<p>white male from MA, low income family, parents are separated, current junior
Stats:
SAT: 2000 will retake
SAT II: Bio 800
Math II: havent taken yet
Chemistry: havent taken yet
Class Rank: 2/250
GPA: nonweighted 95%
weighted not calculated until senior year
Classes:
Freshman Year
Honors Biology B+
Honors World History A-
Honors English B+
Jazz Band A
Freshman Seminar A
Geometry C+
Spanish II B</p>
<p>Sophomore Year
Honors Algebra II B+
Honors Chemistry A-
Honors English II A
Honors US History A
Jazz Band A
Piano Lab A
Computer Tech. internship A (independent study on network administration and PC Repair)</p>
<p>Junior Year
AP Physics B A+
AP US A
AP English Lang. A
AP Biology A-
Pre Calc A-
AP Biology Independent Research A+
Science Mentor A+ (teachers aide for a middle school general science course)</p>
<p>Senior Year
AP Calc AB
AP Euro
AP Lit
AP Chem
Jazz Band
Senior Project
AP Music Theory</p>
<p>ECs</p>
<p>Job: Currently working as a Physical Science Technician with the US Geological Survey (2 years), hands on lab experience performing analysis on sediment and civil engineering tests; gave 1 lecture to visiting Doctors of Geology and Geophysics over the past summer</p>
<p>Music (Sax)
Lead Alto sax player for jazz society
1st chair Alto Sax player for concert and jazz band (high school)
2nd Chair District Jazz Festival (2008)
4th Chair District Jazz Festival (2007)
4th Chair District Concert Festival (2008)
Been playing for 10 years
Currently have 3 private lessons a week on Classical Theory, Jazz Improv, and Sax lessons
Currently have own quartet that plays paying gigs
Drum Major for marching band school year 06-07, 07-08, and 08-09</p>
<p>Athletics
2 black belts in Tzu Jan Kun Do Kung fu and Wah Lum Kung Fu
Been doing it for 13 years
Countless district and state awards from when I was younger</p>
<p>Misc Clubs:
National Honor Society
Environmental Club
Gay Straight Alliance
Cape Cod Jazz Society
Concert Band
Jazz Band
200+ community service hrs tutoring and aiding the network administrator repair and maintain school computers, designed school website</p>
<p>Awards:
Service Above Self Award
House B Recognition Ward
Chemistry Merit Award
Honors English II Achievement Award
some others</p>
<p>Your SATs need to be at least 22x0, but your EC’s are fantastic and your involvement in music is precisely the thing that Harvard seems to look for. Your GPA is decent, not above average, and your scores as a white male do not help you, but if you make some improvements on tests and show an upward trend with grades (including first semester senior year) you could have a very good chance.</p>
<p>^^^
I don’t know about that… in the Harvard 2012 Facebook group there is a wide range of test scores. (And it’s not necessarily along gender or racial lines.)</p>
<p>P.S. Maybe check out the Stanford group because I think more people posted their scores there.</p>
<p>If there’s anything I learned from pre-frosh weekend it’s that there is a wide cross-section of types here. Passion + Personality >> scores (to an extent, and your 2000, depending on splits, should be enough for that criterium)</p>
<p>Innervisions seems border-line illiterate so don’t listen to her.</p>
<p>I have to agree with Picoolojunior. Passions, personality, and talent are aspects that are far more important in an application. A 2000+ for whites, Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, Native Americans is more than enough to get you admitted.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting it’s a requirement. Looking at my previous post, I guess I made it seem like a rigid requirement, which was not at all my intention. It’s more of a goal to shoot for. Test scores are about 20% of your application (this changes according to the applicant of course), so shooting for 50th percentile scores is unquestionably going to be helpful. It doesn’t matter what posture admissions officers take in interviews or information sessions; test scores are a part of your academic profile, which is the majority of your application. You won’t get that intensive read-through of your EC’s without your academics being impressive. I’m not suggesting that rwc is in a desperate predicament of any sort. But the job of these threads is to give honest, critical opinions and criticism, not to tell people that they are wonderful and test scores don’t matter. Without a major hook, test scores are indeed significant. This is not a “sad misconception.” People do get in with 2000s, and deservedly so, as the talents of many are not well-suited for standardized tests. You must also consider however, that people get another look because of ~2360+ scores. It works both ways. </p>
<p>Rosh420, if I am making an incorrect inference please forgive me, but if you’re insinuating that test scores are evaluated on a racially-blind basis, then I don’t know what planet you are on. I don’t mean to forward an opinion of any sort on this matter, so I won’t continue.</p>
<p>If you’d like to make this a forum for discussing the importance of test scores, feel free. There’s no need to make a demagoguery of me, however. You just come off as an insecure prospective student that struggles with standardized testing, that’s all.</p>
<p>" You seem like a prospective student that struggles with standard testing" </p>
<p>That’s laughable. The only thing that was valid about your sentiment was that I am a prospective student- something you’re not, nor will you ever be.</p>
<p>So were mine, and I agree that they mean very little in the ‘greater scheme of things’ - personality, character, real scholasticism, worth of person, etc. - but innervisions isn’t saying that they do. He’s saying that college admissions officers care about SAT scores. Are you really arguing that they don’t?</p>
<p>“: Currently working as a Physical Science Technician with the US Geological Survey (2 years), hands on lab experience performing analysis on sediment and civil engineering tests; gave 1 lecture to visiting Doctors of Geology and Geophysics over the past summer”</p>
<p>Very, very impressive. Also shows intellectual passion, which is extremely rare.</p>
<p>“Your SATs need to be at least 22x0”</p>
<p>Not true. Admissions officers say the minimum SAT needs to be about 1800. I know. I’ve talked to them in person as an alum interviewer. SATs are looked at in the context of your SES background, school and opportunities in general.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Harvard, put your best into an application, and also apply to match and safeties that you love. Make sure that you have at least one financial safety – a college you love, that you know you’ll gain acceptance to, and that you know you can afford. That may be your state flagship.</p>
<p>Chances posts are a waste of time. Don’t leave your fate in the hands of anonymous strangers who usually are misinformed. Take the time to look at colleges’ admissions web pages to get info, and have the confidence in yourself to make careful applications to colleges that fit your needs. Have the good sense to also apply to at least one safety that you love, that meets your needs, and that you know you can afford.</p>
<p>I don’t estimate chances because I’m not an admissions officer, so please don’t anyone think this is an invitation to PM me asking for your chances.</p>
<p>Perhaps chance posts are a search for hope. In the case of rwc, you have every reason to hope for a positive outcome. NSM underlined your very fine qualities… if these are illuminated in your essays you will have the same chance as other qualified candidates. Just remember in your head —7.9%???accept rate.</p>
<p>But allow your heart to shine in your application. Good luck!</p>
<p>You have a chance, but keep your options open and your hopes reasonable. Look at some of the many other high quality LACs and universities that accept more than 8% of their applicants!</p>
<p>I can’t say that I understand how anyone can critique the OP’s grades – salutatorian, I’d say, certainly qualifies one academically for Harvard.</p>