Applying to: Harvard, UMich, UVA, UC Berkeley, UCLA
Stats:
Unweighted: 4.0
Weighted: 4.3
SAT: Highest single 2180 (710 CR 800 M 670 W 8 essay)
SAT: Superscore 2230 (710 CR 800 M 720 W 10 essay)
Subject tests: Math 2 760… will take USH and prob Chem later
APs
Freshman: None
Sophomore: AP Human Geography (4) AP Computer Science (4) AP World History (5)
Junior: AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Language and Comp, AP Macroeconomics, AP US History
Senior (Projected): AP Government, AP Calculus BC, AP Literature, self study AP Euro
Extracurriculars
Online Model United Nations
debate participant since middle school
program director for my region
national liaison for South Korea
Harvard Model Congress
captain (sophomore, junior, prob senior)
honorable mention (x2)
i have written articles about me
National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
honorable mention (junior)
Korea Gyeonggi Province English Speaking Contest
gold medal (sophomore)
silver medal (junior)
Student Government
class vice president (freshman)
class president (sophomore)
class rep for SCA (sophomore)
class parliamentarian (junior)
running for student body president (senior)
Student Representative for the DoDEA Pacific Area Council (equivalent to a state education department)
Varsity Tennis 4yrs
captain (senior)
NHS 4yrs
running for president (senior)
Internship at the Asia Institute
worked under Dr. Emmanuel Pastriech (Ph.D Harvard)
Race: Asian (Korean) Male
State (residency): California
Major: History / Polisci
I am a US citizen and I have California state residency. I am living overseas under orders of the US government (dad got a job with the military industrial complex). I attend a Department of Defense Education Activity school.
Well… you are a perfectly solid candidate, but not sure you have the “pop” for Harvard… but you will get consideration at all. Obviously the “chances” forum has no actual validity. But here is what I think:
Harvard - High Reach
UMich- High Match/Low Reach
UVA - High Match/Low Reach
UC Berkeley - High Match
UCLA - Match
I assume you have more straight matches and safeties that you are listing here? And that you have run net price calculators for all these schools and can afford them.
My dad is a war veteran, so the state of California offered me a full ride to any UC school for undergrad studies. UVA and UMich I’m hoping for scholarships if accepted. And well, my parents are willing to pay whatever for me to go to Harvard.
If the SAT score is too low I could try the ACT. On a practice test I got a 35 on math, 34 on science, 34 on reading, and 35 on writing. I’m pretty sure I could improve each subscore… or is it just the quality of the extracurriculars? I do a lot of other things; I just wanted to focus on debate-related, politics-related extracurriculars to show the highest quality possible in one area.
To OP, you have the opportunity to attend any UC school for free? Why in the world wouldn’t you take that? Go to UC Berkeley/UCLA for free, get a phenomenal education, and go to grad school with the money you save from going to one of the best schools. Try for Harvard by all means, but honestly, UC Berkeley for free is a dream deal. I don’t know how you can turn that down. $300,000 for 4 years at Harvard isn’t nearly as good as Berkeley for free.
I agree with @jarrett211
Definitely consider Harvard if you are admitted (which seems to be a stretch…), but a free education at UC Berkeley or UCLA, depending on your intended major, sounds like a far better deal than full price for Harvard.
Honestly, Harvard is a once in a lifetime opportunity that millions would kill for. Even if you aren’t offered a scholarship, I think its worth the cost. Cuz Duh! its Harvard! If you actually are admitted, it would be foolish to even have second thoughts about it because you would be in the cachet of just a few incredibly priviliged people in the entire world.
@rahuilmars231 The ROI at Berkeley and UCLA is actually comparable to Harvard, and if you save $300,000 by attending one of those schools for free, then you are actually getting a greater benefit then going to Harvard.
To OP again, I ask you what your priorities are. If you are concerned like most students about your prospects and jobs after college, don’t worry. Berkeley and UCLA offer fantastic prospects, and can lead right to Harvard for grad school if you do well. College is becoming so expensive. Don’t you want to have money to pay for grad school, which often can cost even more? If you are truly after the “college experience,” then yes, Harvard is a once-in-a-lifetime thing (though I can think of more schools than just Harvard that also deserve to have that tag as well), and may perhaps be what you want. And contrary to what the above poster said, it would be foolish to not have second thoughts about turning down an elite UC school FOR FREE than to choose Harvard, which really is not that much better in academics than those two. It’s all prestige, and you have to ask yourself if that is worth it.
I’m not sure what the OP’s preferred majors are, but nothing can come close to the Name brand backing that Harvard offers for vitually non existent job markets in fields like literature, history and various other liberal arts.
@rahuilmars231 I disagree with that. For those fields, it is imperative to go to graduate school and often times go for a PhD in order to find those jobs. It is more important to attend a good graduate school than it is to attend a good undergraduate school. UC Berkeley and UCLA are not slouches when it comes to getting kids into good graduate programs. Sure they aren’t Harvard, but they’re quite good, and to save $300,000 to go to a school that offers close to as good of prospects. I’d take that in a heartbeat.
And of course Harvard gives you the name, but there are no job markets for undergraduates in those fields anyways. You have to go through graduate school if you want to seriously pursue them. Going to Harvard isn’t going to change the fields that exist. Now Harvard graduate school vs. UC graduate school is much different, but this is undergraduate. If you want to pursue those fields, you have to go to graduate anyways. Might as well save the money and get a good return.
@jarrett211 I was not referring to job markets for undergraduates in particular. I am just saying, getting into Harvard either in undergrad or grad school would certainly be much more conducive to a (relatively) thriving career than getting into the other schools (which too,are amazing by all means) But there’s no guarantee that an opportunity like that may present itself again if an accepted applicant lets go of it. I do agree though, that grad school is more imporatnt than undergrad.
PS: Congratulations on your chicago acceptance I can’t imagine how relieved you must be.
@rahuilmars231 It depends on the major at the very least, but since OP wants to major in History/Political Science, really OP knows that they will have to go to graduate school if they want to really pursue those fields for a career.
But here is what I think:
I can’t imagine how relieved you must be.