<p>I'd like to start this thread for all Harvard SCEA applicants like me who were deferred today. Deferral isn't flat out rejection, so there's still hope for us! There are some great webpages out there that give tips for deferred applicants, but here are a couple things that I'm planning to do to increase my chances of getting in:</p>
<ol>
<li>Write a letter to the admissions office that will hopefully explain more about myself.</li>
<li>Contact a regional rep if possible.</li>
<li>Ask for an updated recommendation from my counselor. </li>
</ol>
<p>I wish everyone good luck, and I hope this discussion will help all of us in the RD round!</p>
<p>(I also posted my specs on the SCEA official decision thread, so you can check that out if you want.)</p>
<p>@nomatterwhat I’m not sure. I might not end up going with this, but an article I read encourage us to provide any extra information about ourselves that might have been missing from our original applications. </p>
<p>Below are two articles I’ve read so far that I think are helpful:</p>
<p>With regard to tip no. 2 from the second link, Harvard’s FAQ directly states that contacting admissions is “wholly unnecessary,” since the decisions were made by a committee rather than an individual. </p>
<p>I think the three things you listed will just annoy the admissions committee to be honest… </p>
<p>They say explicitly that any updates should be related to significant developments/ achievements in your high school career, especially with respect to extracurriculars. </p>
<p>They don’t want a letter, they don’t need another LoR to read, and they have CLEARLY stated that they DON’T want you to bug your regional rep about it. </p>
<p>I think there is a good reason why Harvard keeps it’s regional rep. information more hidden than other colleges. They probably anticipate that random high school seniors will try to play an annoying game of kiss-up (who DOESN’T want to go to Harvard? Let’s be real here…), and they probably don’t care unless you are a significantly hooked/interesting applicant (which you likely aren’t if you got got deferred EA).</p>
<p>@StanfordWOW I appreciate the advice, but I think I’m gonna go with updating them with more personal information about myself some way or another. I recognize that another rec might not be the best choice, since I’ve already submitted quite a few in the EA round, but I did say that I’m not sure if I’ll go with that plan. The main reason I want to send a Letter of Continued Interest is that I realized after sending in my application that my optional essay didn’t say enough about myself. Good luck to you, whatever your decision was!</p>
<p>I posted this on a Yale thread this morning, but I think it’s also appropriate here</p>
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</p>
<p>My take-away from my daughter’s experience: Sure, write a letter, send another essay, get another teacher rec, update Admissions with honors and awards . . . and then, as difficult as it may be, move on. To quote Jeffrey Brenzel over at Yale</p>
<p>@gibby I know what you’re saying about deferred applicants, sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. Maybe it wasn’t worth it for your daughter to reapply RD. I mean from what you say she had a pretty average Yale application. Yeah, it was good enough for some, but not all. What deferred applicants need to remember is that there are plenty of schools who will take lower prestige students like her. It’s tough, but we all have challenges. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone else who got deferred, but don’t get down on yourself if you get rejected again.</p>
<p>@gibby Thanks for the encouraging words! I’ll definitely be happy going to any of the other schools on my list, but I’m still gonna put in any effort I can for Harvard, since it is my top choice. The “Your loss, baby” part made me lol. It reminds me of a story that I heard once, in which an applicant rejected from UBC (majoring in commerce) sent the school an email saying it’s their loss, and she soon received an acceptance. Of course, I don’t think Harvard would do that though. </p>
<p>@Oxford69 - you do see that @gibby D got into Harvard so the point she was making is that it is random, not that her D had a “pretty average Yale application.”</p>
<p>^^ Exactly my point – the process is random. In fact, I would say that her application was ABOVE average and yet she was still deferred and then rejected from Yale (her dream school). But, she was able to let all that go and will graduate Phi Betta Kapa in one week from Harvard. It was Yale’s loss! </p>
<p>@gibby, my first impulse was to think it was unfortunate that both of your kids didn’t attend Yale (I’m biased), but then we would not have had the benefit of your special insights about the two schools and their differences. I specialize in silver linings :)</p>
<p>@Oxford69, welcome to CC. I’m glad I had put down my coffee, or I would have done a spit take when reading your post about “lower prestige.”</p>
<p>Hi guys, I was deferred from Harvard and I am now working on my other applications. The thing is that both my counselor and one of my teachers mentioned Harvard in their letters of rec (I read them after they were submitted…). Anyway, please tell me there is a way to edit those letters before sending them to other colleges!</p>
<p>@Ninopedia - My advice is to let it go unless you have new accomplishments that you think will enhance your application, and if you are accepted in March, you can be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime, review your Common App (all parts) to make sure it’s as strong as can be, and assuming you can resubmit your Common App essay, ask some insightful people to read it and offer critical feedback, then update it accordingly. Then focus on getting your RD applications ready, and ask those same people to critique your supplements.</p>
<p>Your odds of getting accepted RD to one of Harvard’s peers are likely higher than the odds you will be accepted to Harvard in the RD round (because there is only one Harvard, but Harvard has several peers). As a Canadian citizen, it sounds like it would be wise idea to include several Canadian schools in the mix (besides McGill), as acceptances are always harder to come by as an international, and your odds must be higher in Canada.</p>
<p>FYI, you certainly sound like a strong candidate and you can be certain that Harvard did not defer you because they did not feel you are qualified.</p>
<p>@BldrDad Thanks for the advice. I don’t think I can update anything submitted via the Common App, but I certainly will look everything over for my RD apps. </p>
<p>One regret I have applying to Harvard SCEA is that there are aspects of myself I didn’t convey in my application. I’m think I’m just gonna send them a concise and straightforward Letter of Continued Interest that will hopefully clarify my situation. </p>
<p>@123whatever I think you can go to ‘Manage Recommenders’ and get rid of both recs, and invite both of the teachers again. </p>
<p>I finished and submitted all my other applications. Still hoping for Harvard. If I don’t get in Harvard, I’ll be really sad but I know it’ll pass. Good luck everybody here! Thanks for all the advice. I love them.
Also, about regret - I actually regret I didn’t send in one more supplementary material. I’ll send it in, even though it is against my GC’s suggestion. WTH it can’t hurt at this point. </p>
<p>@nomatterwhat Hmm. I checked it too, but I think we are just automatically deferred, and it just shows 2015 EA because that’s the first program we applied under. </p>
There is no way to check. </p>
Still hoping for Harvard. If I don’t get in Harvard, I’ll be really sad but I know it’ll pass. Good luck everybody here! Thanks for all the advice. I love them.