Harvard

[Anonymous]

We received mail from Harvard College encouraging my DS to apply since he has a strong academic record, does that mean he should apply there and will have have a good chance of getting in?

[Anonymous]

Apply if he wants to, it's all a crapshoot. It's just advertising.

[Anonymous]

They cast a wide net, and remember application fees constitute a fabulous revenue source.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We received mail from Harvard College encouraging my DS to apply since he has a strong academic record, does that mean he should apply there and will have have a good chance of getting in?

Nobody has a "good chance of getting in" to a school with a 5% acceptance rate.

If he is extraordinarily strong in both academics and extracurriculars, he might have some sort of a chance, but I wouldn't say anyone has a strong chance.

[Anonymous]

My DC gets multiple pieces from U of Chicago every week. Also Yale, Princeton and Harvard have sent what I would call actual books, not brochures or pamphlets.

Does DC have the stats (test scores, grades, ECs, full pay, etc) for those schools? Yes, but so do thousands of others. I still think they are sending these materials to DC so that they can receive more applications so they can turn down more students so they can appear even more elite.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the previously poster.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to burst your bubble. No. You kid doesn’t have a good chance. They send those out to thousands of kids.

[Anonymous]

When my son was applying to Ivies, we ignored all form letters/emails/brochures. Makes things much more clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They cast a wide net, and remember application fees constitute a fabulous revenue source.

I know - that extra $3MM a year they get from application fees makes a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

It's not about boosting revenues from applicant fees. The fees mostly just cover the actual cost of processing applications, which is considerable.

It's about getting as many applicants as possible, so that they can be as selective as possible AND to lower their admission rate, which gets factored into rankings and is also a sign of how elite they are, which can help be a bonus factor when recruiting faculty or students.

[Anonymous]

From the law suits against H last year, H give every student who pass contain PSAT score an invitation letter. I don't remember the exactly score, but I remember for Asian student, the PSAT score is 400 higher than black and 200 higher than white? Or something like that.

So, if your DD passed that score, he/she will get letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We received mail from Harvard College encouraging my DS to apply since he has a strong academic record, does that mean he should apply there and will have have a good chance of getting in?

How does Harvard know his academic record?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the law suits against H last year, H give every student who pass contain PSAT score an invitation letter. I don't remember the exactly score, but I remember for Asian student, the PSAT score is 400 higher than black and 200 higher than white? Or something like that.

So, if your DD passed that score, he/she will get letter.

Does college board have permission to share PSAT score with colleges? Who makes the deal to have every hs kids taking PSAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We received mail from Harvard College encouraging my DS to apply since he has a strong academic record, does that mean he should apply there and will have have a good chance of getting in?

How does Harvard know his academic record?

If you choose share your data on your college board account, the school will know your test scores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the law suits against H last year, H give every student who pass contain PSAT score an invitation letter. I don't remember the exactly score, but I remember for Asian student, the PSAT score is 400 higher than black and 200 higher than white? Or something like that.

So, if your DD passed that score, he/she will get letter.

Are you talking about the Harvard lawsuit that was funded by the conservative billionaires, because billionaires want to harm universities?




Agreed with PP who said Harvard is soliciting applications to lower its admit rate.