<p>No? Okay :((((</p>
<p>Yes, if Harvard is your favorite school, apply SCEA. You have a shot if the resume you posted is truthful (some applicants tend to boast a little, and what you posted is really impressive. Even if you boasted a little, you’d still be a good candidate for SCEA.) And since there are troubles with the Common App, they let you use Universal Application instead (no glitches). Please notice that I didn’t say you’d get in. But you have a shot. Like everyone, 1 out of 10, that 9 out of 10 likelihood of rejection. Just remember that when you do SCEA, and keep your fingers crossed because they have amazing financial aid for low income families, so you wouldn’t have to take on a loan, you’d have tuition, room, and board covered, as well as books and a round trip home for the holidays.</p>
<p>A Warning: admission counselors don’t want metaphorical essays where one thing stands for another. They want your voice and your story, not fancy gimmicks or Senior English Composition tricks. The story about your glasses is great but needs to be about that episode in your life as well as you, now (avoiding the temptation of waxing philosophical about learning to see with your heart like the Little Prince said or whatever) - it’s a story about living in an impoverished neighborhood without proper health care, even for children - including the “why” you got no glasses would matter, too (no money? parents don’t understand the importance of glasses? you felt too guilty about it? never dared speak about it at school? glasses would have led to stigmatisation so for a while you were rather glad not to have them and then couldn’t tell the story, being 12 and stuck in your own omission?..) You need to include your reactions, feelings, decisions, when/how you got glasses “back” and what it changed for you, etc. To me, the most important part was how you considered yourself stupid for losing your glasses at age 12, and the consequences: for a middle class kid, it’d have meant a month being grounded, and new glasses. For you, it made the difference between being able to see or not, for over two years. YEARS. In a child’s life, that’s huge. Yet you kept going, and once you had glasses again, you put your time and abilities to use.</p>
<p>Definitely bring your GC a bullet point list of things she can pick from for her/his letter of recommendation. Even if you have an amazing relationship s/he is going to be super stressed in the upcoming weeks, so any help will be welcome.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 Wow. Thank you so much for such a detailed response. 
I will definitely take everything you take into consideration and try to live up to those expectations. You are a tremendous amount of help ! :)</p>