<p>I am currently a sophomore in high school. I was wondering if it is possible for me as a junior next year to apply to Harvard. I’ve checked my graduation requirements and I believe that I’ll be able to complete these requirements especially if I take summer classes. My PSAT score is 192 and I’ve gotten all A-A+ in my classes so far. I just need to take English 11, English 12, APUSH, AP Gov, a PE, and four elective classes. Does anyone have experience with a junior getting into Harvard? What are people’s opinions on this?</p>
<p>Well, yes it’s definitely possible. A friend of mine was accepted last year as a junior into Harvard (also in to the Harvard-NEC joint program!). However, you would need to demonstrate real maturity to match with the top students in the country and world who would be a full year older than you - try to remember yourself a year ago! Also, that does seem like a pretty big course load to take as a junior…</p>
<p>Why do you want to apply to Harvard? You could make a much stronger application in your senior year, and a 192 PSAT is not exactly ace-Harvard material unless you had some special hook going on for you. Is this a hypothetical out of curiosity regarding Harvard’s application policy, or are you actually seeking advice? If the latter, may I ask why you would want and benefit from this kind of application?</p>
<p>Id like to point out that my PSAT score was 187, and I applied to Harvard. PSAT score means nothing. if you have a 192 now you are well in the range to improve your SAT to Harvard standards a year from now… and I believe applying as a Junior is known as early admission. you should look more into it if that is really what you want to do</p>
<p>Applying as a junior is a risky thing to do because I imagine that they don’t accept a lot of Juniors, and you’d be ruining your chances for your admission as a senior. So many awards can only be received as a junior/senior, and so you’d basically be applying as a junior with only the awards that you’ve won as a sophomore, which I can’t imagine are numerous. Also, you should take the SAT before you make this decision. A 192 is not that great of a score, in comparison to other applicants. Obviously, this is not always indicative of your real score. For example, I got a 160 on the PSAT and a 2390 in a single sitting on the real SAT. Then again, I didn’t care about the PSAT and played a game while taking it. The game of “without reading the passage, or looking at the math problem, choose the answer that looks the most correct.” I tried in the writing section though…</p>
<p>hey again anonymous. I have heard of people trying to get the lowest possible score on the ACT (like a 3 or 4) because getting that low is almost as hard as scoring high…was that you?</p>
<p>I am actually applying to Harvard (for the Class of 2014) while graduating after just three years of high school. The truth is that if I were to attend another year of high school, I would be mostly taking PSEO opportunities through the state college rather than courses through my high school. The next logical step is to actually enroll as a full-time college student. I was accepted to Chicago under its EA program so admission to elite universities as a younger individual is possible even exclusively on the basis of academic merit.</p>
<p>Unless you show a LOT of promise I suggest that you should wait another year. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ummm I don’t think so. Why would their be a huge difference in standards for junior and senior applicants. There is probably the same emphasis on essays, ECs for both and no difference in the emphasis on academic merit. Exclusive Academic Merit will not help you at all unless its at a national or international level ex. USAMO or Intel. </p>
<p>I had a friend who was on the Math olympiad who got into MIT as a junior because of their heavy recruiting. So its possible but you have to be extremely strong.</p>
<p>I read that the biggest obstacle for juniors applying is that they need to show a sense of maturity.Without it, they have next to no shot. You should be sure to have your teacher and counselor recs describe how mature and responsible and ready you are to move on early.</p>
<p>@Xargon, that was not me. I was a sophomore when I took it the first time, and I was so lazy. I thought it’d be more fun just to randomly guess. Like, choosing the answer that “looked” the best.</p>
<p>My brother got into Harvard after his third year of high school. However, rather than “applying as a junior,” he basically skipped his junior year of high school and was considered a senior. He graduated with the class ahead of him.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law, on the other hand, literally applied to college (Oberlin, not Harvard) as a junior and was accepted without needing to do her senior year. She did not graduate from high school. She took a GED exam just in case something happened along the way and she didn’t wind up with a B.A. (which makes a high school diploma moot).</p>
<p>I will add that my brother was (and is) a true genius, and had been skipped two years in English at the end of 7th grade (they had him in 10 Honors instead of in 8th grade English), and then subsequently skipped a year of math in the 9th grade (at which point he was taking 9th grade, 10th grade, and 11th grade courses at the same time). It was also a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.</p>
<p>Actually, based on anecdotal evidence (including my own EA acceptance to Chicago), it is very possible. Colleges will realize that there are instances when a student has exhausted all available educational opportunities.</p>
<p>Moreover, I consider myself to be a senior who has merely compacted my education into three years. Also, if birthdate is in any way considered, at seventeen years and four months, I am relatively close to the current age of those applying for admission to Harvard. Thus, any lack of maturity due to age is essentially negligible.</p>
<p>But I do agree that it is often best to complete the full four years of high school to develop one’s academic skills and interests. But this advice does not automatically suit the needs of every individual.</p>
<p>Mifune you’re older than me, while I’m a senior so you’re maturity level is probably the same. Although it depends from person to person. Congrats on your Chicago EA!!! You are obviously a strong applicant junior or senior.</p>
<p>One of my friends is applying to Harvard as a junior. She has great grades, amazing scores, etc, and she’s had to jam-pack her schedule so she can graduate as a junior.</p>
<p>I will most likely be considered a junior by universities simply for the fact that I will be graduating after three years. But for all intents and purposes, I am considered a senior at my high school and the number of credits that I have taken at this point are nearly equal to those who are fourth-year seniors.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks! Usually, eleventh-grade applicants tend to be less competitive than twelfth-grade applicants since much personal and academic development occurs over the course of one year in high school for those who work toward the betterment of their education.</p>