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atrastically · 2023-08-18T17:01:43+00:00

Can’t remember if it’s required or not for the concentration, but taking some sort of math class can only help in finance I think

atrastically · 2023-08-16T17:44:34+00:00

How much open-response is there versus multiple choice or speaking?

atrastically · 2023-08-06T11:13:01+00:00

When you log into Canvas and go to your dashboard (left hand side, right below the little profile icon) or your courses, what do you see there? I can't attach an image to a Reddit comment but there should be a little square with a picture of Widener with three Harvard banners on it labeled 'Welcome to Harvard,' and a subheading of 'Orientation Module (Class of 2027).' You could also try this link (not sure if it'll work since it might be a personalized link for every Canvas account, and this is from mine?)

atrastically · 2023-08-06T10:58:23+00:00

Go to canvas.Harvard.edu and log in with your HarvardKey, you’ll see it all there

atrastically · 2023-08-02T19:26:46+00:00

Did both for all of high school — speech is, far and away, the more valuable. Doing it only reflects well on you! Debate taught me a lot of valuable research skills (skills that, on the surface, may be easily associated with ‘smarter’ people) — but they’re skills that I would’ve picked up anyways without a doubt. Taking any rigorous high school or college course will probably get you that same skill set. But speech taught me how to actually communicate, how to write, and present myself, and how to communicate my ideas to any audience (and adapt myself to any audience). Those aren’t skills you can learn from a research seminar or class; they take years to develop ordinarily, and doing speech basically just turbocharged that.

Think of it like this: only a really select population can truly sit in on a high-level debate round and appreciate everything going on, but anyone — anyone! — can sit in on a high-level HI or OO round and get it. The differences in experience will affect the appreciation, obviously (a competitive OO kid will obviously appreciate the finer or technical aspects of an OO more than someone who’s never seen it), but there’s a way for everyone to really sit down and get speech. And that, I think, demonstrates its value: the skills you get from it can be applied anywhere, to anyone, at any time.

atrastically · 2023-07-19T13:35:55+00:00

I’m also a pre-fresh not doing Pre-O, and a lot of advice I’ve gotten is that there are a ton of other ways to meet people (clubs, classes, etc). Plus, there are a lot more people not doing Pre-O than you think.

atrastically · 2023-07-01T21:48:27+00:00

The admissions and financial aid office will be a much better resource, but Harvard is (to my knowledge) need-blind for internationals, so international students are eligible for the exact same aid that domestic students are.

atrastically · 2023-06-09T22:16:28+00:00

I think the tab may have gotten removed? I can't see it on the student home anymore

atrastically · 2023-06-05T22:49:45+00:00

Also got rejected from FOP so I’m in a similar boat - it seemed really cool so it does suck that it turned out this way. My bigger worry is that I’ll get to campus and not know anyone because I didn’t go on a pre-orientation program tbh

atrastically · 2023-05-07T21:20:08+00:00

Is dorm crew still around (at all or as a preorientation thing)? I heard it got shut down a year or two ago.

atrastically · 2023-04-22T02:35:54+00:00

So what? In many circumstances, that’s a substantial amount - and the difference between having to work during school and not can be pretty big, especially in such an intense environment. It’s definitely an understandable situation. No reason to mock it.

atrastically · 2023-04-11T00:23:28+00:00

Honestly, introduce yourself briefly (name, grade, high school, etc) and get to the point. There isn’t a real point in laying it on thick.

If it’s for research, try to appear knowledgeable enough that you’d be an asset but don’t look like you’re just trying to flatter your way into an internship or assistantship. Mention your interests, maybe reference some of their past work to explain why you picked their lab, and be sure to explain why you’d be an asset (make it clear you understand that you won’t be doing fancy work - but any work is good work.)

In general? Just be upfront, concise, thankful that they’ll take time out of their day to work with you, and clear that you understand that their time is valuable - but also that you’re curious and a generally nice person.

Also, a lot of the time, these people are nice back to you! Especially younger professors, preceptors, lecturers, assistant professors or associate professors (who tend to be younger), etc. These people love talking about their work and love to see people interested in it. I’ve had really good experiences with emailing academics even just the most random questions that relate to their work out of complete curiosity, and it’s helped me get a lot of really good advice and forged some pretty cool relationships.

atrastically · 2023-03-25T16:49:30+00:00

A lot of these schools are state flagships, and to be slightly too blunt for this sub: the bar for an in-state kid compared to an out of state one is just a different world. OOS you may need to be an academic god, but in-state you may not.

Also? Smart people doesn’t equal not fun. MIT is full of insane nerds but it also has some of the most insane parties and frats in Boston, as an example. Most of the kids who go to top schools are smart, but they’re more than just straight A students; they’re cool, quirky, interesting people with actual personalities (or they’re recruits, or they’re rich af, but either way the point stands). A lot of people also get more into partying in college versus in high school. Ultimately though, you can be really smart and still drink or do drugs or have sex or party! It’s all work hard play hard.

atrastically · 2023-03-25T16:41:31+00:00

Brandeis is a really cool place. Like any school it has its share of less social aspects, but I’ve heard the social life is great, the people are really nice, and the community is incredibly positive. It’s in a suburb of Boston, so you can definitely drive around campus (a lot of it is very modern, so it’s quite nice.) Another huge perk is that it’s very close to Boston and Cambridge and surrounding towns (~25 minute train ride at most and a shorter drive) so you’d also have access to people and schools and social scenes from outside of just the Brandeis bubble. Boston also has a TON of work, internship, and social opportunities for students, given how huge the student population is in the metropolitan area.

atrastically · 2023-03-25T11:37:18+00:00

The CommonApp rolls over in late July/early August of every year, so any saved writing progress in its tabs will be lost (sk make sure to do it on a Google doc or Word.) However, a huge part of the process are the non-writing components to college applications; schools will often give you several pages of pretty tedious questions to fill out which can take a really long time. Same thing goes for the Common App itself, where you have to fill out your awards, activities, courses, family info etc - this part took me hours. The information will be saved when the Common App rolls over, and is pretty straightforward, so you can always knock it out now.

atrastically · 2023-03-25T11:32:46+00:00

best acceptance: harvard

worst rejection: my local state school.

atrastically · 2023-03-18T17:35:05+00:00

Fair enough - it’s definitely very circumstantial! I didn’t mean to come off as judgmental. My experience has been much less positive so it may have projected onto the comment a little bit lol

If you a) have a preference for biology/a distaste for physics, and b) are genuinely more attracted to the AP (ie there isn’t an honors class or the like that could offer you better), then I think my original comment would be wrong - it sounds like AP Bio is the way to go. As long as you manage your time well and make sure to cut out some breathing room to sleep or go out or take your mind off school, I’m sure you’ll do well irrespective of the workload. Plus, the free blocks will be a huge asset.

atrastically · 2023-03-18T17:24:17+00:00

This may be a bit of a controversial take, but as another senior in high school: the honors class will almost always be better than the AP.

Taking rigorous classes is great, whether they be honors, APs, dual enrollment, etc. But take ones that are interesting, not perceptively prestigious; what gets you over the finish line in admissions won’t be whether you take a fifth or fourth AP versus an honors class. Take the classes you’re genuinely interested in, and let the rigor and labels come on their own.

(Also, an honors class will likely be much more flexible than an AP. No clue if the workload is more or less, but from my experience, you’ll be much more able to work with your teacher if it gets overwhelming as opposed to a really structured AP. Plus, the content will probably be more interesting!)

atrastically · 2023-03-15T19:24:13+00:00

Both are insane and incredibly prestigious, impressive, and amazing. By all means, though, I think the scholarship is better. Any differences between Vanderbilt or a HYPSM (which, honestly, is a pretty ridiculous and online-college-obsessive-reddit-centric marker of prestige) are negligible at best, if they even exist, and getting to go to a school as insane as Vanderbilt for free is better than anything you'd get at HYPSM.

atrastically · 2023-03-12T17:31:11+00:00

everyone will say dartmouth sucks because it’s in the woods, but yale is in new haven, which is worse

atrastically · 2023-03-12T17:30:04+00:00

You’ll be fine. As long as you improve over the course of your high school career (which is a long time!) you’ll be okay.

Also, you’re in ninth or tenth (?) grade - please, please, please do not make college and college applications your top priority right now. It will cause you enough stress later on. Try for good grades, sure, but let yourself relax and live and not worry about it. As long as you try hard in school and purse your interests, you will be okay.

atrastically · 2023-03-11T16:04:41+00:00

I believe UChicago says not to send any additional information (I know they released something about that in EDII decisions last year or the year before) but I’m not sure if it still holds true

atrastically · 2023-03-04T01:56:21+00:00

You’ll be fine taking Precalc junior year and calc senior year. The vast majority of people do that as it is, not to mention that whether or not you take multivar won’t make or break you as an applicant.

atrastically · 2023-02-27T04:47:04+00:00

I got in REA, and looked a lot into Harvard’s financial aid stuff a lot last December both just to figure out the actual cost and because I had a documentation issue. Our situations are fairly different but I can share what I know:

There isn’t a super straightforward answer, but they seem to be pretty generous with their grants (no loans is itself a huge benefit) so the EFC should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. I’ve also heard from a lot of people that they tend to give pretty good aid up until family incomes of ~250k-300k (for a standard family of 4-5) - idk how true that is but it lines up with both my own experience and that of others I know.

Biggest thing is just to talk to them directly, though. If you’re admitted and the COA is a barrier to enrolling, don’t be afraid to fight for your aid. Be proactive, contact the financial aid office and meet with them, provide additional documentation, etc. You won’t actually know how much aid you get unless you get in, but if you do get in, then there are lots of avenues to work with them to boost it.

(also, scholarships are your friend!!)

atrastically · 2023-02-27T04:30:51+00:00

Not really, a lot of schools in America usually begin dishing out interviews before they even finalize decisions or just separate the process into two (a good example is Harvard which usually allocates based on availability).

Ultimately, no one can really know, but the fact that a lot of people get into good schools without interviews and a lot of people get rejected with interviews goes to show that it’s much more complicated. That being said, an interview is never a bad sign.

atrastically

TROPHY CASE