Can I Get into Harvard ?

tk21769
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 11:44:18 +0000

The only people who can answer your question with certainty are on the Harvard admission committee.
So you’d need to apply then wait for their decision.

For 2014-15, 187 non-resident aliens entered Harvard College as first year students.That’s an average of about 1 per country. Some countries (including India and China) send more. A figure I’ve seen for MIT is “5-6” students from India per year (https://www.quora.com/How-many-students-from-India-are-admitted-to-MIT-each-year). Note this statement: “Most of them are medal holders at international [Science] Olympiads.” I suspect that many Indians admitted to Harvard also have won major awards or distinctions at national or international levels.

I’d say your chances are quite low (probably much less than 1 in 10) just because Harvard gets so many outstanding applicants from India and other Asian countries. It would be a poor strategy to “concentrate on 1 option only”. Instead, build a balanced reach-match-safety list, taking into account the net costs as well as admission selectivity.
If you need a large amount of financial aid, then your most realistic chances may include some of the schools on the following lists:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
You’d need to verify in each case that the listed scholarships are available to internationals.