<p>So what is the bottom line for Harvard, I know they have the lowest percentage
of admittance…
Will a 33/34 ACT, 2200 SAT, top 5%, NHS student -
Varsity sport, Mock Trial Team Atty, PE Leader, Jazz Workshop and Wind Ensemble Trumpet, all around great kid…
( yes biased Mom speaking) </p>
<p>Will that do it? What are chances of $$ , merit based?</p>
<p>Should he bother applying?</p>
<p>No merit based money. Financial aid. Check out Harvard’s website to get a clearer picture.</p>
<p>Stats look okay but it’s impossible to tell, and ECs might be a bit lacking. Don’t force him into it if he doesn’t want to.</p>
<p>its a crapshoot for harvard. we honestly dont know even based on whatever stats will get in. just hope that the admission officers like you on that day. we see people with really bad stats get in, and people with really good stats get in too, everybody all around rejected. it doesnt hurt to send in an application. i’m pretty sure that harvard doesnt give a lot of merit scholarships though…i think it depends on what your major is</p>
<p>^ Harvard gives no merit scholarships whatsoever. They are prohibited from doing so under the ivy league rules.</p>
<p>The “reality check” for Harvard is almost always “no”. Most of the people who are accepted are in the same position. Of course, there are tons of other people who would be indistinguishable from the accepted students based on the kind of skeletal information the OP provides, and they are all rejected.</p>
<p>As for merit scholarships, there the reality check is 100% no, as others say. But Harvard provides more need-based aid than almost anywhere else to families in the over-$100,000/year income category.</p>
<p>The OP can ask herself: “Is my son the most exciting student in his class in some important regard? Academics, leadership, arts, some secret passion?” (Forget sports, since if he were recruitable by Harvard it would have happened already.) If the answer is “yes”, then that profile is OK. If the answer is “not really”, well . . . that’s your answer.</p>
<p>It makes me sad, literally sad, to say that I think it’s a very long shot.</p>
<p>I used to interview for Harvard. I interviewed a lot of kids very much like your description. I liked most of those kids a lot. None of them got in. I actually quit doing alumni interviews because I grew so frustrated that so many great, smart kids are left out in the cold.</p>
<p>There *are *kids like that who get into Harvard. But for every one who does, there are twenty or more who don’t.</p>
<p>And, as others have said, the Ivies don’t give merit aid.</p>
<p>Thanks, had no idea about the No Merit Money rule. We have never previously considered the Ivies but he is being encouraged to by his Counselor. He did represent his HS at a Leadership Camp last year, as a sophomore (2000+ kids). He would interview really well, has no problem with public speaking or speaking with adults. So… we may roll the dice, sounds like that’s our chances.</p>
<p>Thanks again,everyone here is so helpful.</p>
<p>You apply with the expectation that you don’t stand much of a chance. It is one of the easiest supplements.</p>
<p>No merit aid is more of a policy to state that everyone who is admitted has merit but need help financially to attend.</p>