• 07-23-2006, 08:33 PM
    deckcadet
    On my big college adventure
    Well everyone, I'm on my big college trip adventure.

    Right now i'm in the hotel room in Cambridge, Mass. Flew in to Boston today and had a chance to go around Cambridge some. Tomorrow is my interview and campus tour at Harvard, after which I will be going to Hanover, NH to see Dartmouth. This is pretty neat- I'm looking forward to college and getting out of Miami definitely seems like a great idea. I love the feel of this placae...I'm trying not to spoil my luck :rolleyes: so I only picked up a hat that happened to match my clothes today (absolutely perfectly too:confused: ).

    Wish me luck! I'm very excited, my standardized test scores and grades this past year certainly give me a fair chance at either school, but they're very competitive among qualified candidates.

    I can use all the help I can get so if any of you have some tips, they are appreciated, and thanks in advance for the good luck you're bound to send my way :thumbsup:

    Harrison
  • 07-23-2006, 08:46 PM
    zrfraser
    Re: On my big college adventure
    Harrison

    Grades are important, but more imprtant is you as a person. Grades will only take you so far in life, but your attitude will take you even further. When you interview just be yourself, because recruiters can spot when you aren't. If they ask you want your interests are, then tell them photography and maybe have some proof of your work. Be respectful, and use sir or ma'am whenever you can. If you see any students around campus ask them questions, they will answer more honestly then say an alum, or staff member.

    Congrats on even having a chance at getting into Harvard. I applied at one school and happened to have gotten lucky, needless to say , I wish I had done things a little differently.

    Good Luck
    Z
  • 07-24-2006, 03:19 PM
    Photo-John
    Cool!
    I applied to Harvard, Amherst, and Stanford. I, ummm, didn't attend any of those schools :rolleyes:

    Best of luck to you, buddy. I have a feeling you're a little more prepared than I was when I was your age.

    Have you considered looking at schools where the weather is better? The Northeast is pretty rough except in May and September. But Boston is a fun place. Wicket pissah!
  • 07-24-2006, 07:46 PM
    another view
    Re: Cool!
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Photo-John
    The Northeast is pretty rough except in May and September.
    John, weren't you born in Canada? :idea:

    Great list of schools - I went to Dartmouth. Well, actually I passed thru there on a road trip about five years ago. Come to think of it I actually spent more time in Alcatraz. Congrats on the test scores, but Z has a good point. Best of luck!
  • 07-24-2006, 08:15 PM
    deckcadet
    Re: On my big college adventure
    Well the interview went very well. It was an admissions officer who was a recent graduate, very nice, a mac user, who asked a lot about my school, interests, and was very friendly and personable. Apparently the interview took over twice as long as they typically max out at. Then we went to an info session that had about 200 people at it, a large number of which were apparently Asian children with their parents, possibly from out of the country as the strap on one girl's canon was in japanese as well as English.

    I was the only one there though that had an interview scheduled as far as I could tell.

    I will still have another one once I actually submit my application, that one conducted locally by a local graduate/representative of their admissions board. Now I know even more about what to hit on for the interview then, and I know from talking to them and reading more on the courses that the school would be a very good academic fit for me, and a good fit for me otherwise.

    Now we're near Hanover, NH, ate dinner by the Dartmouth campus, got some night shots handheld (aargh) that could have actually had one come out properly....hopefully the interview tomorrow will go well. I'll get a better taste for that campus in the morning.

    Whatever the case, I'd rather have the weather here than in Miami. Every morning the weathermen wake up in Miami, preheat the city to 350 degrees, and bake for 12 hours.

    As far as chances, applying early action like me, only 21% get in, most are deferred to the regular decision date, and some are rejected due to insufficient academic credentials and the like. I'll know what happens here around the middle of December. Disturbingly though, in Regular decision a mere 9.3% get in, despite many times that number being qualified applicants.

    Still, I have rather varied interests, good grades, good SAT scores, and according to the secretary at the admissions office, there are definitely a lot of people with my kind of personality there.

    If I don't get in at Harvard, i'll be disappointed but it probably wouldn't be any fault of mine, and I could always try for grad school there. Hopefully I'll get in at either Harvard or Dartmouth, because frankly I don't feel much like staying in Florida anymore.

    Thanks for the support!
  • 07-25-2006, 05:59 AM
    zrfraser
    Re: On my big college adventure
    You could always come to Berry...One of the bes Liberal Arts schools in the Southeast...

    Z
  • 07-25-2006, 11:15 AM
    Photo-John
    Re: On my big college adventure
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by deckcadet
    Whatever the case, I'd rather have the weather here than in Miami. Every morning the weathermen wake up in Miami, preheat the city to 350 degrees, and bake for 12 hours.
    Ahhhh - you say that now. But wait till it's snowing on you in the middle of April :rolleyes: :D

    But winter builds character, right? I'm sure it would be good for you to experience real winter for a few years. Plus, you'll get to go home to Miami during the Holidays. And Boston really is a beautiful city. Great pizza and chowdah!
  • 07-25-2006, 11:16 AM
    Photo-John
    Re: Cool!
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by another view
    John, weren't you born in Canada?
    Nope - Denver. But I lived in Canada from 4 until 8 years old. I also lived in Montana and Utah. I'm not stranger to winter. And I left Boston in April, as it began to snow. Good riddance, I say!
  • 07-25-2006, 08:06 PM
    deckcadet
    Re: On my big college adventure
    Well I'm back in FL now, my interview at Dartmouth went even more smoothly than the Harvard one- I actually had a clue what I was doing this time. Again, 2-3x the normal length of interviews there. I had a fun trip and the tour was fantastic- i'd be very happy at either, methinks :)

    Heck I may end up going Dartmouth undergrad the moving to Harvard for graduate school, as Dartmouth is primarily undergrad centered.

    I realized that the two big ones i'm considering: Harvard and Dartmouth, work out to be my initials as well.... H.D.
  • 07-26-2006, 08:55 PM
    another view
    Re: On my big college adventure
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by deckcadet
    I realized that the two big ones i'm considering: Harvard and Dartmouth, work out to be my initials as well.... H.D.
    That's really great - two great options. Congrats, all of your hard work is paying off. Go buy yourself a Harley Davidson to celebrate (initials...)! :)
  • 07-26-2006, 10:06 PM
    deckcadet
    Re: On my big college adventure
    ack! I don't want to turn my brains into a grayish pinkish mass of goop!

    I've been doing more research...either one I'd get plenty of financial aid, and leave college with minimal debt that would pretty easily be paid off within a year or so if I manage my money properly. My SAT scores are at the higher end of either one's ranges (its not easy to do much better than I did) and my GPA has been pretty good with a full schedule of difficult classes, both unweighted and weighted (which was 5.04 this past year). And I doubled up on languages :)