Will my chances be reduced at Harvard if I don't take physics?Answered
Hi!
So I recently saw this on Harvards website
"There is no single academic path we expect all students to follow, but the strongest applicants take the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them. An ideal four-year preparatory program includes four years of English, with extensive practice in writing; four years of math; four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and an advanced course in one of these subjects; three years of history, including American and European history; and four years of one foreign language."
I am applying for an economics major at Harvard, and my science progression will be like this:
Honors bio -> honors chemistry -> ib bio hl1 -> ib bio hl2
Will not taking physics reduce my chances? I could take physics over the summer through "Virtual Virginia" but I have several summer programs, my IB Extended Essay, and working on the commonapp. Would taking physics online over the summer benefit my chances or take away time from other things?
Thanks so much!
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4 answers
If Harvard has written the word "physics" on their brief yet ideal comprehensive list of HS requirements, then you and every other Harvard bound applicant should read that has your HS check list. Crossing off each and every item will not guaranty you admission to Harvard because there are literally 1000s of qualified applicants who get rejections both applications rounds (tens of thousands for RD).
If one is bound to get rejected from Harvard, then I'd hope they'd feel happier that they knew they did everything possible to earn a spot rather then missing 1 or 2 HS requirements. Other people might think it's better to assume that your application will be evaluated holistically and plenty of people get in to Harvard without Physics. If you know anything about Harvard's scoring rubric then you will know that there are something like 230+ criteria they take note of. I do believe there are remarkable admits at Harvard with holes in their academic record because they were home schooled or educated in countries that perhaps do not have APs, IBs. But you are going to be judged against your peers from your school, not from an underfunded K-10 school in Uruguay.
You have been fairly transparent about your chancing % at Harvard being between 15%-22% depending on when the CV chancing engine did the calc. so you already know that you are in the sub-optimal group of applicants where Harvard is still a reach school. Therefore, I would pay more attention to requirements list and take HS Physics during the summer. Virtual Virginia seems very reasonable.
Good luck.
Respectfully, I completely disagree with @CameronBameron below. Harvard is unusually open to all kinds of academic pathways including less traditional ones. This is why Harvard (unlike many colleges) does not have basic academic preparation requirements. While Harvard does make suggestions, the most important things you should note are that they encourage you to take the most challenging courses at your high school and also to take 4 years of high school science. It seems like you're doing both, so while your program might not count as "ideal," it still checks the major boxes Harvard AOs will consider.
In general, taking a high school or dual enrollment class that goes on your high school transcript is far better than taking a summer course not associated with your school. If you have other more impressive summer programs in which you can participate, I'd go for those instead.
Additionally, since Harvard is effectively a reach school for nearly every student in the world, a 15%-22% acceptance rate is not 'suboptimal.' In fact, that means you have a very real chance of acceptance and likely a much better one than the majority of Harvard applicants. Best of luck.
Taking physics could only help your chances, but not by a great deal -- you are already taking a well-rounded selection of classes that includes the sciences. I would only take physics if you think that it would not take away too much time away from your other classes, your IB essay, and your CommonApp. Excelling in those three things will certainly increase your chances more than doing not so great in them, but acing a physics class.
A word of caution about physics as well - it is a challenging subject! I took AP Physics in high school because of similar thinking to yours, though it ended up hurting me rather than helping me because I did not do well in the class. Only take physics if it is up your ally. I hope this helps!
Great question! The excerpt that you posted talks about an "ideal" four year plan. This doesn't have to be the exact plan that you follow! There is flexibility! There are so many people that apply to Harvard without physics and still get accepted. Besides, your science progression looks great! You are taking vigorous courses just as Harvard wants! So, don't worry about taking Physics over the summer or anytime, really, if you don't want to.
Hope this helps!
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four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics means four years in one or combination of the above.Not every school offers four years of each science.