@sungirl can anyone contact her for me?? We both are on the same boat. And if she reads this. Did u get into andover? And were u accepted to harvard??
@Tabasom Hi tabasom, I am from Iran too. Did you get admission in EA? could you give me advice for the admission officer interview?
Hi,
I just messaged you. Check your inbox!
To send a letter of continued interest, should we just upload it to the application portal as “additional materials” or is there a specific email we should send it to?
Portal
Your leadership stuff seems great. Try to pull more out about what makes you unique and special. Plenty of kids are involved in political clubs, are their H.S. class treasurer, and have decent grades/scores - and still get rejected. Those activities aren’t special - they’re indicative of someone who plans on going to college. Planning on going to college and being admitted to an Ivy, particularly Harvard, are very different things.
One particular gem that I hope you’ll highlight is your Karate involvement. Try to bring this out more in your application. From news coverage of recent litigation, all of us know that Harvard Admissions looks specifically for an “effervescence” in its admits and seeks ones who are most apt to teach their classmates something. Think about how Karate helps you to understand another culture or, alternatively, how it validates your own identity as a Japanese Texan. Every applicant has the potential to be special, but one has to be able to narrate their story in a way that is coherent with diverse institutional needs and goals. Hope this helps, and let me know if I can be of any additional assistance.
@ivyappreader - very thoughtful post. One small aside, Taekwondo is a Korean martial art. My two kids participate in it, and S20 is also a 3rd degree (Dan, iirc) so noted the devotion and level of accomplishment of Debater2020.
@Debater2020 - we have a family friend that achieved a similar if not slightly higher national debate rank, likely had similar SATs, and probably had a higher class rank. Insofar as I remember, he didn’t get into Harvard. He’s graduating this year from a flagship state university that he attended on a full ride scholarship (in the Midwest), and this past November was elected as a 2020 Rhodes Scholar winner. He’s an amazing young man, but at the same time possibly benefitted from the focus that his university had (as well as past Rhodes winners they’ve had) in his academic and professional development. Not sure that he would have received the same attention at Harvard, but not discounting that he might have been similarly successful. Bottom line, reach schools are a bit of a roll of the dice for even exceptional candidates, and chancing acceptances is hard. But I do think, based on what you’ve already accomplished, if you keep up that focus and drive, that you’ll be successful anywhere. Good luck with the rest of junior year.
hahha I made a 25 on the ACT and got a deferred. I’m just happy I got deferred.