<p>I'm going to be a junior this year and was wondering what i could do to imporve my chances of admissions for EA at Harvard.</p>
<p>I'm asian and from Indiana</p>
<p>GPA: 4.2/4.7 unweighted
Rank: 2/53
PSAT: 214
All AP/Honors courses</p>
<p>AP: Biology: 5
Sat II: Biology-M: 760</p>
<p>(will take both ACT and SAT next year taking prep courses in summer)</p>
<p>EC:
Student Council 10-12 (last year: Class Pres, corressponding secretery; this year: Vice president of Student Council, hopefully pres as a senior)</p>
<p>Newspaper 9-12 (hopefull editor as a senior)
Span Club 9-12 (Vice Pres)
Soccer 9-12 (Varsity)
Wyse 10-12 (science team) (second place in the state)
Model UN 9-12
Student Ambassador 9-12
Student Volunteer 9-12
Intramural Flag Football 9-12</p>
<p>Service
-Volunteered last summer teaching film editing/Journalism to third graders
-Volunteered with American Heart association
-Volunteering this year with community hospital
-Next year volunteering once a week at a poor school in area teaching Hispanic kids english </p>
<p>Misc
-Founded Intramural Basketball league at school
-Started own DJ company
- Completed an internship with Public Relations Department at Hospital wrote articles published in 2 newspaper as well as the hospital magazine going to 100, 000+ households</p>
<p>So far, you seem to be doing well. If you do the same this year on the PSAT, you should be a National Merit Semifinalist by the fall of senior year. (I got a 215 and was one, and I would imagine Michigan is more competitive than Indiana.) As a reminder, you will need to take two more SAT II tests. I would suggest taking Math IIC if you can, although that will depend of course on the level of math that you're taking.</p>
<p>Is your DJ company something substantial? If it is, that could be a hook.</p>
<p>Your stats are good, and you get a small benefit from being from the Midwest. However, you should work some more on your ECs. Two of the leadership positions you mention you hope you will get when you're a senior; you may end up not getting them, in which case you won't really have any leadership positions other than in Student Council. Considering you're going to a small school, it shouldn't be too hard to take a more active role in your school's organizations.</p>
<p>Right now, you're kind of a boring applicant. And you're Asian, which means you'll be competing against a lot of high achieving students. Your stats as they stand now will just get you over the initial bar, I would guess. Stop focusing on having SO MANY activities and streamline your efforts into the activities about which you are truly passionate.</p>
<p>p.s. It's really good that you're thinking about your long-term goals, but you also need to enjoy high school. Doing the things you enjoy is what will bring you increased success...try not think of high school merely as a springboard for college. :)</p>
<p>I absolutely agree with sunglasses. Compared to the other EA posters, I actually found your DJ company to be the most unique part of your stats. You would become a more interesting applicant if you could somehow develop that into something more substantial.</p>
<p>Ditto to the post above saying you should enjoy high school. I didn't for the first three years and wound up with an eating disorder. At least it's a hook, even though my body's destroyed for life (my bones are all messed up and stuff...just don't go there).</p>
<p>Yeah, in "Admissions Confidential" by Rachel Toor, the admissions officers at Duke were really hesitant to admit this one applicant who wrote about her eating disorder. Toor had to pushed hard for the applicant, and she was only admitted after a heated debate. Ultimately, it's hard to say. The applicant had stellar stats and went to a very prestigious boarding school, and the eating disorder issue was looked upon as a liability. However, her essay about her eating disorder helped to explain the reason behind the huge drop in her grades during a year of high school.</p>
