your interview, teacher recommendations, and essays. There are many qualified Asians applying to Harvard (though not many are varsity cheerleaders. kudos!). Best of luck.
JODIEEE is offline   Reply   
Old 12-30-2009, 04:46 PM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 977
your ec's are a little weak otherwise ok
speedo is offline   Reply   
Old 01-02-2010, 02:53 AM   #14
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AZ
Posts: 79
Thanks guys. I think my passion came through in my essays according to people's feedback.
DiamondsXXX is offline   Reply   
Old 01-02-2010, 06:07 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,933
I agree that your interview, recs, and essays will be the final deciding factor. The two components for which I have concern are "leadership" and "community service". You technically have "leadership" by title but I am curious how it is described in you recommendations. I think that will be very important. Then, as for "community service", in your specs you show none. Though I do not believe that ones leadership or community service has to be what everyone is imaging, I do firmly believe that Harvard wants students who better the community that they are in. I also feel like where Harvard is most likely to get a true assessment of these traits is through those recommendations.
smoda61 is offline   Reply   
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools


Similar Threads
thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sink or Swim? How serious? yichen426 University of Virginia 6 08-07-2007 12:08 PM
Sink or Swim? How serious? yichen426 University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2 08-06-2007 11:19 PM
Sink or Swim? Randomnessish McGill University 2 09-17-2006 07:00 PM
The Sink or Swim Round precocious College Admissions 1 07-04-2006 07:35 PM
Does Columbia Deserve It's Sink or Swim Reputation? SBDad Columbia University 14 02-25-2006 06:49 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:06 PM.




Copyright 2001-2011, Hobsons, Inc., All Rights Reserved