1730 ok for harvard?

LionHeaded
Sat, 31 May 2008 01:23:09 +0000

Whoo finally got home.

I’d like to remark on LionHeaded~

I’m not saying that SATs are not important, but rather that they shouldn’t be the focus of high school. This is ESPECIALLY true of underclassman (until, I believe, March of Sophomore Year). Instead of starting too early on the SAT, more important things should be focused on, such as finding your passion, discovering what you want to major in, getting experience for what you’d like to be, etc.

And I’m not sure if you are aware, but there is an instance when a 1700 SAT got into Harvard. Sure, it sparked an uproar, but it has happened. Rohin will most surely score substantially higher than this, but the point remains- history has demonstrated that extraordinary ECs balance out SAT.

I agree with you on the fact that part of High School is about getting into the college you want. However, it should not consume everything you do in high school. I’ve run into far too many people who do things simply because they want it on their transcript. You shouldn’t do something for such a selfish reason, but rather because you actually want to and are passionate about it. My philosophy, as mentioned above, is to do what I love and find ways for that to get me into the colleges I want. For this very reason, that is why I have become heavily involved in DECA, Swimming, Cello, and so many other things. How can you succeed if you don’t do what you love? It is because of my passion for these things that I have put in countless hours and immense devotion, and have come out successful. It is also because of this passion that I have emerged a competitive applicant. (at least I would consider my self one)

Also keep in mind that Rohin has his entire high school life in front of him, and that if he takes on SATs and all these other things too early, he will burn out and have nothing left for when it matters. Your argument is far more applicable for Juniors, but you must remember that the person who asked us for advice is just beginning high school.

Again, maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but that’s just what I feel. You have your opinion (which I respect you for), I have mine. Nothing personal here, we’re all here to help each other =)



I don’t get why you keep saying you’re misunderstanding just because your views are being contradicted. I think my comments are quite direct and clear.

And I’m quite aware of the student who got into Stanford (not Harvard) with a 1700, having cited him in my first post on the thread. It changes absolutely nothing. The resulting uproar was exactly because this was wildly outside the norm. You cannot state him as an example of guidance here. It is *not *the norm for 1700 to get into the ultra-competitive colleges. Period. This guy was the 1 in the million shot.

And let’s not forget, aside from a subpar SAT score his GPA was quite high, meaning that the adcom felt that the score did not represent his academic value. Everything else was high. So no, history has not demonstrated that extraordinary ECs balance out horrible SAT scores. One student with great ECs and a sucky SAT score got it. Compare that to the thousands and thousands of students with great ECs and a subpar SAT score that get turned down each year and you will see the accurate conclusion here.

And no one is saying that he can’t score higher at a later point. That has in fact been the general recommendation here. What you said however was, and I quote " [his] focus for the rest of high school shouldn’t be on improving your SAT score, but rather making [his] high school experience the best it can be." which greatly undermines the value of the SATs for college admission.

If he wants to get into Harvard it should be a great focus for him to improve his score (and keep a flawless academic transcript) which is essential to even having a shot at getting into his dream college. And yes, he should start working on it as soon as possible because 500 pt leaps in SAT scores don’t happen with a weekend cram session one week before the actual test. He’s way below the bar at this point.

And I never suggested that he does ECs simply to get into college so I don’t know where that came from since my point was solely on the SAT. However I will say this, even your chosen-for-passion-and-not-college ECs of DECA, Swimming, Cello are all things that are looked upon well by colleges. And added to your presence on this website, I hardly believe that to be a coincidence. You may have chosen to get involved in things that interested you but you kept colleges in mind in the process of this I am certain. You, like many others went for ‘things that interested you AND wouldn’t hurt you down the line in your college applications’ which is what I believe to be the best option when it comes to ECs.

You didn’t go for the Yu-Gi-Oh clubs or legalize marijuana efforts, you went for instruments, activities, and associations that will be look upon well by colleges. While this may have a lot more to do with your person than profile, the “Follow your interest and to hell with college” argument does lose a bit of its steam when *all *your interests are things that colleges like, doesn’t it?

Cheers.