Thanks for posting. Because too many folks don’t believe you can get into these schools if you attend a public high school and don’t have lots of bonuses/tips/“hooks.” But you put your finger on one of the keys in your first post: you were “working on a passion” “no other applicant has in their file.” We called that a point of excellence at Stanford.
Curious why you said definitely Harvard for grad. school over Yale. Sounds like just the superiority of Cambridge to New Haven? (Couldn’t agree more. Location sounds soft, but kids don’t appreciate how much nicer it is to attend college near a legit city–especially one you could see yourself living in after college–for internships, interviews, staying connected to your school, living with classmates post-grad, airports for travel, etc.)
–MCS