Hello,
I am only a high school sophomore, but I would like to hear peoples opinion of my prospects.
I go to a highly ranked public high school in the Chicago suburbs.
I would like to be the superintendent of a K-12 school district. I would dual major in administration and history education. Obviously, most people would say that it is not worth going to an expensive ivy league school to become a teacher, but I believe that doing so with the intention of becoming a superintendent would justify this decision.
A bit about me, to assess my chances of actually getting into Harvard.
4.5 GPA
(3.7 Unweighted) (Cumulative so far)
- Freshman - All honors
- Sophomore - 3 Honors, Regular Spanish, 1 AP
–My high school is a grammy award winning school, so I think that music activities show great achievement–
Extra Curricular
Jazz Ensemble (Freshman year, sophomore) (top ensemble, rare for freshman to make it in) (1st chair sophomore year)
Regular Band (Freshman year)
Symphonic Band (Sophomore year) (top ensemble, rare for even sophomores to make it in)
Science Olympiad Varsity, Regional + State competitions
Economics Club
I will have an internship this summer at a local museum teaching classes and doing tours.
Is Harvard even in the cards? Is this career path even practical?
I have always been very studious but I’m not interested in business or engineering.
I’m not sure Harvard will be in the cards for you. Your unweighted GPA is comparatively low to other Ivy League applicants with a perfect 4.0. Also, your EC’s aren’t that strong. I understand that music probably takes up a lot of your time, but you should try to get involved in some other stuff. In addition, try to get some leadership positions because I’m not seeing any now.
You seem like a great applicant, but you’ll be up against the most qualified applicants from all over the world. It’s hard to predict anything without more scores, so don’t give up hope if Harvard is where you really want to go.
I would imagine that education isn’t as competitive as say business or engineering at Harvard, does that give me an edge at all?
Unfortunately not, because you are admitted to the school as a whole. The major you declare on the application has no impact on the courses that you are able to take or the major that you ultimately graduate with.
@OrchidBloom What do my chances are, regardless? Keep in mind, I still have some time to improve GPA/ECs
Harvard doesn’t offer undergraduate degrees in business or education.
You should probably talk this over in a conversation with a knowledgable mentor. Since your inquiry is so specific, you may want to reach out via email to someone for advice. Here is an example of an excellent person to speak with. Ask for 15 minutes, and honor that commitment, in an email. In the email, outline the agenda (the questions you have: should you do this, does it make sense? What should you do in the next couple of years to be an attractive candidate?). You may not get a response. But you certainly will not if you do not try!
http://www.andover.edu/About/HeadOfSchool/Pages/AboutJohnPalfrey.aspx
It is impossible to make any kind of prediction without junior grades and SAT/ACT scores. Anyone who tells you otherwise should be ignored completely. The inconvenient truth is that nobody has a good chance of getting into Harvard. Roughly forty thousand of the best and brightest students in the world compete for 2000-2500 places within each freshman class. They reject the majority of students who apply with perfect grades and test scores. In another year, people can give you their opinions on whether they think there is any point in applying or if you will simply be making a $75 donation to one of the world’s richest institutions.
Right now, your UW GPA seems to be on the low side and your ECs don’t really stand out to me. I can’t really chance you because you’re a sophomore, but since this is Harvard we’re talking about, your chances will be somewhere on the spectrum of reach --> impossible, depending on how test scores, ECs, GPA, essays etc. turn out. Keep working hard, and good luck!
It is very hard to predict without SAT’s but if you get around a 2300 and have a great year next year you’d have a strong chance. I’d also reccomend taking as many AP’s as you can handle, and do something that interests you but will also stand out with other applicants. For example since you are interested in music and live in Chicago (where music cuts are common at schools) you could start a program to teach youth the basics of music. It’s hard to predict for Harvard, and impossible without SAT’s but my advise would be to begin to take steps now that will set you apart, and study for the SATS!
Chance me back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1778854-chance-me-for-wharton-co2017.html#latest