<p>:cool: When was your interview michaels?</p>
<p>Metaphy6, we had totally moved away from that argument. I’m sorry, but this is a thread so that future applicants can have a reference for what “likely” candidates look like and for likely applicants to meet one another. Let’s please not ruin that by making this thread into a debate over something that will just polarize people. </p>
<p>Congrats mmichaels! =D</p>
<p>And thank you for the advice etondad. =)</p>
<p>Congrats mmichaels! I bet you’re super excited!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! It is really incredible and so unexpected! Hope to meet you all at Admitted Students’ Weekend! :)</p>
<p>@homer314, My interview was about two weeks ago. It must have played a significant role on my early acceptance. I was a bit concerned when my interviewer said I was her first interviewee but it turned out great!</p>
<p>Objective:</p>
<ul>
<li>SAT I (breakdown): 780 Math, 700 Critical Reading, 750 Writing; (2230)</li>
<li>SAT II: Math II 650, US History 690, Literature 640</li>
<li>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/47</li>
</ul>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Clubs:
AP Calculus BC Instructor (2 years)
Mu Alpha Theta SAT Coordinator (2 years)
Yearbook (4 years; Editor-in-Chief for 2 years)
School Site Council Student Representative (4 years)
Class of 2011 (4 years; President for 2 years)
ASB Commissioner of Race and Human Relations (1 year)
Auroras Volunteer Club President (1 year)
California Scholarship Federation (4 years; President for 2 years)
Peer Helpers (1 year)
KEY Club (1 year)
Active Actions/Crawford ACLU (1 year)
Day Hikers Club (3 years; President for 1 year)</li>
</ul>
<p>Sports:
Varsity Baseball (1 year)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Job/Work Experience:
Intern for the UCSD Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (July 2010-August 2010)
Research Assistant for Turov Investment Group, Inc. (December 2010-present)</p></li>
<li><p>Volunteer/Community service:
Various events with Auroras, KEY Club, and Peer Helpers; Poll Worker in June and November 2010 elections</p></li>
<li><p>Summer Activities:
Spanish class at Grossmont College (2009)
Yearbook Camp at Pepperdine University (2009)
UCSD Internship (2010)
Calculus BC Curriculum Writing (2010)</p></li>
<li><p>Essays:
Common App Essay: Reflected on the struggles of growing up in a low-income community and the unique world view it has given me
Supplement: A short autobiography detailing three major events in my life through music</p></li>
<li><p>Teacher Recommendation:
Only read one of them, from my AP Calculus teacher. It was incredible and definitely a strong part of my application. I assume that the second one, from my Honors American Literature teacher, was equally fantastic.</p></li>
<li><p>Counselor Rec:
Again, didn’t read it but I’m sure it was great.</p></li>
<li><p>Additional Rec:
None.</p></li>
<li><p>Interview:
Great interview! Went over our allotted time by about 10 minutes. My interviewer was really into all of the things I had to say about my high school and the many activities I have participated in. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Other</p>
<ul>
<li>State (if domestic applicant): California</li>
<li>School Type: Public</li>
<li>Ethnicity: White (Dad from Italy)</li>
<li>Gender: Male</li>
<li>Income Bracket: Lower</li>
<li>Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): QuestBridge student</li>
</ul>
<p>Reflection</p>
<ul>
<li>Strengths: QuestBridge, essays, unique extracurriculars</li>
<li>Weaknesses: SAT Subject Tests</li>
<li>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m still trying to figure that out! I also received a likely letter from Yale and everyday I feel so privileged and humbled that the two top schools in the country have accepted a kid from a school with an unfair ghetto reputation.</li>
<li>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Likely letter from Yale; Waiting on Stanford, Dartmouth, Princeton, Penn, Brown</li>
</ul>
<p>That’s amazing Mr. </p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>How long was your interview?</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I :2200
[</em>] ACT:32
[<em>] SAT II: 720 Bio, 700 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0uw/4.6w
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Comp. Sci, AP Psych, AP Lit, Spanish II, Physics, Bioethics, & Music Composition.
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major. In terms of scholarships, QuestBridge finalist & matched, and Coca Cola Finalist.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Student Goverment (treasurer), Orchestra (1st chair clarinetist), Drama, Sault Tribal Youth Council, Pep & Marching Band, Teens Against Tobacco Use (co-president), Michigan Coalition Against Underage Drinking (co-president), Church Youth Group, Volunteer musician.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Pianist (volunteer and paid jobs). I’ve also had summer jobs.
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer through extracurricular and church groups.
[<em>] Summer Activities: Minority Introduction to Science and Engineering (MITES) at MIT this past summer. Other than that I have had summer jobs, and I attended NYLC in D.C. a few years ago.
[</em>] Essays: I wrote my Harvard essay after I had already been accepted to Yale, so I made a few jokes in it. Apparently, it must have went over well.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Very good! My English teacher’s was great, my math teacher’s was good.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Great!
[<em>] Additional Rec: I submitted my MITES evaluations. Biochem, Humanities, & Digital Design were very good. Physics was okay. Calc was ehh, not the best. Haha.
[</em>] Interview: I thought it went fine. It was my interviewer’s first time interviewing and she had only attended Harvard for grad school decades ago, so she didn’t know much about the campus presently. But other than that, it went well. Haha.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Intended Major: Something in the Brain & Cognitive Science or Neuroscience field. 
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
[<em>] School Type: Very rural.
[</em>] Ethnicity: Native American.
[<em>] Gender: Female
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Essays, QuestBridge, & Teacher Recs.
[<em>] Weaknesses: Standardized Tests.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: A combination of many strengths. I am very blessed.
[/ul]General Comments:
I was matched to Yale through QuestBridge, received a likely letter from Stanford, and am waiting on MIT and Princeton. </p>
<p>@afumagalli, I know how you feel! In a rural school where only a couple have ever been accepted to Ivy’s, I feel so humbled and blessed. I feel so fortunate to be able to pioneer in this area and inspire others to dream big.</p>
<p>Congrats afumagalli! I can’t wait to see everyone who can go to Visitas. I actually started a thread in 2015 for those who want to discuss it there. Also, mmichaels, that is very impressive and if you stay in Neurosciences, we’ll probably be seeing each other a lot because I’m most likely majoring in Neurobiology. :)</p>
<p>Also, thanks everyone for replying with stats. I think this thread will help a lot of people who wonder what it takes to get a likely letter. Everyone who has posted has seemed very humble, so all the thanks goes to God!</p>
<p>To Jgedwards, aleader, harvardgirl15, thewes6, mmichaels, and afumagalli (and anyone I might have missed):</p>
<p>A huge Congratulations!!! on the likely letters! Hoping to see all of you coming back to CC to post as “Harvard ’15ers” in a few months :p. In the meantime, if you have any question about the school that you think I may be able to answer, like how to get from the airport to the campus through the T or anything like that, please feel free to PM and I would be more than happy to help.</p>
<p>Calico, H’14</p>
<p>^That congratulations is so pretty…wish I could get that someday. lol</p>
<p>Calico, thank you so much for the offer. You may regret it because I am quite excited and may overload you with questions. =P =)</p>
<p>On that note, I have been BEYOND impressed with the effort Harvard has made to reach out to me! Before I received a letter I received a few emails from my regional admissions officer asking about scores I had not sent. (January SAT IIs) She then answered several emails worth of questions I had about interviews and financial aid. A few days later she called my house number to tell me about my likely. I wasn’t home, so my mom answered the phone. It was right at five and she was about to leave her office, so she gave my mom her cell number so I could call her that evening! Then I received the letter and wrote her a thank you email, to which I did not expect her to reply. Nevertheless she sent a great reply and said that she hoped I’d email her with more questions. Then this week a Harvard student emailed me to answer any questions I might have. My mom is also working with the financial aid office because we have a unique financial situation, and she actually enjoys talking to the finaid people on the phone, haha.
I feel so welcome, and I haven’t even been officially admitted. In short, HARVARD IS AMAZING. =D</p>
<p>Thanks calico! I really appreciate it and I will do everything I can to make sure I am a part of Harvard '15. Also, aleader, I feel the same way. All the people from Harvard that have contacted me have been very welcoming and I love it. Harvard could easily rely on their number 1 reputation, but they don’t, and it’s so refreshing to see them reaching out to students.</p>
<p>Wow! This is amazing, and congratulations to all of you who have received likely letters. I have applied as well and hope I am given the chance to meet some of you at the Admitted Students week. Even though I am ‘against’ you guys in admissions I am sooo proud of you all </p>
<p>Also…I am just getting a little antsy waiting for these letters to role out and decide y fate for the next four years (hahaha), so would someone mind reading the two essays I submitted with my Harvard application and letting me know what they think? The essays are pasted below (I figure that they are already submitted and plagiarism will not be an for me and my admissions hehe). </p>
<ol>
<li>This is the common app essay, I chose option number four, which asked us to pick a fictional of non-fictional character of influence and analyze their influence on you.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>TITLE: Conscientiously Achieving
Pips struggle to become a gentleman and subsequent fall from grace is the premise of Charles Dickenss Great Expectations. Pips objective was to win the heart of the compassionless Estella, but Pip focused too heavily on superficial concerns, becoming as lifeless as the possessions he acquired. Inevitably, he was bereft of family and friends, debt ridden, and did not even get Estella as consolation. Pip lacked a personal compass to guide him to his aspirations, and lost sight of his origins. Unlike Pip however, I am constantly reminded by many to not forget my roots. Which begs the question, where do I come from exactly? I hail from a quaint, rural Southern California town dubbed the Friendly Village. But this is just where I have spent a majority of my childhood; I have also lived in Hawaii, North Carolina, and Madrid, Spain. As a result, I want a college experience that will allow me to live quite a distance from home. Of course, people ask me why I would want to leave such a beautiful place bathed in perpetual sunshine. I struggled to form a response that captures my motives, but now I have an encompassing response: I want to expand who I am, and if confronted with new situations, I can simply adjust.
However, when I hear the do not forget where you come from remark from my mother, those words convey a more meaningful and complex message. Though my mother has reiterated this phrase in various forms, she always means that just because I am becoming well-read, know a few snazzy words, and am capable of handling a rigorous class schedule, I am no better than anyone else. I always knew that I would never be superior to any one person simply due to a few academic factors, and my mothers prophetic cautions became more of a reality while reading Charles Dickenss, Great Expectations. Both my mothers concerns and Dickenss novel have emphasized the importance of humility. Without a dose of humility, I risk developing a me centered focus, which, as I have seen from Pips own experiences, is a component in an equation for self-destruction.<br>
Despite the two centuries between Pip and me, we are not so dissimilar. We both come from rural locations and similar families; without wealth or a privileged education. Unlike Pip, I am content with saying that my family is normal. However, I have the opportunity to set a new trend of normalcy for my family by being the first to attend college. My family is proud of what I have accomplished thus far and wholeheartedly supports my aspirations. Yet, I sense a sentiment of concern when they hear me talk of what I want to accomplish in the near future. Though I do not speak of outlandish or fanciful goals, I perceive that my parents fear I will be like the sugar-deprived child left unattended in the candy store. I will become too consumed with new opportunities and excessiveness, lose sight of my intentions, and metaphorically crash and burn.<br>
I respect and consider my parents concerns, but because of my upbringing I am confident in my ability to distinguish between right and wrong, knowing when to refrain from distractions, and when to put in a little more effort into my endeavors. Because of my parents I will never look down on someone for their lack of education, vocation or income, and I will use Pip as a cautionary tale. Therefore, I view myself as a well-prepared blank canvas ready to continue creating who I am still becoming. Furthermore, I could never disregard my origins since I am a hodgepodge myself a child of the rural, urban, American, and international backgrounds and to deny a dimension of myself would only serve to diminish my seventeen years of multi faceted experiences. </p>
<ol>
<li>This is the supplemental essay. I chose to write about all the places I have lived and used and extended metaphor throughout that implies that I am a package has continually been shipped around. </li>
</ol>
<p>TITLE: Awaiting Shipment
I am a product sitting on a shelf. I do indeed have a Made-In label, and it reads: Mexican and American parts assembled in Japan. Then, on January 20, 1993, by midday, I am shipped and delivered to a young couple at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital in California. Next, I am unpackaged and polished nicely to begin a whirlwind of adventures, and my assorted origins are merely a prelude of awaits me. From the day I was unpackaged, I have been shipped and borrowed between my owners; consequently, four time zones, three states, two continents, and one worldly experience later, I am well aware that at seventeen my journey is by no means whole and I anticipate what is to come.<br>
At the age of five, I was shipped via express air shipping from California to the Eden-like islands of Hawaii. Being naïve and idyllic at five years old, the serenity of the Hawaiian Islands merely complemented the blissfulness of childhood. There seemed to be a never-ending frequenting of beaches and the pleasant warmth of the sun unyielding. I remember days of playing outside, and then quickly having to come inside as it rained with the Sun still gleaming for about fifteen minutes. Afterwards, I would be off to another outdoors adventure. Though all was fine and I was happy, I admit that I did not comprehend that Hawaii was a group of islands or, better yet, that I had flown nearly halfway across the Pacific Ocean. Nonetheless, my Hawaiian sojourn will forever be remembered as being utterly and phenomenally lovely.<br>
Several years later, on the eve of second grade, I was transcontinentally shipped from California to Camp Lejune, North Carolina. I became aware of the influence the military has had on my life while living here; my father was deployed for nearly half of the time that I lived there. I was also living on a military base, so I was able to intermingle with people living under similar situations; this was the epitome of my experience being a military brat. Living in North Carolina was a stark break with what I was used to living around in comparison to California and Hawaii. The pine trees, ticks, and deer that would invade our neighbors garden were things that I vicariously experienced from movies or the stories of others. To top it off, I saw snow for the first time as well. By the age of eight years old, I saw how different life can be from coast to coast of the United States alone, and just had an inkling there was so much more awaiting to be exposed.<br>
Shortly before turning thirteen and becoming a teenager, I was whisked away beyond the umbrella of the red, white, and blue on a thirteen hour transit to Madrid, Spain. This international living experience gave me more than I could have asked for, and the international school I attended gave me a circle of friends from every continent, minus Antarctica of course. Each person I befriended seemed to be from a heart of the world; for instance, Seoul, South Korea, Amman, Jordan, Sydney, Australia, London, England, New York City, United States, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Tripoli, Libya are several places. These people virtually brought me a preview of the world. Despite hearing up to four languages while walking the halls of the school and seeing virtually every color humanly possible, I still felt like an intrinsic component to this international apparatus. Furthermore, I had the opportunity of visiting cities such as Segovia and Lisbon, Portugal. While I also got to see spectacles such as the ancient Roman aqueducts, Spanish Bullfighting, the cemetery of former dictator Franco at the Valley of the Fallen, and stood at the most Western point of continental Europe. Eventually, however, this endeavor had the curtain drawn and I was returned to California.
Despite frequently being shipped to new addresses, Fallbrook, California is my nucleus. It seems that this place is my de facto return address. Fallbrook is my hometown and is where my roots lie. This small, quaint town has added a dimension to me that no exotic location could add. For that reason, I am forever indebted to my parents for the opportunities they have given me; my father has enabled me to become an aspiring citizen of the world, and my mother has given me stability. As a result, my frequent changing of address has allowed me to see and do things that for some remain, and may always remain, possibilities. I believe that I have received the best possible situation from the predicament life has handed me.
Finally, I have concluded that life has given me a flavorful sampler. Hence, I am by no means absolutely certain with what I want to do with the rest of my life, rather I am merely aware of what I do and do not care for. My parade of shipments and returns has helped me to become an open-minded and accepting person who has also been made in to an intellectual blank canvas. Now, once again, I am awaiting shipment, and it would be tantalizing to be shipped to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard College. I would be around people who are intellectually passionate, zany, and a tad eccentric, which is the ideal environment for me and would allow me to continue expanding on who I am and still becoming.</p>
<p>Congrats! Were you ever involved in MCFYP or in any YACs? You should be VERY proud of your accomplishments!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all students who received letters!</p>
<p>Though I’ve been absent from the website for quite some time now, I do still respond to pms in a fairly timely fashion. If you have any questions about life at Harvard, please feel free to shoot me an email!</p>
<p>Yours truly,</p>
<p>ksarmand, C/O 2014</p>
<p>
Objective: [ul]
SAT I (breakdown): never took [<em>] ACT: 36/36/34/33/10 = 35 Composite
[</em>] SAT II: Math II 800, Bio-M 780
, Chem - 730 [<em>] GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94 UW, 4.58 W
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): doesnt rank, top 10%
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Biology (5), Latin Lit (4), Physics C-Mech (4), English Lit (4) [</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, Linear Algebra, Senior English Electives, Modern World History
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Letter of Commendation, National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Cum Laude Society, Yale Book Award, National Latin Exam
[/ul]
Subjective: [ul]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Research - Semel Institute at UCLA, project deals with neuroimaging and engineering
School newspaper (editor-in-chief)
Gay-Straight Alliance (president)
Diversity Retreat (planning committee)
Mu Alpha Theta
Mathletes Team
Clarinet (Level 10, Branch Honors, State Convention) - 7 years
Piano - 10 years, school instrumental ensemble
Violin - 11 years, school instrumental ensemble [<em>] Job/Work Experience: Legal assistant at law firm [</em>] Volunteer/Community service:
Friendship Circle - work with special needs children
Los Angeles Team Mentoring - mentor at-risk middle school students
UCLA hospital volunteer [<em>] Summer Activities: Research, Harvard SSP [</em>] Essays: Pretty good, in my opinion. I’d say 8.5/10 overall. My common app one was definitely better than my supp. one, mainly because I wrote significantly more drafts.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Junior year English and Math teachers - waived my rights, but I think both teachers wrote good letters
[</em>] Counselor Rec: didn’t read, but I think it was decent [<em>] Additional Rec: research mentor - didn’t read, but my counselor told me it was excellent [</em>] Interview: local alum - casual (at a Starbucks), she seemed impressed with my resume and really enjoyed that I attended Harvard SSP
[/ul]
Other [ul]Applied for Financial Aid?: no [<em>] Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA [<em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[</em>] School Type: private all girls, very competitive
[<em>] Ethnicity: Latina [</em>] Gender: Female [<em>] Income Bracket: >$200,000 [</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
[/ul]
Reflection [ul]
Strengths: experience in math/science, URM female interested in engineering
[<em>] Weaknesses: AP scores, over-represented state
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Hard work and a LOT of luck.
[*] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Yale SCEA [/ul]</p>
<p>Congrats lessthanthree! Have you visited the campus yet?</p>
<p>Just a quick question for those who received letters - did you also get a call? Also, did you get an email, or just a hard copy letter?</p>
<p>I got a call but I haven’t received a letter yet. Thanks!</p>
<p>Evan O’ Dorney received his likely letter recently according to one of his also freakishly talented mathematician friends. But we all saw that coming!</p>