Chance Me for Harvard REA – Linguistics / South Asian Studies (I am junior)

Chance Me / Match Me
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Chance Me for Harvard REA (International – Humanities / Linguistics)

Demographics

  • Gender: Male

  • Citizenship: India

  • Intended majors (tentative):

    • South Asian Studies

    • Classics

    • Linguistics

Academics

  • GPA: ~4.0 (top of class; school doesn’t rank)

  • SAT: Planning to take (not submitted yet)

  • Coursework:

    • College-credit courses via SWAYAM (Government of India) in spanish and few ling courses

Academic Honors

  • Principal’s Gold Medal

  • National Linguistic Camp (Country-level selection)(expecting to qualify )

  • Asia-Pacific Linguistic Olympiad – (expecting to qualify )

  • National Hellenic Civilization Exam – Gold Medal

  • National Roman Civilization Exam – Gold Medal

Extracurriculars

1. Speech Therapy & Language Accessibility (3 years)
Had a speech disorder for much of my life; later volunteered to help other children with speech and language difficulties for free. Core motivation behind linguistics interest.

2. English Teacher – Rural Bihar (Volunteer)
Taught English to underprivileged children in a village in Bihar while staying with my maternal grandmother.

3. Linguistic Policy Advocacy – National Government Program
Selected in a national dialogue with ~20 million participants. Represented my state; youngest participant selected. Advocated for tribal language preservation and reforms. Met the Prime Minister during the program.

4. Founder / Organizer, Small Nonprofit Initiative
Raised ~$1,500 for environmental work (tree plantation) and coordinated ~20 volunteers.

5. Daily Linguistics / Etymology Blog
Creator of a daily blog with infographics explaining word origins, language history, and mixed-language evolution.

6. Translation Work (Independent)
Translated poetry and literary works across Hindi, Urdu, Latin, and other languages; compiled translations into an anthology.

7. Marching Band (5 years)
Member and student leader. Music became my main form of expression due to speech difficulties. Taught peers and performed regularly.

8. Greek Renaissance–Inspired Cultural Event
Helped host one of the largest Greek/Byzantine Renaissance–inspired school cultural events in Delhi NCR.

9. Photography Internship
Internship assisting with visual documentation and storytelling.

10. Built a Piano for the Blind
Designed and presented an accessible piano for visually impaired users; presented to a government minister.

11. French Home Tutor (2 years)
Taught French privately to earn money.

12. Self-Taught Polyglot
Languages spoken to varying proficiency:
Nepali, Bhojpuri, Hindi, English, Spanish, French, Latin

13. Independent Research (in progress)
Currently working on a research paper related to language, sound, and society (not published yet).

Other

  • A Harvard faculty member has agreed to advocate for my application (not admissions staff).

Essay removed by moderator

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There are two things that I wonder about regarding your application.

One is that your list of ECs is so long. The point is not to have the longest list of ECs. Rather, the point is to: do what is right for you; whatever you do you need to do it well; also treat people well. I do however note that some of your ECs are related, such as your ability with languages.

The other is that I wonder how well the Harvard faculty member knows you. Your references should be from someone who knows you well. If the Harvard faculty member knows you well then this might help your chances.

Clearly you are a very strong applicant to Harvard. However, the large majority of applicants to Harvard are very strong applicants, and the acceptance rate is very low. You might figure that something like 80% of applicants to Harvard are academically qualified to attend. They accept closer to 4%, this includes recruited athletes and legacy students, and the chances are significantly lower for international students.

Given how strong your application is, and given how well you have done up to now, and given that your intended majors are areas where Harvard is strong, I think that it is worth an application. However rejection is significantly more likely than being accepted simply because of how difficult it is to get accepted to Harvard as an international student.

If you would like suggestions for other schools to consider, then your budget will matter. Harvard is need blind for international students and meets full financial need for all undergraduate students. Some very good alternatives are lacking in one or the other of these financial issues.

Best wishes. It looks like you are likely to do very well wherever you end up for university.

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I don’t know if a professor advocating matters or not. Your SAT will matter. They admitted 325 of over 16k international applicants so someone will get in but in a chance me, I can only say very, very high reach. If you deliver well over 1500 on the SAT, perhaps you will have a chance. But statistically, not really.

Good luck.

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basically i asked for recruitment to a director and he told me he will advocate for me

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i am getting 1550+plus of sat

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Well you never know - your SAT will be telling but given a 2% acceptance rate, it’s going to be tough regardless. Get a sky high SAT and maybe you’ll get lucky. Good luck.

PS - unless you are 100% sold on Harvard, I would not apply REA. As they say, “Harvard does not offer an advantage to students who apply early.” so if you’re going to apply early and not saying you should, you might save that for someone who will give you an advantage.

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can i talk to you in dm ? i can tell who is advocating for me and what actually happend

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Harvard, with an overall acceptance rate under 5%, is a big reach for ANY unhooked student – even more so for an international from an over-represented country. I also noted that your accomplishments currently list a number of expected things that have not yet happened.

When the time comes to apply, take your shot. But also be sure to conisder some less competitive colleges as well as safeties in your home country.

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Is there anything specific about Harvard that makes you target the school? Every international applicant applies to Harvard. The United States has over 4000 great universities and colleges, yet students, from over-represented countries, tend to think that it’s Harvard and nothing else.

Has the Harvard faculty member actually worked day-to-day with you in a classroom setting? Has that member worked with you, historically or have any academic experience with you? I know that Harvard treats their faculty well, however the Admissions committee knows what to do on its own.

My advice to you would be to make sure you have options in your country for your university education.

When you think about it, Harvard is a school with limited seating. The US has 40,000 valedictorian high school students who could apply each year.

Harvard looks for Olympic-level recruited athletes, professional level musicians and artists, children of celebrities and philanthropists, talented under-represented students, legacy students, and world leaders (Malala, Greta, etc.). They have their pick, so you need to be aware that the odds are very small.

Where else have you applied?

Also, please be aware that the US colleges and universities are here to educate. So, international students will be educated, but after four years, international students are expected to return to their home countries. Student visas are just permission to study in the US. Once that visa expires, you get to go home.

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